Subject: AUT: Interesting development in Israel?
From: chris wright <cwright-AT-21stcentury.net>
Date: 03 Feb 2003 15:55:06 -0600


While the politics of this leave a lot to be desired, this is very
interesting and if true would indicate a relatively serious change in
the weight of Israeli politics, it seems.  Anyone on the ground in
Israel know anything about this?  It did not even make the news here,
for obvious reasons...

Cheers,
Chris

By Israel Shamir (written from Israel)
Received January 29, 2003 
The dismal results of the elections confirmed 

bankruptcy of the traditional Jewish Left. Do not 
regret overmuch: Meretz and Labour competed with the 
nationalist parties in anti-Arafat rhetoric and 
remained adamant in rejecting the full equality for 
non-Jews. They were undermined by demographic shift: 
their electorate, wealthy and well-educated Ashkenazi 
Jews, voted with their legs and left Israel. Thirty 
five per cent of the total electorate did not 
participate in the elections for they live abroad, in 
Los Angeles and Amsterdam, in Paris and New York. There 
are more supporters of Meretz in the US than in Israel. 
While bank managers and computer experts leave for 
America, poor and less educated remain in Palestine, 
and they often vote for fascists or for religious 
parties. But it is not all gloom. The best news concerning 
elections hardly made the second page in Israeli 
newspapers, but it should lit red light on the 
Zionists' board. A few days before the elections, the 
Slavic Union, a new political organization of Russians 
in Israel, made a historic alliance with the 
Palestinians. They supported HADASH, the Communist-led 
mainly Palestinian block, and now they intend to forge 
ties with another radical force, Azmi Bishara's BALAD. 
In their letter to voters, leaders of the Slavic Union 
Igor Zhemailov and Alexey Korobov did not beat around 
the bush. "We, the Russians, were brought here as cheap 
labour force and cannon meat in order to displace and 
fight the native Palestinians. But we have no truck 
with this dispute. Let us join forces with the 
Palestinians against racism and poverty, for equality 
and democracy". There are over a million Russians in Israel, mainly 
immigrants of the last decade. Many of them, probably 
majority, are not considered 'Jews', even if they have 
Jewish-sounding last names. By Israeli law, it is 
enough to have one Jewish grandfather in order to 
qualify for citizenship, but such a person is not 
considered 'a Jew' in law, and therefore suffers of 
many legal and illegal disabilities in the racist 
Jewish state. Non-Jewish spouses of immigrants form 
another discriminated category of citizens. They are 
drafted into the army, but refused even decent burial. 
These people have a strong personal reason to support 
the idea of 'a state for all its citizens', as opposed 
to the present concept of 'the state of and for the 
Jews wherever they are'. It is not the racialist division: many Russians
that 
are considered to be 'Jews' also support the idea of a 
democratic state and oppose the Jewish supremacy. They 
have a good reason: the Jewish supremacy in Israel 
means supremacy of a certain socio-economic group, of 
wealthy Ashkenazi establishment. Young generation of 
Russian 'Jews' was thoroughly 'dejewified ' in the 
Soviet Union and accepted universal humanist values 
instead of particularistic ones. Many of them are 
Christians forced to hide their belief in Christ. Swept 
by the massive propaganda campaign they immigrated to 
Israel where they discovered the real face of the 
Jewish state. In the yesterday's elections some of them 
had voted for Shinui, the anti-clerical party, and gave 
it 15 seats in the Parliament. However, Shinui is 
rabidly nationalistic and unable to attend to their 
problems. Its neo-liberal position makes Shinui 
unsuitable for the socially weaker Russians. Actually true interests of
Russians and Palestinians 
coincide. For the both communities, the best solution 
is creation of non-racist, democratic state, and the 
only way to achieve it is to give full citizen rights 
to the three million presently disenfranchised native 
Palestinians. In the democratised Palestine/Israel of 
nine million citizens the concept of a Jewish State 
will follow its twin, the Aryan State, to oblivion. 
There were cases of Russians taking part in Palestinian 
armed resistance, but their political union is spelling 
doom to the Zionist state. In the next elections, 
probably in a year time, this union will be able to 
change the political map of Israel, if properly 
supported and nourished. Much depends on the political 
maturity and wisdom of Palestinian leadership and the 
remnants of the Israeli Left. All the pro-equality 
forces should unite in our version of the South African 
ANC, and bury apartheid. The Jewish State is already a sham. Deeply
divided 
between the Orthodox and anti-religious, between 
Ashkenazim and Sephardim, it remains a dangerous 
phantom in the mind of its ignorant American backers. 
The favourite of Conrad Black's newspaper The Jerusalem 
Post, Nathan Sharansky and his nationalist party just 
made it to the parliament with only two seats, and as 
many voters as the Free Cannabis list. The options for 
Israel's future shrunk to a stark choice between Jewish 
Fascism and the State for All, from Jordan River to the 
Mediterranean Sea."





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