Kez
25th May 2002, 13:58
Weekly Worker 433 - Towards a Socialist Alliance
Party!
In this week's Weekly Worker, paper of the Communist
Party of Great Britain;
Palestine Solidarity Demo: Build on Success
Last Saturday’s militant and often inspiring
demonstration should be seen as the start of powerful
solidarity campaign demanding justice for the
Palestinians, and a democratic settlement based on two
states for two peoples.
Over 25,000 people marched through central London on
May 19 in an event organised jointly by the Palestine
Solidarity Campaign and the Muslim Association of
Britain. A wide range of political and religious
groups and individuals of various nationalities
marched from Hyde Park and a similarly broad array of
speakers were assembled on the platform for the
Trafalgar Square rally.
Of course, in order to keep everybody on board, the
organisers had agreed to limit official slogans to the
uncontroversial, ambiguous and downright vacuous: “No
justice, no peace’, ‘Palestine will be free’,
‘Occupation no more’, ‘Palestine demands a state’. The
state concerned could be a secular, democratic entity,
enjoying equal status with Israel, or it could be an
exclusivist, possibly muslim, formation that merely
reverses the poles of oppression.
Although invited pro-Palestinian Conservative MPs
refused to attend, there were a good number of
pacifists and liberals who joined the left,
Palestinian, Israeli and other organisations, who were
united in their opposition to the brutal occupation.
There were many muslim contingents, mostly from the
mainstream, who were at pains to distance themselves
from the hard-line islamists of the Hamas/Al Qa’eda
type. For example, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth
handed out leaflets explaining the peaceful nature of
islam, while those of the Friends of Al Aqsa
highlighted the discrimination and hardship suffered
by Palestinians.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission called for a
boycott of Marks and Spencer. Its leaflet claimed:
“Our concern is not with M&S’s jewish roots, but its
historic and continuing support for Israel.” Some
groups went further, demanding a boycott not only of
Israeli goods, but of everything made in the USA too:
“… if you continue to buy them, you are buying the
bullets to kill children, women and innocent people in
Palestine”. None of these groups called (openly at
least) for the destruction of the state of Israel.
It was a different story though for the ultra-
reactionaries of such organisations as Al Muhajiroun,
who held placards reading, ‘Palestine is muslim’. They
chanted, “Skud, Skud Israel” and “Gas, gas Tel Aviv”,
along with their support for bin Laden. Two would-be
suicide posers were dressed in combat fatigues with a
‘bomb’ strapped to their waists.
This section accounted for no more than 200-300, but
they made a noise far out of proportion to their
numbers. In Trafalgar Square they hurled abuse (and a
few missiles) at Tirza Waisel of the Israeli group,
Just Peace, who, after calling for an end to the
Israeli occupation and a settlement based on a viable
Palestinian state, had the temerity to point out that
“the suicide bombings are not helping” and are “a
waste of young lives”. The treatment of this
courageous woman reflects badly upon the whole
movement.
The islamist fundamentalists attempt to sabotage any
possibility of Israeli-Palestinian unity around a
democratic programme - both on the ground in the
Middle East and in solidarity movements abroad. They
ought to have no place on our demonstrations - we must
organise to exclude them. Even the Socialist Workers
Party - which pretends to believe that to oppose the
fundamentalists is to oppose all muslims - was
distinctly uncomfortable with the anti-semitic chants
in Hyde Park.
The SWP response was to organise some counter-chanting
by a handful of comrades who, unlike Al Muhajiroun,
were not even armed with megaphones. And of course
‘George Bush, shame on you. Daddy was a killer too’
was not exactly a devastating riposte. In truth the
SWP, along with most of the left, are disarmed in the
face of the reactionary islamists. They insist on
seeing something progressive in their
‘anti-imperialism’. Their suicide attacks, viewed as
the actions of the oppressed pure and simple, must, it
seems, not be condemned despite the overtly
anti-working class, anti-jewish nature of the
programme which inspires them.
So Terry Conway of the International Socialist Group
could write of the attack on Tirza Waisel: “I think
what she said could be rather easily interpreted as
drawing an equals sign between the suicide bombers and
the Israel state” (Socialist Alliance discussion list,
May 21). True, comrade Conway was “horrified” at the
incident, but she, along with other comrades, stated
their disagreement with the Peace Now representative’s
assertion of the rather obvious fact that the suicide
bombings were, to put it mildly, counterproductive.
