Yehuda Stern
15th June 2009, 22:16
Nethanyahus Cowardly Speech and the Politics of the Peace Process
[This has been prepared by me rather abruptly and although the basic ideas here are those of the ISL, this article is mine and should not be viewed as an official ISL statement.]
There have been few clearer cases of much ado about nothing than Zionist PM Nethanyahus speech on the question of the so called peace process. In essence, Nethanyahu did not say anything that other PMs did not say before.
Nethanyahu, like many others before him on the Zionist right, recognized in words the need for a Palestinian state, meanwhile making clear that this supposed recognition shall not translate in any way to a let down in the aggression against the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza. Nethanyahu asked the Palestinians to choose between the road of peace and Hamas; he made no such demands on the Israelis, who have voted in the last elections en masse to parties that have promised to oppose a Palestinian state, deport Palestinians deemed disloyal, or have otherwise promised to rid Israel of its Palestinian inhabitants. His continued parroting of common Zionist historical myths (to our regret, this is not the case with the Palestinians. The closer we get to an agreement with them, the further they retreat and raise demands that are inconsistent with a true desire to end the conflict) only shows the insincerity of his recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people. Nor will there be any letdown in the aggressive rhetoric against Iran: The Iranian threat looms large before us, as was further demonstrated yesterday. The greatest danger confronting Israel, the Middle East, the entire world and human race, is the nexus between radical Islam and nuclear weapons.
The Zionist parties from the left to the center-right cheered Nethanyahus speech. The extreme right wingers, who fear that even paying lip service to the idea of a Palestinian state could weaken Israels position, criticized Nethanyahu for making this concession. In essence, however, nothing has changed. In his last term, Nethanyahu signed agreements such as the Wye Agreement that were concessions to imperialist public opinion.
Why, then, all the fuss over Nethanyahus speech? Anyone who has followed Israeli politics for a meaningful time can learn a very basic fact the Zionists dread and will do anything to prevent the creation of even a Palestinian Bantustan of the kind that the Zionist left (and its cheerleaders in the Israeli Communist Party and other radical pro-Zionist groups) suggests. However, As fearful and hateful of the idea of peace as they are, to them the peace process is indispensable. The peace process is the proof put forward to all nations on earth that Israel is not, in fact, a racist colonialist monster oppressing the Palestinian masses, but a poor victim of Arab anti-Semitism, always looking for peace but always rejected by its barbaric opponents.
Above all, the insincerity of the speech is indicated by the demand for a demilitarized state. Of all the preposterous, provocative demands that the Zionists have sought to foist upon the Palestinians as preconditions for peace, this one is probably the worst, causing even the most treacherous and pro-imperialist misleaders of Palestine to protest (for example, the PLOs Yasser Abd-Rabo). Every Palestinian knows that an unarmed Palestinian state will be nothing more than a shooting range for Zionist marauders whenever another piece of land is to be stolen.
Nethanyahu can fool other Zionists into supporting him; that is easy enough. He can also give the Americans verbal concessions that might stop, for the time being, the growing pressure on him to change his attitude towards Iran. But he cannot fool the Palestinian working class vanguard.
All Palestinian workers, as well as Israeli workers willing to turn against the Zionist state, which exploits them as well, must answer Nethanyahus speech with the slogans: No peace with Zionism, not today, not tomorrow, not for now, not ever! Every day that such a peace lasts is another day for the butcher to slaughter our brothers and sisters, not just in Palestine, but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
To the Palestinian bourgeoisie and the leaders of the various fronts and nationalist and Islamist groups, such a perspective is anathema. These groups base themselves on the need to make deals with imperialism, using terrorism and other means to pressure it into giving them a bigger piece of the pie. While the leaders of the PLO have become disgustingly rich, the Palestinian masses are being murdered in the ghettos and prevented basic utilities, as the siege on Gaza continues, to the joy of Zionist profiteers, as exposed in a recent story in Haaretz. This pattern shall repeat with Hamas unless a revolutionary proletarian leadership takes the leadership of the Palestinian resistance. As revolutionary Marxists, we raise the following slogans, and invite all interested in our ideas to discuss them with us:
No to backroom deals with imperialism reject all agreements made by treacherous leaders with Israel! No peace with the Zionists!
For the re-creation of the Fourth International!
