Write on: Letters to the editor

Palestine I

David Murray (Write On, GLW #485) writes, “The methods of the Palestinian
terrorists, whose only desire is to have all Jewish people thrown into
the Mediterranean, is a dead end which socialists everywhere should clearly
oppose”.

Let's overlook Murray's repetition of one of Zionism's favourite lies
about Palestinian militants wanting to throw all Jews into the sea.

Let's also overlook his abstract call further on for working class unity
and a socialist Middle East (surely calling for a democratic, secular Palestine
is presently more appropriate).

Is it enough to simply denounce the methods of the Palestinian terrorists
as a dead end (which of course they are). Should we denounce the Palestinian
terrorists and the Israeli army in equal measure? No. In an imperialist
country such as Australia, our task is to emphasise the legitimate role
of the oppressed Palestinians to fight back (despite their sometimes counterproductive
methods); and to place the blame for the violence where it belongs — on
the oppressive Israeli state.

We must argue that the only way to end the violence is to end the oppression
of the Palestinian people. We must demand the removal of all Israeli troops
from every centimetre of occupied territory as a first step towards the
liberation of the Palestinian people and the Israeli working class.

Any condemnation of the terrorist tactics of some of the Palestinian
militants can only be placed in this context.

Shane Bentley

Rozelle NSW

Palestine II

The Israeli occupation and blitzkrieg of Palestinian lands reminds us that
a terrorist is someone who has a bomb but who does not have an air force.

Israelis kill with tanks, F-16 jets and Apache gunships but the youth
of Palestine use their bodies as bombs. While the media report on the baskets
full of handguns and home-made pipe bombs allegedly confiscated from Palestinian
homes, they have yet to show us the full extent of Israel's arsenal including
its nuclear warhead complex at Dimona.

It is clear that the Palestinian David is pitted against a mighty and
land-grabbing Zionist Goliath.

If a UN mandated peace force is not despatched immediately with the
full support of the US then the Palestinian people will be shot like fish
in a barrel.

Gareth Smith

Byron Bay NSW

Perth IWD rally

In response to the and ain't i a woman column titled “Winning allies
in the fight for women's liberation” by Amie Hamilton in GLW #485:
The International Women's Day (IWD) march in Perth this year was poorly
attended by WA's feminists. It is a decision not taken lightly by activists
who have spent a decade, 20 or 30 years fighting for women's liberation.

The debate to include men in the march has splintered groups within
the Perth community. There is no one ideology that characterises supporters
of women-only space at IWD.

Men need to be included in the fight for a non-sexist world. Social
change is not made by singular groups alone. But in the process of building
solidarity, it is important not to forget the rank and file supporters
at the front line. Those who work in women's refuges, organise in the union
movement, produce alternative media and advocate for women have drifted
from the IWD rally and march.

It was not the presence of men that stopped women from attending this
year's rally. The collective wasn't inclusive of women who wanted a women's-only
space in the march. The message, intended or not, is “we don't want your
support”. The message in response? “You don't have it.”

Elena Jeffreys

Perth

ACM

Trust GLW to do the right and obvious thing and look closely at
Australasian Correctional Management [see Corporate Scumbag, GLW
#485], the people who run the wretched “immigration detention centres”,
that is, prisons, refugee prisons.

The mainstream media does not have the gumption for this sort of investigative
journalism, for the most part. Neither will the mainstream media report
on the hundreds of asylum seekers marooned in camps on Manus Island, PNG,
or on Nauru.

At the Villawood immigration detention centre, when you are let through
the gate in the high razor-wire topped outer fence, and get into the reception
building foyer, there are amazing framed “statements” on the wall.

My favourite is the finance and administration statement. It reads:
“To cheerfully meet the financial targets established by our stakeholders.”
You would be cheerful too, being paid large sums of money to warehouse
desperate, peaceful people looking for a life free from persecution. Money
for jam.

Keep it up. We will win!

Stephen Langford

Paddington NSW

From Green Left Weekly, April 10, 2002.

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