[Marxism] From Reuven Kaminer

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

(Reuven is a long-time activist in Israel who was formerly the rector of 
Bethlehem University and a Marxmail subscriber)

 From the desk of Reuven Kaminer   January 11, 2009

The Not So Automatic Veto

The UN Security Council decision Friday morning caught Israel when the 
troika, Olmert, Barak, Livni, was in another squalid fight, this time 
about whether to continue on to phrase III of the war. Phrase III is the 
plan to expand the ground operation to take complete control of the 
entire strip. Phase IV is  presumably a door-to- door hunt for every 
member of the Hamas organization, including the annihilation  of anyone 
in any kind of leadership position. But even this would fail to 
eliminate Hamas. It would mean only that Hamas would reorganize itself 
as a network of underground groups which could   continue the struggle 
against the occupation.

Though the troika is posturing intensively about not allowing anyone 
else to determine Israeli security, it is hard to believe that they will 
give a green light to Phase III, for the full occupation of Gaza. 
Understandably enough, many in the public, who have been conditioned to 
believe that full and total victory is just around the corner, insist on 
fighting on. However, starting a major ground offensive now, in the face 
of  the UN decision would be a major mistake for Israel as well as an 
act of criminal folly.  Sadly, it is not the ensuing huge casualty count 
certain on both sides which will convince Israel to desist.

As flustered and as confused as the troika is, even they have to 
understand the political danger of being out of step, or even in 
confrontation, with US policy, especially now on the eve of Obama’s 
inauguration.  A split with the US is the nightmare of everyone in the 
country’s ruling circles, who understands just exactly how dependent 
this country is on US military and political backing.

Israel was caught last Friday night with its pants down  when the tide, 
in the form of the US automatic veto, ebbed. It is doubtful whether in 
these conditions a denuded Israel will opt to continue the war for too 
long.  The missing veto is more than embarrassing for official Israel 
which had hoped to attend the Obama inauguration ensconced in the warm 
folds of the “special relationship.” The automatic US veto, which seems, 
at least for the moment, to have gone up in the smoke of the Gaza 
massacre, indicates that Israel’s trusted ally is chafing under the 
gigantic world wide outburst of  rage over the crimes in Gaza. The scope 
of the protest and its depth confronts the US empire with an urgency 
parallel to the economic crisis at home.

Hard times are ahead for those who govern Israel. No serious political 
force in the world will buy the explanations for the unacceptable crimes 
against humanity in Gaza. At the same time, the Israeli government will 
find it almost impossible to justify   to its public the glaring gap 
between officially pumped up high expectations and the meagerness of the 
results on the ground.

The diplomatic damage to Israel may be lasting. If Rice could no longer 
defend her Israeli partner’s brutal, blind aggression with the automatic 
veto, it will be that much more difficult for Obama to restore the 
automatic veto for an Israel led by Netanyahu. Indeed, chances are that 
Netanyahu, riding a wave of public frustration and bitterness over the 
failure of the Cast Lead adventure, will be the central figure in the 
next post-election coalition.

  Start Talking With Hamas

Many sincere people in the peace camp have been tempted into 
entertaining the idea peace is the best way to eliminate the influence 
of  Hamas, which is considered, after Israeli policy and deeds,  the 
chief obstacle to peace in the region.

Now, even as official Israel performs the military operation designed to 
eliminate Hamas, there are voices in the peace camp which offer an 
alternative less violent path to the same end. Their argument is that 
Hamas can and should be marginalized, and that this goal can be reached 
by Israeli willingness to work out a serious two state peace agreement. 
But is this objective consistent with the chances for peace?

This strategy against Hamas might have succeeded in a much earlier 
stage, before Hamas emerged as a major force in Palestinian politics. 
However, since Hamas’ electoral ascendency, two processes have 
undermined the efficacy of the “peace in order to stop Hamas” formula. 
The first is the complete and total discrediting of the Palestinian 
Authority under Muhammed Abbas’s leadership. Total integration into 
Bush’s diplomatic and military apparatus, along with endemic corruption 
have destroyed its last shreds of credibility. Secondly, in the hearts 
and minds of the Palestinian and Arab masses, Hamas has come to 
represent the cause of Palestinian resistance.

