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 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, April 10, 2002.
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