Re: AUT: Re: Palestione, Israel and other ghettoes

["Harald Beyer-Arnesen" <haraldba@xxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "cwright" <cwright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <aut-op-sy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 28. oktober 2002 07.16
Subject: Re: AUT: Re: Palestione, Israel and other ghettoes


Sorry Chris, if  I have misread you.

One point. You write: "As I see it, the pan-Arab impulse is
one which is not simply pan-nationalist, but means a sense
of not being simply people facing 'national' problems, but
an already existing sense of a broader, regional
sensibility which can also be played out in class terms."

Yes. It is critical to avoid the term pan-Arabism
which historically, and then in particular through
the East Mediterranean Ba'thism, is associated
with a semi-religious Statist project with big S,
ideologically rooted in the most reactionary
part of German nationalism. Pan-Arabism
signifies the very opposite of (a global) citizenship
perspective and a regional sensibility also of
ethnical diversity, and the immersing, despite all,
more modern undercurrent of emancipation
from the confinements of religious-political ghettoes
that historically have characterised the region.
In all circumstances the term pan-Arabism implies
exclusion, and would make any such
project still born.

East Mediterranean has the advantage that is a
geographical and not an ethnical or "racial" term.
That the Mediterranean Sea brings the thought
to further voyages, should be cherished too.
    Otherwise, I am in particular thinking in terms
of old geographical Syria, or what is also called
Bilad Al-Sham: Syria, Lebanon, (Trans) Jordan
and Palestin/Israel. That there up to the World
War is said to have existed a common sign language
for the deaf within this region, we can see as
a sign of hope  Though as long as Ba'thism rules
in Syria, we can pretty much leave it out of the
picture. Though in no way entirely, as such a
precess would in itself work towards bringing
about radical changes there.

You say: "If I understand you correctly, we are
talking here about the fact that revolution is not
something which pops up on the morrow, but
which requires the development of practices
in the here and now which change the terms
of existing struggles at whatever level."

Yes. And that too some extent, and in a particular
sense, McDonalds; Coca Cola and Madonna also
works for the revolution.

And, any struggle would of course also within
this framework develop within different levels,
also in the sense that some would struggle
over the positions of power and for the best
opportunities of exploitatition. That certainly
would not be the project we would encourage --
which does not in any way mean it would not
be there. Our project would as always be the
encouragment of  direct- workers-to-workers
solidarity; non-hierarchical self-organization,
towards reopening up the Meditarrean Sea
as a commons; towards the bringing together
of three continents; and towards non-statist
world citizenship. This of course also entails
working towards freeing the Israleli Jews and
Arabs from the narrow confines of Israel, and
the Palestinans living on Gaza and the West
and East Bank of Jordan, as well as in the
refugee camps of Lebanon, from the narrow
confines of these places.


A way to go still. But some times greater
dreams are more realistic than small ones,
as the former creates more energy and
opens up the perspective for more
possibilties. Even when they to do not all
work out, you are lstill lefty with plenty. And
a good comporimise is always one that
gives everone more than they asked for.


Harald

PS. Otherwise I thinking about the latest
piece of the Midnight Notes.









     --- from list aut-op-sy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---