In  light of the fact that the Abbas leadership is so hopelessly 
compromised, the idea that Hamas can be marginalized by reaching a peace 
settlement with the Palestinian Authority is simply wishful thinking. 
On the contrary, it is doubly important for those who support the 
principles of the two-state solution to understand that Hamas is an 
essential element in achieving this solution. The left in Israel and the 
peace camp must be clear about their sympathy for efforts for 
Palestinian unity, which is an essential building block for any serious 
discussion of peace. Indeed, any serious supporter of 
Israeli-Palestinian peace must recognize the need for the de facto 
recognition of Hamas.

It is true that the murderous aggression by Israel against Gaza has 
complicated an already complicated situation. At the base of this 
aggression is a futile attempt to break out of the confines of given 
political reality and the central role of Hamas.  In these 
circumstances, any criticism leveled, however justified, against the 
nature of Hamas, and its ideological character, must pale on the 
background of the crimes against the Palestinian people and the fact 
that Hamas leads the Palestinian resistance.  Those who quote elements 
in Hamas ideology as an argument against de facto recognition, must have 
forgotten that the peace movement in Israel called, correctly, for 
recognition of the PLO before the PLO was willing to recognize Israel. 
Those who want peace must demand that Israel be ready for serious 
negotiations on the basis of the Saudi-Arabian-European peace plan with 
a united Palestinian representation, including Hamas.

                                   ***

  Israel is reaping the whirlwind. It “must” continue fighting until it 
can declare victory, if only on the basis of the flimsiest evidence. 
Israel seeks almost any consolation prize that it can  throw to the 
angry masses, who having been fooled into believing  that total and 
complete victory, and no more rockets over their homes, depends only on 
a few more days of military action. The leadership has every reason to 
fear the wrath of the public which they have fooled into a na?ve belief 
in an approaching all-out victory. Sadly enough, the illusions 
cultivated by the leadership may well encourage the search for the false 
messiah on the fanatical right, with its eternal mantra, “If only we 
would have kept on bombing.”



Reuven Kaminer

POBox 9013

Jerusalem 91090

Israel

Phone: 972-2-6414632

Fax: 972-153 26414632

  No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG.  Version: 
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      For Unlimited Distribution      Excuse Double Posting

 >From the desk of Reuven Kaminer   January 11, 2009

The Not So Automatic Veto

The UN Security Council decision Friday morning caught Israel when the 
troika, Olmert, Barak, Livni, was in another squalid fight, this time 
about whether to continue on to phrase III of the war. Phrase III is the 
plan to expand the ground operation to take complete control of the 
entire strip. Phase IV is  presumably a door-to- door hunt for every 
member of the Hamas organization, including the annihilation  of anyone 
in any kind of leadership position. But even this would fail to 
eliminate Hamas. It would mean only that Hamas would reorganize itself 
as a network of underground groups which could   continue the struggle 
against the occupation.

Though the troika is posturing intensively about not allowing anyone 
else to determine Israeli security, it is hard to believe that they will 
give a green light to Phase III, for the full occupation of Gaza. 
Understandably enough, many in the public, who have been conditioned to 
believe that full and total victory is just around the corner, insist on 
fighting on. However, starting a major ground offensive now, in the face 
of  the UN decision would be a major mistake for Israel as well as an 
act of criminal folly.  Sadly, it is not the ensuing huge casualty count 
certain on both sides which will convince Israel to desist.

As flustered and as confused as the troika is, even they have to 
understand the political danger of being out of step, or even in 
confrontation, with US policy, especially now on the eve of Obama’s 
inauguration.  A split with the US is the nightmare of everyone in the 
country’s ruling circles, who understands just exactly how dependent 
this country is on US military and political backing.

Israel was caught last Friday night with its pants down  when the tide, 
in the form of the US automatic veto, ebbed. It is doubtful whether in 
these conditions a denuded Israel will opt to continue the war for too 
long.  The missing veto is more than embarrassing for official Israel 
which had hoped to attend the Obama inauguration ensconced in the warm 
folds of the “special relationship.” The automatic US veto, which seems, 
at least for the moment, to have gone up in the smoke of the Gaza 
massacre, indicates that Israel’s trusted ally is chafing under the 
gigantic world wide outburst of  rage over the crimes in Gaza. The scope 
of the protest and its depth confronts the US empire with an urgency 
parallel to the economic crisis at home.

