Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2001 15:30:42 +0200
From: Ilan Shalif <gshalif-AT-netvision.net.il>
Subject: Re: AUT: Bite the bullet


Hi People.
It seems people do not really understand the Israeli Jewish society.
Of course it had all along the 80 years of its construction people with
class conscious and even strong Marxist movements... But, it is first
of all settler colonialist society multiplied 100 times it initial 50 thousands
population of 1920.

Even the most class conscious people know that the high economical level
Is built and conditioned on the theft of the country from its indigenous
Palestinians, and very high subsidy from the imperialist powers.

There was of course all the years a trend of people who were disillusioned
from the Zionism and rejected it.
Most of them left the country after longer or shorter period of struggle.

Since the 60s you can even find organized libertarian communists who
rejected the Marxist-Leninist line... you can call Marxist autonomists, who
referred in a way to the council communists and the worker opposition
(Alexandra Kolontay name was mentioned often.)

Members of our group (Matspen) gave the only principled analysis
I know of regarding Zionism, Israel, and the settler colonialism project
in the global system.

For sure there are Jewish capitalist class, working class, class war in various
levels, conflict between immigrants from different parts of the world, religious
sects.... but still all of these are in the shadow of the settler colonialist project
and the role of israel in the protection of the interests of US and European
Big capital.


> Oliver Brice wrote:
>
> Sorry if this doesn't interest everyone, as it's not really a discussion of
> autonomous marxism, but having been politically active in Israel I want to
> respond to this.

If people are interested, the development of the autonomous marxism in Israel
in the 60s and 70s is documented enough and some of the people involved
are still active.

> I agree with your analysis of class/race divisions in Israel, but I do
> think
> there have been the beginnings of some class movements that have started to
> break through the racial boundries.  These are generally limited to Trade
> Unionism or party politics though (Hadash being the obvious example) and
> don't have mass proletarian support.

The things are not really as they appear to be. The Trade Unionism was part
of bureaucratic Zionist left initiative in order to prevent the development of
independent Palestinian trade unions. The Communist party known mostly in
the name of Hadash was a Stalinist Party subsidized till USSR collapse by
USSR, and its hold on the Israeli Palestinians, was mainly due to the fact
that any independent organization of theirs was not allowed till the 80s.

> What we are dealing with here is religious differences.

The most misleading opinion is that the religious is the main factor.
Most of the religious Jews were not the extreme supporters of
the settler colonialism or nationalism. Only a minority of them of
National-religious trend are in the extreme right.


> What is disturbing
> is the way in which clarity about the difference between race, nation, and
> religion have tended to be glossed over particularly in the 'west'. It is
> apparent when looking at Israel that questions of religion cannot simply be
> left as a matter of individual conscience as in Europen liberalism.

In Israel, the Jewish religious is most racist. It is interwoven with the
settler colonialist project. The core of it is heavily subsidized by the
government, and you cannot regard it as an independent or leading
factor.

> Religion is tied up with the way families reproduce themselves and the
> property relationships in which they are rooted.

The significantly religious minority of about 25% or less does not have
a real power of its own.

> Sooner or later revolutionaries must confront religion. All else is vanity.

In Israel, the main obstacle is not religious or ethnicity. It is the convincing
of the people that they have to gain from the end of the settler colonialism
more than they will loose.

It seems that the big capital has already reached this position, and also
a significant part of the working class. But, still
significant part of the bureaucratic capitalist elite of the Israeli state
think they still going to loose more than gain, and they are still able to
convince in this significant part of the working class.

> Why does religion have such a powerful influence in peoples minds? Why does
> it inspire people with fervour, ready to die for their god and someone
> elses profit? And to what extent can we speak of 'religion' as an
> uncomplicated category when different religions view their role in such
> different ways?

I wonder where Fabian found this wisdom.
Ilan



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