[Marxism] Green Left editorial: Peace requires justice

["Stuart Munckton" <stuartmunckton@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.greenleft.org.au

*EDITORIAL*, AUSTRALIA
Peace requires justice — freedom for Palestine
18 January 2009


*The January 15 bombing with white phosphorous of the United Nations Relief
and Works Agency that housed hundreds of refugees and humanitarian aid was
not an isolated incident.*

 Israel bombed civilian areas for 22 days continually until unilaterally
declaring a cease-fire on January 18 that includes Israeli military
occupation of Gaza, the continuation of the siege that is causing a
humanitarian disaster and promising to begin the slaughter anew if
Palestinians continue resisting the Israeli military — as Hamas has said it
will.

This is not an end to Israel's war.

The death toll by January 18 had exceeded 1200, including more than 400
children. There are many reports of precision bombings of buildings that the
Israeli military is aware house people who have fled for their safety. The
Israeli military has also reportedly shot at fleeing civilians.

The military offensive comes on the back of a year-and-a-half of near total
siege, itself an act of war directed at all the people of Gaza.

Israel can deny this all it likes, but its actions scream louder: it has
been deliberately targeting civilians and its war is not simply against the
governmental authorities in Gaza (the establishment media only ever refer to
these legitimate bodies as "Hamas", as if you could only refer to the Bush
administration as "Republicans"), but against the entire population.

The homemade rockets fired from Gaza are merely an excuse: Israel's aim is
ethnic cleansing.

Founded in 1948 on the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the territory
it now claims, Israel is seeking to destroy the Palestinian people as a
people with a claim to nationhood.

The existence of territory recognised as Palestinian is a permanent reminder
of the legitimate claims of the dispossessed Palestinian people — and a
reminder of the fundamental injustice of a state that exists by and for only
one section of the population. Like in South Africa, this is a system of
apartheid, colour-coded license plates and all.

It is perfectly clear that Israel has no intention of allowing a Palestinian
state to exist alongside it. It has buried the "two-state solution" under
the rubble in Gaza.

Ultimately, the solution to the oppression of Palestinians must involve the
creation of genuine equality — a state for everyone in the area regardless
of their religion or race.

Inside the borders of Israel, Palestinians who remain are referred to as
"Israeli Arabs"; the Israeli state cannot even bring itself to refer to them
by their proper name.

And now, the state that claims to be the "only democracy" in the region has
banned "Israeli Arab" parties from standing in its elections.

The response of the world's people has been inspiring: a global*
intifada*in support of the people of Gaza is occurring. People from
every corner of
the globe, including tens of thousands inside Israel, have taken to the
streets in demonstrations that have grown bigger as the war has continued.

Even inside the US, Israel's strongest backer, opposition is strong. A
December 31 Rasmussen poll revealed that opposition to Israel's war among
Democrat voters was 24 points greater than support.

On January 20, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the new US president. If
the new president is serious about "change", he should immediately cease
military and political support for Israel.

Such an act would force Israel to stop its genocidal path and force a
solution to the central question of Palestinian self-determination.

The international solidarity campaign is looking for ways to isolate Israel.
A campaign to boycott companies with economic ties to Israel is underway. A
letter from Israeli anti-war activists has raised the demand of placing
sanctions on Israel.

The demand on governments to break ties with Israel over its war crimes is
crucial. The decision to do just that by the anti-imperialist governments
headed by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia sets a
powerful example.

In Australia, we must demand our government does the same and immediately
expel Israel's ambassador.

More than anything, the movement for justice for Palestinians needs unity.

With or without Israel's unilateral cease-fire, this is a crucial moment and
everyone who wants to see Israel's military occupation ended and the
criminal siege lifted — whatever else we may or may not agree on — must
stand together. The people of the world are horrified by Israel's crimes and
our strength is our numbers.

If the global solidarity movement continues growing and giving expression to
popular outrage, we will have a movement powerful enough to make support for
Israel too high a political price for governments to pay. This is an
essential component of the struggle to win freedom for Palestine.

From: Comment & Analysis, Green Left Weekly issue
#779<http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2009/779>21 January 2009.

-- 
"The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?" - Jarvis Cocker

"Our demands are moderate — we only want the Earth" - James Connolly
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