lenin on anti-semitism - Let us blow this shit out of the wa

[peaccenicked]

Lenin on anti-semitism


This speech by Lenin, from 1919, shows how the Bolsheviks attacked the problem of age-old Russian anti-semitism after the workers' revolution of 1917.


"Anti-semitism means spreading enmity towards the Jews. When the accursed Tsarist monarchy was living its last days it tried to incite ignorant workers and peasants against the Jews. The Tsarist police, in alliance with the landlords and capitalists, organised pogroms against the Jews. The landowners and capitalists tried to divert the hatred of the workers and peasants who were tortured by want against the Jews. In other countries, too, we often see the capitalists fomenting hatred against the Jews in order to blind the workers, to divert their attention from the real enemy of the working people, capital...

"It is not the Jews who are the enemies of the working people. The enemies of the workers are the capitalists of all countries. Among the Jews there are working people, and they form the majority. They are our brothers who, like us, are oppressed by capital; they are our comrades in the struggle for socialism. Among the Jews there are kulaks, exploiters and capitalists, just as there among the Russians and among people of all nations. The capitalists strive to sow and foment hatred between workers of different faiths, different nations and different races. Those who do not work are kept in power by the power and strength of capital.

"Rich Jews, like rich Russians, and the rich in all countries, are in alliance to oppress, crush, rob and disunite the workers.

"Shame on accursed Tsarism which tortured and persecuted the Jews. Shame on those who foment hatred towards the Jews, who foment hatred towards other nations.

"Long live the fraternal trust and fighting alliance of the workers of all nations in the struggle to overthrow capital."


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[Reuben]

Great speech, reallly did blow the shit out. He recognized importantly that the majority of the jews in russia were very poor working class

[Blasphemy]

so true... in europe at the 19th century people thought that all the jews were filthy rich like the rotchield family, while they were all poor workers who made their living from trade.

[Reuben]

Yeah, jewish wealth is still greatly exagerrated, although they are a hell of a lot more prosperous then they were back then.

Where were your family from before they came to Israel?

[El Che]

Wise words, and very much in order, unfortunatly.

[guerrillaradio]

All the anti-semites (with the possible exception of Derar) are now restricted to the Soc vs Cap board, so it'd be more in order to post that speech there. Yuri claims to be pro-Leninist, so it'd be interesting to see how he reacts...

[Blasphemy]

Where were your family from before they came to Israel?

my father's family came from russia, just before the communist revolution.

my mother's family was actually one of the elite. they were very wealthy. my great grandfather was a very well known doctor in poland but they left the country after the town they were living in was occupied by romania, which was a very intolerant country.

[Reuben]

interesting. My family also came from russia and poland, as well as the ukraine, and left just before the revolution. For the most part I think they were not very wealthy. My grandmother, aalthough, came from a family whichh once did quite well out of a hardwear shop they owned. Although the cossacks looted the place and took it over as they were to a great extent able to do to jews what they liked.

I didnt realise that poland was occuppied by romania. It seems they have been pretty much been occuppied by all their neighbours.

I dont know if I have talked about thiss already but one of my more distant relatives, in the years before the the revolution climbed on tothe roof of a pub while shouting "Workers of russia, realise your strength" and was subsequently shot.

Dunno if he was a revolutonary or simply drunk,.


(Edited by Reuben at 8:59 pm on May 20, 2002)

[Blasphemy]

it wasn't poland, i was mistaken. they used to live in austro-hungary, but only a small part of it was occupied by romania. after the war they moved to egypt and become very close with the egyptian elite and the president there.

[Hattori Hanzo]

great speech

[pastradamus]

yeah an absoutely brilliant speech in terms of equality.
god bless that man!