Mike Canty raises important questions about Israel and Palestinian national rights in his letter to the Militant. “The global community must pursue justice that upholds the dignity and self-determination of all people — Palestinians and Israelis alike,” he writes.
But Canty is mistaken when he argues that Israel’s existence reflects “a legacy of colonialism rooted in the displacement of Palestinians” and its actions in the West Bank and Gaza are “apartheid.” These are myths promoted by a well-financed, worldwide amalgam of Stalinists, leftists and Islamists to justify their call for the destruction of Israel and the expulsion or death of the Jews who live there.
Israel was created in 1948 not because of Zionism. The Stalinist betrayals of revolutionary uprisings in Europe in the 1930s that could have prevented the second imperialist world war; the refusal of the rulers in Washington, London and other imperialist powers to open their doors to Jews; and the slaughter of the Holocaust meant Jews had nowhere else to go.
It was not “an extension of Western geopolitical interests.” President Harry Truman imposed a stiff U.S. arms embargo to prevent the new state from getting weapons to defend itself from the reactionary war immediately launched against it led by former Nazi collaborators and the semi-feudal Arab nations’ leaders.
Central to that reactionary Arab leadership was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini. During World War II he worked with Adolf Hitler to carry out their shared goal of the “Final Solution” — the elimination of the Jews.
Amid the bloody war with atrocities committed on both sides, thousands of Palestinians fled the new state of Israel. Many left at the urging of reactionary leaders who said they could return after the “victory,” or out of fear of being caught up in the fighting. Others were forcibly expelled by Israeli forces.
But thousands of Arabs stayed. Today some 20% of Israeli citizens are Arabs. Jews and Arabs work side by side, get treated at the same hospitals, join the same trade unions and are on strike picket lines together.
Canty also presents an inaccurate view of the West Bank. Yes, there is injustice and discrimination. Palestinians are often denied water rights, building permits and access to their farms. And face demeaning treatment at checkpoints. Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives in the West Bank seek to use this to foster hatred and attacks against Jews.
Inside Israel itself, Arab and Jewish workers need to overcome divisions. But the only road forward is for Jewish and Arab workers to come together in struggle to forge a common leadership.
The Socialist Workers Party is for building revolutionary parties in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, throughout the Middle East, in the U.S. and the world. Parties to unite workers of all national origins and religious beliefs — Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Kurds and more — to defend our class interests on the road to taking power out of the hands of the capitalist class. Workers and the governments they will form will cooperate to resolve national questions and join in the worldwide fight for socialism.
Such parties cannot be built today without battling against Jew-hatred and pogroms, which are turned to by the capitalist rulers in the imperialist epoch.
What distinguishes Israel from every other capitalist nation is that it defends Jews, arms in hand. But capitalist relations in Israel undermine the fight against Jew-hatred and the fight to defend Israel as a refuge for Jews. We don’t give political support to the capitalist government, state or army in a class-divided Israel. But we are not neutral.
We support Israel’s defense of the safety of a refuge for Jews. We are for Israel defeating Hamas, Hezbollah, Tehran and the “axis of resistance.” Those thuggish Nazi-like groups are the biggest obstacle to Palestinian rights and the interests of workers and farmers throughout the Middle East. They must be dismantled as part of a fight to unite the working class.