Self-Determination (was Re: marxism-digest V1 #6485)

[Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxx>]

At 3:49 PM -0700 10/17/03, Macdonald Stainsby wrote:
> From: "yoshie
> > If and when Palestinians and solidarity activists manage to end the
> > Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem,
> > without changing the relations of production in Israel, the full
> > force of neoliberal capitalism will be belatedly unleashed on both
> > Palestinians and Jews, inside and outside the Green Line.
> > - --
> > Yoshie
>
> Okay, so now (for relevances' sake, assuredly) you now expect a two
> state solution-- even though it is less feasible than a one state

The paragraph of mine that you quote above is descriptive, rather
than prescriptive.

My own hope is that Palestinians, Jews, and others will one day be
able to live in a secular democratic state in all of historic
Palestine, which I thought I made clear in a number of postings
(including the parts of the posting from which you excerpted the
above paragraph); respect for the principle of self-determination,
however, demands that what final status Palestinians desire is up to
them*, though I have the duty to tell the truth that a two state
"solution," in the unlikely event that it comes about, will bring
about the sort of neoliberal capitalism that has afflicted
post-Apartheid South Africa (which is the meaning of the paragraph
that you excerpted).

At 3:49 PM -0700 10/17/03, Macdonald Stainsby wrote:
> You are more concerned with how Israeli 'citizens' view the
> Occupation than you are with how Palestinians view the existence of
> Tel Aviv and Israel itself.

I am not more concerned with Israeli views of the occupation than
Palestinian views of Tel Aviv and Israel, but Palestinians and
solidarity activists would benefit from taking a close look at a
variety of Israeli opinions, with a view to turning potential fault
lines in Israeli politics into actual ones.  The idea is divide,
subdivide, and conquer, rather than present a falsely monolithic view
of Israelis.

At 3:49 PM -0700 10/17/03, Macdonald Stainsby wrote:
> If HUAC ever comes back, please don't offer to testify on my behalf.

Is there any reason to use such an insult?  Why is this haste to burn
the bridge with a supporter of Palestinian rights who you think
differs from you in any way, whether the difference is real or (as in
your perception of what I stand for) imaginary?  How is your hasty
break going to benefit Palestinians?

Postscript:

*The same opinion poll that Lou Paulsen initially referred to also
produced the following result: "But 64% still support a two-state
solution (Israel and a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip), while only 12% support a one-state solution (for
Palestinians and Israelis). 23% want all Palestine back to the
Palestinians" (The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research,
"Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No. 9," 07-14 October 2003,
<http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2003/p9epressrelease.html>).
--
Yoshie

* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/>
* Calendars of Events in Columbus:
<http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>,
<http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/>
* Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/>
* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/>
* Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio>
* Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>


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