Despite the unwelcome presence of Al Muhajiroun, the
atmosphere was overwhelmingly positive. Weekly Worker
sellers encountered no hostility from islamic, Arab or
Palestinian marchers. The only people to object to our
‘Two states for two peoples’ headline were members of
other left groups. By contrast our comrades were
approached by many people of Middle Eastern origin who
wanted to read what we had to say.
The occasion was hardly a “race-hate march”, as one
comrade from the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty
absurdly described it (Jim Denham, SA discussion list,
May 20). Israeli contingents, including comrades from
the Matzpen socialist group, were by and large warmly
received. Jewish and Israeli speakers in Trafalgar
Square were applauded for their expressions of
solidarity. Leading SA activist Mike Marqusee
(introduced as representing the Stop the War
Coalition) said he was “proud to be a jew”, and added
to cheers: “All religious backgrounds are outraged at
what Sharon is doing.”
Naomi Wayne of Jews for Justice was also applauded
(and heckled by Al Muhajiroun) for a speech in which
she demanded an end to the occupation and the creation
of a Palestinian state: “We want Israel to have a
secure future, but not at the expense of the
Palestinians,” she said. A group of ultra-orthadox
religious jews (for whom the state of Israel is a
‘blasphemy’) waved Palestinian flags from the platform
and were praised by the PLO speaker.
The rally was also addressed by Labour MPs Jeremy
Corbyn and George Galloway, and by union leaders Paul
Mackney (Natfhe) and John McFadden (Unison), but there
was no speaker who put forward a democratic solution
based on the independent working class. This is where
there is much work to do. Our Socialist Alliance
comrades are, for the most part, steeped in economism
and have no grasp of the necessity of a consistently
democratic approach.
The SA must end the disastrous policy of tailing the
fundamentalists. Our programme must be based on the
leadership of the working class - the only class that
can ensure a genuinely democratic solution.
Peter Manson
Also in this issue;
'All the Young Dudes …' - Lawrie Coombs calls for a
Socialist Alliance youth organisation.
'CPGB Schools: Education, Education, Education' - A
proper communist education seeks to understand the
relationship of the individual to the party, the class
and history, belives Martyn Hudson.
Anti-Capitalism:
'Politically Stunted
'Palestine and Anti-Semitism'
'Too Complicated'
'South America in Turmoil'
- Our team reports from last weekends Globalise
Resistance conference.
'Trotsky and the United States of Europe Slogan' -
Jack Conrad discusses the great revolutionary's
attitude towards European unity.
'Trade Unions: Democratisation Still on the Agenda' -
The annual conference of the Fire Brigades Union,
meeting in Bridlington from May 14-17, saw the
Labour-loyal leadership regain ground over the left in
its attempt to break the union from its automatic
backing of Blair’s party through the democratisation
of the political fund. Peter Manson takes a look.
'Potters Bar: Taking a Lead' - The Socialist Alliance
rail fraction needs to discuss a united and
coordinated response to Potter’s Bar, argues Derek
Goodliffe.
'For Kier Hardie and St George' - Billy Bragg is vying
for the title of number one radical musician during
the royal jubilee. Sam Metcalf went to meet him.
'Netherlands: Is Fascism on the March?' - Hasty,
untheorised approaches are not only absurd, but
counterproductive. As Marxists, we need to address
this phenomenon soberly on the basis of a materialist,
class analysis, writes Maurice Bernal.
Summer Offensive 2002:
'Gumption Called For' - John Galt reports on an
impressive start to the annual CPGB fund raising
drive.
'CPGB and Wurzels: Shock Revelation' - National
Organiser Mark Fischer uncovers some unusual sources
of funding.
'Sinn Féin Gains' - The left needs a vision and
commitment to democracy that goes far beyond the
‘strikes today, socialism tomorrow’ approach of both
the SWP and SP, writes Anne Mc Shane.
And Letters (Israel/Palestine, SWP/Welsh Socialist
Alliance), Call for SA Paper, Fighting Fund, and
Action.
This edition can be read at
http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/433/index.html
For more information and sub details, go to
http://www.cpgb.org.uk , email [email protected] ,
phone 020 8965 0659, or write to CPGB, BCM Box 928,
London, WC1N 3XX, quoting 'e-ad'.
The Communist Party of Great Britain is a supporting
organisation of the Socialist Alliances in England and
Wales and the Scottish Socialist Party.
Please visit
http://www.socialistalliance.net
http://www.welshsocialistalliance.org.uk and
http://www.scottishsocialistparty.org
Please note that the Weekly Worker appears in both
normal text and PDF format.
£20,000 has been pledged so far in this year’s Summer
Offensive, the CPGB’s annual fundraising campaign.
