Issue 57

Spring 2009

Editorial | Contents

The size and breadth of protests across the world that greeted Israel's three-week invasion and massacre in Gaza in January, demonstrated an unprecedented level of solidarity with the Palestinians and their demand for an end to occupation, and for peace with justice.

Not only those directly affected, but people of all nationalities and backgrounds, who are simply in favour of human rights, have lost all patience with Israel's crocodile tears over its vulnerable civilians in Sderot and its plaintive cry that it has no partner for peace. Its actions year on year - expanding its illegal settlements served now by Jewish-only roads, its eviction of longstanding Palestinian residents of Jerusalem to make way for Jewish families, its two-year long economic blockade of Gaza - have sabotaged any prospect of moving towards the peace settlement its leaders feign commitment to.

On campuses up and down the UK a new wave of student radicalism has exploded around the Gaza War. A series of well-organised student occupations demanding economic divestment by universities coupled with scholarships for Palestinian students are winning their goals. There are links to many of the university occupations on the University of East London Occupation Blog, at www.ueloccupation.blogspot.com/.

Israeli policy has also helped create an unprecedented level of criticism and opposition within Jewish communities around the world from whom Israeli governments have traditionally garnered political and material support. Jews in many countries have played a full and prominent part in protest activities. In Britain the numbers of Jews marching together against Israel's war policies have been completely unprecedented. And for each individual who marched, there were many others who may have been reluctant to join a demonstrate but nevertheless stood on vigils, wrote letters, signed petitions, or took some small action to indicate that they were utterly opposed to what Israel was falsely claiming to do in their name.

The reverberations were partly felt within Israel itself. On the night that Israel launched its ground invasion, 10,000 Israeli citizens marched through Tel Aviv with banners and placards in Hebrew, Arabic and English, damning the war. No doubt this action prompted a growth in the ranks of refuseniks but it couldn't stop the invasion any more than mass protests on the streets of London could stop Britain's war in Iraq. Neither did it stop the majority of Israelis voting in a lemming-like procession for right wing parties that can only promise more wars. And with Lieberman's ultra-right Yisrael Beiteinu sure to command significant influence in a Netanyahu-led government, the prospects for an ugly conflict over the 'loyalty' of the 20% of Israeli citizens who are Palestinians, grows stronger by the day.

So where does that leave so-called Jewish leaders in the diaspora? When 1,300 Palestinians were killed over three weeks, with white phosphorous bombs used in civilian areas, and hospitals, schools, mosques, universities and houses suffering direct hits, by a sophisticated army trumpeting its deceitful claims of minimising civilian casualties, these leaders turned the other way, called for Jews to rally to Israel's support and screamed 'antisemite' at Israel's critics.

Real antisemitism, unfortunately, is still alive and kicking, and the BNP is waiting in the wings, ready to exploit heightened community tensions but these leaders cynically devalue the term 'antisemitism'; they cannot be trusted either to lead any meaningful and honest fight against it or mobilise others to do so. We can only wonder what would Israel have to do, that it hasn't already done, to evince even a murmur of public criticism from the Chief Rabbi, the Board of Deputies or the Jewish (mis-)Leadership Council?

But the tide is turning, and those who have protested for the first time and found that they are far from alone will not return simply to previous positions of confusion, prevarication or silence.

And if Israel doesn't want to take notice of the ordinary people - the protesting Jews they dismiss as self-haters, and protesting non-Jews they dismiss as antisemites - they may also have to reckon with winds of change among their prime sponsors. There is no guarantee that an American administration led by Barack Obama will simply follow previous incumbents in offering blind support for Israel's government of the day.

Despatching George Mitchell to the Middle East did not go down well in Tel Aviv, and more irritation will hopefully follow. After the disastrous Bush years, America's more far-sighted capitalist interests will be pressurising Obama for change that suits them and makes American capitalism more robust. But he has also been elected with a huge weight of expectation by the poor and marginalised, and one of their concerns is justice on the international stage.
The future is uncertain but change will be coming.

Top