For a Palestinian workers state from the river to the sea!
For a socialist federation of the Middle East!
[This has been prepared by me rather abruptly and although the basic ideas here are those of the ISL, this article is mine and should not be viewed as an official ISL statement.]
There have been few clearer cases of much ado about nothing than Zionist PM Nethanyahus speech on the question of the so called peace process. In essence, Nethanyahu did not say anything that other PMs did not say before.
Nethanyahu, like many others before him on the Zionist right, recognized in words the need for a Palestinian state, meanwhile making clear that this supposed recognition shall not translate in any way to a let down in the aggression against the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza. Nethanyahu asked the Palestinians to choose between the road of peace and Hamas; he made no such demands on the Israelis, who have voted in the last elections en masse to parties that have promised to oppose a Palestinian state, deport Palestinians deemed disloyal, or have otherwise promised to rid Israel of its Palestinian inhabitants. His continued parroting of common Zionist historical myths (to our regret, this is not the case with the Palestinians. The closer we get to an agreement with them, the further they retreat and raise demands that are inconsistent with a true desire to end the conflict) only shows the insincerity of his recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people. Nor will there be any letdown in the aggressive rhetoric against Iran: The Iranian threat looms large before us, as was further demonstrated yesterday. The greatest danger confronting Israel, the Middle East, the entire world and human race, is the nexus between radical Islam and nuclear weapons.
The Zionist parties from the left to the center-right cheered Nethanyahus speech. The extreme right wingers, who fear that even paying lip service to the idea of a Palestinian state could weaken Israels position, criticized Nethanyahu for making this concession. In essence, however, nothing has changed. In his last term, Nethanyahu signed agreements such as the Wye Agreement that were concessions to imperialist public opinion.
Why, then, all the fuss over Nethanyahus speech? Anyone who has followed Israeli politics for a meaningful time can learn a very basic fact the Zionists dread and will do anything to prevent the creation of even a Palestinian Bantustan of the kind that the Zionist left (and its cheerleaders in the Israeli Communist Party and other radical pro-Zionist groups) suggests. However, As fearful and hateful of the idea of peace as they are, to them the peace process is indispensable. The peace process is the proof put forward to all nations on earth that Israel is not, in fact, a racist colonialist monster oppressing the Palestinian masses, but a poor victim of Arab anti-Semitism, always looking for peace but always rejected by its barbaric opponents.
Above all, the insincerity of the speech is indicated by the demand for a demilitarized state. Of all the preposterous, provocative demands that the Zionists have sought to foist upon the Palestinians as preconditions for peace, this one is probably the worst, causing even the most treacherous and pro-imperialist misleaders of Palestine to protest (for example, the PLOs Yasser Abd-Rabo). Every Palestinian knows that an unarmed Palestinian state will be nothing more than a shooting range for Zionist marauders whenever another piece of land is to be stolen.
Nethanyahu can fool other Zionists into supporting him; that is easy enough. He can also give the Americans verbal concessions that might stop, for the time being, the growing pressure on him to change his attitude towards Iran. But he cannot fool the Palestinian working class vanguard.
All Palestinian workers, as well as Israeli workers willing to turn against the Zionist state, which exploits them as well, must answer Nethanyahus speech with the slogans: No peace with Zionism, not today, not tomorrow, not for now, not ever! Every day that such a peace lasts is another day for the butcher to slaughter our brothers and sisters, not just in Palestine, but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
To the Palestinian bourgeoisie and the leaders of the various fronts and nationalist and Islamist groups, such a perspective is anathema. These groups base themselves on the need to make deals with imperialism, using terrorism and other means to pressure it into giving them a bigger piece of the pie. While the leaders of the PLO have become disgustingly rich, the Palestinian masses are being murdered in the ghettos and prevented basic utilities, as the siege on Gaza continues, to the joy of Zionist profiteers, as exposed in a recent story in Haaretz. This pattern shall repeat with Hamas unless a revolutionary proletarian leadership takes the leadership of the Palestinian resistance. As revolutionary Marxists, we raise the following slogans, and invite all interested in our ideas to discuss them with us:
No to backroom deals with imperialism reject all agreements made by treacherous leaders with Israel! No peace with the Zionists!
For the re-creation of the Fourth International!
For a Palestinian workers state from the river to the sea!
For a socialist federation of the Middle East!