Zionism I
Craig Milner (Write On, GLW #536) refutes my argument that "Zionism means belief in an exclusively Jewish state" by quoting the Zionist Congress of 1897: "The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a home in Eretz-Israel secured under public law."
Where is this "home"? Who is allowed to live there? And with what rights? Perhaps it is a home anywhere in the world, with all religions living equally? This would mean attacking the racist, capitalist source of Jewish persecution, and supporting freedom of religion — the strategy socialists fight for.
But that's not the strategy Zionists, a minority of the Jewish middle-classes, pursued. Zionists argued for a separate "home" — a home that doesn't make sense unless there are special rights for Jewish people, which are denied to non-Jews.
Zionist leaders sought to persuade European imperialist ruling classes that establishing a Jewish state in their colonial sphere of control would be in their interests. Indeed, Zionist leader Herzl petitioned the Russian Tsar, the German Kaiser, the British King and even the pope to gain support for a Jewish state in Palestine. In return, Herzl promised these rulers backing for their imperial aims in the Arab world.
Milner's 1897 quote means little in the face of the reality in occupied Palestine today — non-Jews cannot get particular jobs, are constantly harassed and victimised by the Israeli military, their lands are divided by checkpoints and walls, their homes are demolished and residents are displaced. Leave aside the daily bombardment and mass slaughter. Doesn't this constitute an apartheid, religious state?
Milner expects this stark reality to be pushed aside by quoting famous civil rights leader Martin Luther King. While King was certainly an impressive figure in fighting for African Americans' civil rights, this in no way makes him an infallible spokesperson for the entire civil rights movement on Zionism.
Another anti-racist black leader, Malcolm X, had a very different view: "Did the Zionists have the legal or moral right to invade Arab Palestine, uproot its Arab citizens from their homes and seize all Arab property for themselves just based on the 'religious' claim that their forefathers lived there thousands of years ago? Only a 1000 years ago the Moors lived in Spain. Would this give the Moors of today the legal and moral right to invade the Iberian Peninsula, drive out its Spanish citizens and then set up a new Moroccan nation ... where Spain used to be, as the European Zionists have done to our Arab brothers and sisters in Palestine?" (see Malcolm X is right, Martin Luther King and Milner are not. Israel is a racist, religion-based occupying state. It is no more wrong to point this out than it was to oppose apartheid South Africa or Indonesian-occupied East Timor.
Yes, Jewish people should have a home — along with Christians, Muslims, Atheists, etc — in every country. That's religious freedom. Yes, any anti-Jewish attacks should be opposed as vigorously as possible.
But defending an imperialist outpost in the Middle East, based on dispossession and religious exclusion, will do nothing to benefit ordinary people, regardless of their religious or racial background.
Paul Benedek @letter =
Craig Milner (Write On, GLW #536) argues that Zionism has never meant "that an exclusively Jewish state must be enforced". He's possibly right that no Zionist representatives have argued for an "exclusive" Jewish state, i.e. one consisting of no-one but Jews. But many representatives of various Zionist tendencies have not only stated, but acted upon, their aim of creating a state consisting of a dominant Jewish majority and an oppressed Palestinian minority, ripe for super-exploitation (as is the population of the projected Palestinian pseudo-state).
In the early days of Israel, David Ben-Gurion said, "I support compulsory transfers" of Palestinians out of Israel, Moshe Dayan told the Palestinians, "You shall continue to live like dogs", and Golda Meir said the Palestinians as a people "did not exist". Recently, Sharon said the right of displaced Palestinians to regain their homes must be rejected because it "would flood the country with Arabs".
The function of Zionism has been to bind Jews inside and outside of Israel to the interests of the Israeli ruling class and imperialism. As for the vile slander than anti-Zionism equates to anti-Jewish prejudice, try telling that to the rabbinical leaders of Jews Against Zionism, and see how fast you get whacked with a Torah.
Nick Fredman "The Australian government is wasting no time in preparing to send Iraqi refugees home", reads part of the opening line of the back page article of GLW #535. I worry that the use of the word "home" in this context reinforces the same nationalistic sentiments that allow many Australians to see refugees as "non-Australian" and thus not deserving to live here.
I migrated here from the USA seven years ago, but have considered Hobart my "home" for several years now. It sounds very strange to me when people I talk to refer to the USA as "your home", assuming, merely on the basis of my accent, that I have some kind of special affiliation to that nation.
No, my "special affiliation" is with the working class of all countries. As John Butler says, "Home is where the heart is!".