Submit your pledges to [email protected]
Party!
In this week's Weekly Worker, paper of the Communist
Party of Great Britain;
Palestine Solidarity Demo: Build on Success
Last Saturday’s militant and often inspiring
demonstration should be seen as the start of powerful
solidarity campaign demanding justice for the
Palestinians, and a democratic settlement based on two
states for two peoples.
Over 25,000 people marched through central London on
May 19 in an event organised jointly by the Palestine
Solidarity Campaign and the Muslim Association of
Britain. A wide range of political and religious
groups and individuals of various nationalities
marched from Hyde Park and a similarly broad array of
speakers were assembled on the platform for the
Trafalgar Square rally.
Of course, in order to keep everybody on board, the
organisers had agreed to limit official slogans to the
uncontroversial, ambiguous and downright vacuous: “No
justice, no peace’, ‘Palestine will be free’,
‘Occupation no more’, ‘Palestine demands a state’. The
state concerned could be a secular, democratic entity,
enjoying equal status with Israel, or it could be an
exclusivist, possibly muslim, formation that merely
reverses the poles of oppression.
Although invited pro-Palestinian Conservative MPs
refused to attend, there were a good number of
pacifists and liberals who joined the left,
Palestinian, Israeli and other organisations, who were
united in their opposition to the brutal occupation.
There were many muslim contingents, mostly from the
mainstream, who were at pains to distance themselves
from the hard-line islamists of the Hamas/Al Qa’eda
type. For example, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth
handed out leaflets explaining the peaceful nature of
islam, while those of the Friends of Al Aqsa
highlighted the discrimination and hardship suffered
by Palestinians.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission called for a
boycott of Marks and Spencer. Its leaflet claimed:
“Our concern is not with M&S’s jewish roots, but its
historic and continuing support for Israel.” Some
groups went further, demanding a boycott not only of
Israeli goods, but of everything made in the USA too:
“… if you continue to buy them, you are buying the
bullets to kill children, women and innocent people in
Palestine”. None of these groups called (openly at
least) for the destruction of the state of Israel.
It was a different story though for the ultra-
reactionaries of such organisations as Al Muhajiroun,
who held placards reading, ‘Palestine is muslim’. They
chanted, “Skud, Skud Israel” and “Gas, gas Tel Aviv”,
along with their support for bin Laden. Two would-be
suicide posers were dressed in combat fatigues with a
‘bomb’ strapped to their waists.
This section accounted for no more than 200-300, but
they made a noise far out of proportion to their
numbers. In Trafalgar Square they hurled abuse (and a
few missiles) at Tirza Waisel of the Israeli group,
Just Peace, who, after calling for an end to the
Israeli occupation and a settlement based on a viable
Palestinian state, had the temerity to point out that
“the suicide bombings are not helping” and are “a
waste of young lives”. The treatment of this
courageous woman reflects badly upon the whole
movement.
The islamist fundamentalists attempt to sabotage any
possibility of Israeli-Palestinian unity around a
democratic programme - both on the ground in the
Middle East and in solidarity movements abroad. They
ought to have no place on our demonstrations - we must
organise to exclude them. Even the Socialist Workers
Party - which pretends to believe that to oppose the
fundamentalists is to oppose all muslims - was
distinctly uncomfortable with the anti-semitic chants
in Hyde Park.
The SWP response was to organise some counter-chanting
by a handful of comrades who, unlike Al Muhajiroun,
were not even armed with megaphones. And of course
‘George Bush, shame on you. Daddy was a killer too’
was not exactly a devastating riposte. In truth the
SWP, along with most of the left, are disarmed in the
face of the reactionary islamists. They insist on
seeing something progressive in their
‘anti-imperialism’. Their suicide attacks, viewed as
the actions of the oppressed pure and simple, must, it
seems, not be condemned despite the overtly
anti-working class, anti-jewish nature of the
programme which inspires them.
So Terry Conway of the International Socialist Group
could write of the attack on Tirza Waisel: “I think
what she said could be rather easily interpreted as
drawing an equals sign between the suicide bombers and
the Israel state” (Socialist Alliance discussion list,
May 21). True, comrade Conway was “horrified” at the
incident, but she, along with other comrades, stated
their disagreement with the Peace Now representative’s
assertion of the rather obvious fact that the suicide
bombings were, to put it mildly, counterproductive.
Despite the unwelcome presence of Al Muhajiroun, the
atmosphere was overwhelmingly positive. Weekly Worker
sellers encountered no hostility from islamic, Arab or
Palestinian marchers. The only people to object to our
‘Two states for two peoples’ headline were members of
other left groups. By contrast our comrades were
approached by many people of Middle Eastern origin who
wanted to read what we had to say.