Hard times are ahead for those who govern Israel. No serious political 
force in the world will buy the explanations for the unacceptable crimes 
against humanity in Gaza. At the same time, the Israeli government will 
find it almost impossible to justify   to its public the glaring gap 
between officially pumped up high expectations and the meagerness of the 
results on the ground.

The diplomatic damage to Israel may be lasting. If Rice could no longer 
defend her Israeli partner’s brutal, blind aggression with the automatic 
veto, it will be that much more difficult for Obama to restore the 
automatic veto for an Israel led by Netanyahu. Indeed, chances are that 
Netanyahu, riding a wave of public frustration and bitterness over the 
failure of the Cast Lead adventure, will be the central figure in the 
next post-election coalition.

  Start Talking With Hamas

Many sincere people in the peace camp have been tempted into 
entertaining the idea peace is the best way to eliminate the influence 
of  Hamas, which is considered, after Israeli policy and deeds,  the 
chief obstacle to peace in the region.

Now, even as official Israel performs the military operation designed to 
eliminate Hamas, there are voices in the peace camp which offer an 
alternative less violent path to the same end. Their argument is that 
Hamas can and should be marginalized, and that this goal can be reached 
by Israeli willingness to work out a serious two state peace agreement. 
But is this objective consistent with the chances for peace?

This strategy against Hamas might have succeeded in a much earlier 
stage, before Hamas emerged as a major force in Palestinian politics. 
However, since Hamas’ electoral ascendency, two processes have 
undermined the efficacy of the “peace in order to stop Hamas” formula. 
The first is the complete and total discrediting of the Palestinian 
Authority under Muhammed Abbas’s leadership. Total integration into 
Bush’s diplomatic and military apparatus, along with endemic corruption 
have destroyed its last shreds of credibility. Secondly, in the hearts 
and minds of the Palestinian and Arab masses, Hamas has come to 
represent the cause of Palestinian resistance.

In  light of the fact that the Abbas leadership is so hopelessly 
compromised, the idea that Hamas can be marginalized by reaching a peace 
settlement with the Palestinian Authority is simply wishful thinking. 
On the contrary, it is doubly important for those who support the 
principles of the two-state solution to understand that Hamas is an 
essential element in achieving this solution. The left in Israel and the 
peace camp must be clear about their sympathy for efforts for 
Palestinian unity, which is an essential building block for any serious 
discussion of peace. Indeed, any serious supporter of 
Israeli-Palestinian peace must recognize the need for the de facto 
recognition of Hamas.

It is true that the murderous aggression by Israel against Gaza has 
complicated an already complicated situation. At the base of this 
aggression is a futile attempt to break out of the confines of given 
political reality and the central role of Hamas.  In these 
circumstances, any criticism leveled, however justified, against the 
nature of Hamas, and its ideological character, must pale on the 
background of the crimes against the Palestinian people and the fact 
that Hamas leads the Palestinian resistance.  Those who quote elements 
in Hamas ideology as an argument against de facto recognition, must have 
forgotten that the peace movement in Israel called, correctly, for 
recognition of the PLO before the PLO was willing to recognize Israel. 
Those who want peace must demand that Israel be ready for serious 
negotiations on the basis of the Saudi-Arabian-European peace plan with 
a united Palestinian representation, including Hamas.

                                   ***

  Israel is reaping the whirlwind. It “must” continue fighting until it 
can declare victory, if only on the basis of the flimsiest evidence. 
Israel seeks almost any consolation prize that it can  throw to the 
angry masses, who having been fooled into believing  that total and 
complete victory, and no more rockets over their homes, depends only on 
a few more days of military action. The leadership has every reason to 
fear the wrath of the public which they have fooled into a na?ve belief 
in an approaching all-out victory. Sadly enough, the illusions 
cultivated by the leadership may well encourage the search for the false 
messiah on the fanatical right, with its eternal mantra, “If only we 
would have kept on bombing.”


Reuven Kaminer
PO Box 9013
Jerusalem 91090
Israel
Phone: 972-2-6414632
Fax: 972-153 26414632



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