Many Iraqi refugees may still long to see Iraq and feel attached to the memories they have of it. For them, I guess it's fair enough to call Iraq their "home". But others will have established their lives here (or are trying to in the face of government obstruction and racism) and have no desire to return. For them, Australia is their home and we do them a great disservice to refer to Iraq as their home, as if we assume that they ultimately want to, or should, return there. What a racist assumption! Home is where the heart is! Fuck borders!
Shua Garfield Kids with cholera in Basra — at last, Bush, Blair and Howard find a weapon of mass destruction to their taste.
Peter Woodforde Politicians in favour of the war in Iraq are saying that the sacrifice was worth it. Let's put it to the test.
Mr Howard, suppose that before your heroic decision to sacrifice others, we, as a nation, requested the irrefutable Abraham's proof of your conviction? Suppose you were asked to sacrifice your own family first. Moreover, suppose you were asked to decide which member of your family will have their limbs ripped from them, which will have their body charred, which will die, and finally, which will live.
If that deed could be accomplished as a precondition to going to war, would you, in all conscience, have made that sacrifice? If you answer yes to that, then the least you can do now is to publicly enumerate your sacrificial selection. After all, you had no hesitation to make that decision for others.
Let us remember that this was a "pre-emptive strike" (with minimal "collateral damage" anticipated). It was not about liberating Iraqis from the devil, although the saintly victors will have us believe it. It was about an irrational fear and lust for power. This war has demonstrated quite visually the futility and waste of war.
It has also proved beyond any doubt that conventional weapons, if used in sufficient quantities, are weapons of mass destruction. Let's not call warmongers humanitarians. They are not. Let them spend more on reconstruction than they have on this war. Let them do this without economical benefits. Let them pay for everything out of charity, not greed.
And finally, let them stand without interference, as war criminals in an international court of law. If they get off the hook, I will accept the verdict and cry some more for humanity.
Andre Othenin-Girard Most readers of this paper will be aware of ConFest, the great "hippie" festival. ConFest was started by the Down to Earth Co-Op society in 1976, with the aim of transforming society. The festival is held at Gulpa Creek, NSW, every Easter and New Year.
ConFest is essentially a healing, personal growth event; a sharing of ideas about what it means to be a "happy", "whole" human being. It creates a space in which people can come together to explore new ways of living, in harmony with other people and the environment.
People run workshops on what have become traditional "hippie" fodder — reiki, meditation, yoga and similar things. More than this, though, ConFest is a space where people relate to each other on a much deeper level than they do out here in the "real world". I know this sounds trite, but ConFest is a difficult concept to explain to those who have not experienced it.
ConFest is often criticised for being self-indulgent and apolitical, but the manner in which we relate to each other as human beings is profoundly political. Hatred of other people comes from hatred of ourselves. People who accept themselves for who they are have no need for sexism, racism or homophobia. At ConFest, activists can obtain a glimpse of the kind of world that we are fighting for.
Imagine a world in which people work out of a sense of mutual obligation, because they like the camaraderie of working as a team, because they can learn new things and improve their skills and pass on what skills they already have to others.
Imagine a world where homophobia is so absent that a separate gay village inside ConFest was abandoned because people no longer felt the need to exist in ghettos. Where people can make love with whom they choose, with as many people as they choose, without fear of judgement. Where people are not afraid of their nakedness because they realise that beautiful people come in all shapes and sizes. Where you hug more people in one long weekend than most Australian men do in an entire lifetime.
Of course there's more to changing the world than a whole lot of peace, love and brown rice. Drinking chai and lolling about in mud baths is not a substitute for the hard slog of building rallies, strengthening unions and maintaining a dynamic and effective political organisation. It will take more than a warm hug to stop Bush and Co. from bombing the shit out of whomever they feel like, and bosses will not give up their power and privilege without a fight.
The real value of ConFest to the activist is as an inspiration, a kind of experimental blueprint of the kind of future society that we are all working towards.
Alex Milne Our Prime Minister is willing to send our boys to a war with Iraq that we should never have been involved in, but he is not willing to sack a Governor General who allowed an Anglican priest to continue to abuse children. Where is the sanity in that?
Howard is the worst prime minister that Australia has ever had. He has aligned himself with the United States to such an extent that it is hard to differentiate between what is US and what is Australian foreign policy.
Our prime minister is so committed to the facade of Westminster system that he is unwilling to question the authority of the Queen's representative in Australia.
Hollingsworth has committed the most vile sin. As head of the Anglican Church in Queensland he presided over a flock who depended on his ability to make reasonable judgements. But instead of doing so he turned a blind eye to a man who was later convicted of the same heinous crimes.
Howard has attached himself like an umbilical cord to the Governor General's position no matter what the consequences. He has dug his heels in and refused to even countenance the possibility of Hollingsworth being asked to resign.