The occasion was hardly a “race-hate march”, as one
comrade from the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty
absurdly described it (Jim Denham, SA discussion list,
May 20). Israeli contingents, including comrades from
the Matzpen socialist group, were by and large warmly
received. Jewish and Israeli speakers in Trafalgar
Square were applauded for their expressions of
solidarity. Leading SA activist Mike Marqusee
(introduced as representing the Stop the War
Coalition) said he was “proud to be a jew”, and added
to cheers: “All religious backgrounds are outraged at
what Sharon is doing.”
Naomi Wayne of Jews for Justice was also applauded
(and heckled by Al Muhajiroun) for a speech in which
she demanded an end to the occupation and the creation
of a Palestinian state: “We want Israel to have a
secure future, but not at the expense of the
Palestinians,” she said. A group of ultra-orthadox
religious jews (for whom the state of Israel is a
‘blasphemy’) waved Palestinian flags from the platform
and were praised by the PLO speaker.
The rally was also addressed by Labour MPs Jeremy
Corbyn and George Galloway, and by union leaders Paul
Mackney (Natfhe) and John McFadden (Unison), but there
was no speaker who put forward a democratic solution
based on the independent working class. This is where
there is much work to do. Our Socialist Alliance
comrades are, for the most part, steeped in economism
and have no grasp of the necessity of a consistently
democratic approach.
The SA must end the disastrous policy of tailing the
fundamentalists. Our programme must be based on the
leadership of the working class - the only class that
can ensure a genuinely democratic solution.
Peter Manson
Also in this issue;
'All the Young Dudes …' - Lawrie Coombs calls for a
Socialist Alliance youth organisation.
'CPGB Schools: Education, Education, Education' - A
proper communist education seeks to understand the
relationship of the individual to the party, the class
and history, belives Martyn Hudson.
Anti-Capitalism:
'Politically Stunted
'Palestine and Anti-Semitism'
'Too Complicated'
'South America in Turmoil'
- Our team reports from last weekends Globalise
Resistance conference.
'Trotsky and the United States of Europe Slogan' -
Jack Conrad discusses the great revolutionary's
attitude towards European unity.
'Trade Unions: Democratisation Still on the Agenda' -
The annual conference of the Fire Brigades Union,
meeting in Bridlington from May 14-17, saw the
Labour-loyal leadership regain ground over the left in
its attempt to break the union from its automatic
backing of Blair’s party through the democratisation
of the political fund. Peter Manson takes a look.
'Potters Bar: Taking a Lead' - The Socialist Alliance
rail fraction needs to discuss a united and
coordinated response to Potter’s Bar, argues Derek
Goodliffe.
'For Kier Hardie and St George' - Billy Bragg is vying
for the title of number one radical musician during
the royal jubilee. Sam Metcalf went to meet him.
'Netherlands: Is Fascism on the March?' - Hasty,
untheorised approaches are not only absurd, but
counterproductive. As Marxists, we need to address
this phenomenon soberly on the basis of a materialist,
class analysis, writes Maurice Bernal.
Summer Offensive 2002:
'Gumption Called For' - John Galt reports on an
impressive start to the annual CPGB fund raising
drive.
'CPGB and Wurzels: Shock Revelation' - National
Organiser Mark Fischer uncovers some unusual sources
of funding.
'Sinn Féin Gains' - The left needs a vision and
commitment to democracy that goes far beyond the
‘strikes today, socialism tomorrow’ approach of both
the SWP and SP, writes Anne Mc Shane.
And Letters (Israel/Palestine, SWP/Welsh Socialist
Alliance), Call for SA Paper, Fighting Fund, and
Action.
This edition can be read at
http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/433/index.html
For more information and sub details, go to
http://www.cpgb.org.uk , email [email protected] ,
phone 020 8965 0659, or write to CPGB, BCM Box 928,
London, WC1N 3XX, quoting 'e-ad'.
The Communist Party of Great Britain is a supporting
organisation of the Socialist Alliances in England and
Wales and the Scottish Socialist Party.
Please visit
http://www.socialistalliance.net
http://www.welshsocialistalliance.org.uk and
http://www.scottishsocialistparty.org
Please note that the Weekly Worker appears in both
normal text and PDF format.
£20,000 has been pledged so far in this year’s Summer
Offensive, the CPGB’s annual fundraising campaign.
Submit your pledges to [email protected]