Israel/Palestine

The question of Israel-Palestine conflict is one of the most prominent in current world events. Nowhere more so, it seems, than on the far left, where action and stance taken on this issue often takes centre stage in the activity and political education of many a young militant.

The question of anti-Semitism and indeed of ‘left’ anti-Semitism is far older than the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel;

When capitalism and imperialism were first developing many confused and backward reactions to the new power of big finance conflated a stunt...ed and reactionary form of ‘anti-capitalism’ with older anti-Semitic mythology. Indeed the first Immigration controls in Britain, the 1904 Aliens Act, specifically targeted against Jews fleeing persecution is Eastern Europe, was supported by the large portion of the British labour movement.

Merseyside Workers’ Liberty are hosting a discussion to explore whether this kind of ideology has seeped into those whose entirely correct instincts are to to side with the Palestinians against the brutal Israeli occupation of West Bank and Gaza and their historic displacement since 1948, and discussing the influence of British imperialism, the Stalinist bloc, and Islamism and what we mean by ‘Zionism’ and ‘anti-Zionism’. Most importantly, we will discuss how we can practically fight for a viable and equitable settlement.

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/336096039764286/?context=create

Nine members, supporters and friends of the AWL are currently in Israel/Palestine on a solidarity delegation. So far, they have:

* Visited Tel Aviv's African Refugee Development Centre and spoken with asylum-seekers and refugee rights activists.
* Attended a demonstration against a law being discussed in the Israeli Knesset which would give any community of over 500 people the right to exclude people (to be used against Arabs, Jew...s of the wrong ethnicity, single parents, gay people etc...); after which we discussed with and interviewed former Knesset member and prominent anti-occupation activist Uri Avnery; socialist and Gush Shalom spokesperson Adam Keller; and a left Zionist youth group.
* Visited the Workers' Advice Centre, a small trade union outside the Histadrut which organises both Jewish and Arab workers (so does the Histadrut, but WAC is mixed in its top personnel, militantly anti-racist and radical left).
* Spent time with a Palestinian human rights advocate, visiting Palestinians whose home had just been demolished by the IDF and a community project in a village displaced by the IDF; interviewed international monitors who spend time in Palestinian cities and villages to monitor and try to prevent IDF and settler abuses.
* Gone to the Palestinian village of Bil'in to join its weekly demonstration against the Wall, at which we were tear-gassed by the IDF, and discussed extensively with activists from the village's Popular Committee; some of us went back for the night to help guard against an IDF invasion.
* Gone on the Stop the Wall tour of the Wall, and discussed extensively with its organiser, including about the call for boycotts of Israel which he helped initiate.
* Visited Nablus to discuss with left-wing Palestinian General Federation of Trade Union Activists, and also visited a cultural/youth centre in one of the city's refugee camps.

(For the latest information see the blog at ipsol.wordpress.com)

Heather Shaw, a member of the delegation, will be speaking on what she saw in Israel/Palestine and how we can help build solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian workers.

How do we stop Israel’s brutal occupation of the Palestinians? How can we oppose Fatah, Hamas and all anti-Semitism? Should socialists call for a boycott? How do we build working class unity across borders and fight for a genuinely independent Palestinian state alongside Israel?
With guest speaker Heather Shaw, organiser of AWL solidarity tour of Israel and the West Bank happening at the end of November.

Search 'ideas for freedom liverpool' for Facebook event.