Our prime minister has demonstrated yet again that he cannot identify what is in Australia's best interests. He sent our defence forces to Iraq knowing that we had no quarrel with that country. He simply jumped on the "Bush bandwagon". Now he expects the voters to simply accept his judgement that Hollingsworth is suitable for the Governor General's position despite having allowed further children to be abused.
Adam Bonner Work out this Labor Party riddle! In 1914, the ALP controlled all the state governments in Australia and both houses of federal parliament! In 1914, the ALP committed Australia to World War I. World War I was mainly fought in Europe.
Now in 2003, Labor has control of all state governments but the ALP doesn't control either house of federal parliament. In 2003, Federal Labor didn't want the Iraq War! What does this mean?
If George Bush wants World War III to ensure his reelection as US president and make it a dead certainty, will John Howard have to hold a federal election as early as July 26 2003, and let ALP Labor win both houses of parliament? Labour is a strange animal!
Jane Wallace G'day I am a former South African living in Sydney Australia. I refer to your URL Marius was entrapped. Marius Meiring [was approached] about obtaining certain items. Marius had obtained one Rhino horn from a curio shop legally and was not a "supplier" of parts from endangered species. Knowing that this item was illegal in the USA, Marius had the package labelled differently. A few AK-47s were also mailed to the USA.
Not long after being returned to South Africa, Marius Meiring died in a motor vehicle accident. He was survived by his wife Patricia, two small sons, his brother Johan, sister Amanda and his mother Johanna. He was a warm, compassionate and caring man.
Anyone doing a thorough investigation into Marius' affairs would realise that he could never have been a ringleader, nor play a major role in smuggling. His bank account would prove that. When he was released from USA prison and returned to South Africa, he was forced to work at Bougainvillia (an aged care facility, owned by his sister and mother) doing part-time management.
Had he made any substantial profit from illegal activities, he would certainly not have needed to do this. Very sadly, his mother died a couple of years ago. She (a minister of religion) was my guide and mentor. I know the hardships that Marius and his entire family experienced over the alleged smuggling affair.
Despite a minor offense, Marius was not a criminal. He and his family were, in my opinion, the victims of a corrupt American government officials. This angers me still.
Steve Thornton Following the unbelievable success last year of the first Italian Jazz Rebels (110 musicians involved and more than 2000 people attending in just two days), we are arranging for the Second IJR, to take place in Bologna from May 31 to June 1-2. Again entrance is totally free like last year and the Festival organisation is still based on volunteers' activity.
Special invitations have been presented to associations and single musicians devoted to unorthodox jazz practice (free, avant-garde, jazz-core), experimental musicians and improvisers, deliberately chosen to create maximum interaction between musicians, especially if they never met each other before. It is also planned to form an orchestra working on original music and compositions of the musicians involved.
Yet, the goal of the festival has changed since its former edition. It isn't "in opposition" to sad and sick Italian jazz festivals anymore (though things are not getting any better), this year it will be against the criminal Italian government led by Silvio Berlusconi, who is attacking every single aspect of social life with deliberate fury.
Culture administration is on the brink of collapse and we are reaching complete desertification of consciousness. Italians have become the most uneducated listeners of Europe. We have to RESIST, it is a matter of survival! The days at the festival will be an occasion to express our disapproval and disgust, opposing ourselves to arts' poor treatment in our demented country, especially music.
Foreign observers cannot understand why there is such a dramatic absence of any music education in Italy, it completely lacks in school programs, it's greatly neglected by radio and TV broadcasting. Italian jazz festivals, except on very few heroic occasions, tend to represent the eternal jazz cliche, and to have the same musicians on stage who impose their ubiquitous presence to the "audience".
In Italy, we have tons of talented musicians completely ignored because of such overexposure of voracious players. We are against all that and we wanna say it out loud! We want to walk through unexplored paths, we are looking for musicians who explore the possibilities of being human, choosing individuality instead of repetition.
Our purpose is that of showing off ourselves as partisans armed with our instruments. Not merely preserving the general culture but being radical through shape and utopic through sounds. The sad international situation gives us augmented force in action practice, without carrying the flag of empty words.
Vivan las utopias! Will everyone speak its own voice!
Italian Jazz Rebels PS You can express support sending messages to From Green Left Weekly, May 14, 2003.
Lewisham NSW
[Abridged.]
Zionism II
Lismore NSW
Home is where the heart is!
Hobart
Weapon of mass destruction
Melba ACT
Was war 'worth it'?
Lismore Heights NSW
Politics of a 'hippie' festival
Melbourne
[Abridged.]
Gutless
Meroo Meadow NSW
Why Labor should be elected
Riverwood NSW
Marius Meiring
Brighton Le Sands NSW
[Abridged.]
Italian Jazz Rebels
Bologna Italy
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