Re: The US Left & Palestine

Although I don't know everyone on this list, I replied to "everyone" since
they received the initial question by KSamman.  I apologize to anyone who
believes that it was presumptuous of me to send this to people whom I do not
know.

=================================================

The "Left" in the U.S. has as many different theoretical orientations as you
can find within the entire range of human thought!  Most people regard the
"Left" as the spectrum from (perhaps) Al Gore to the liberal social
democrats -- more or less the equivalent of the British Labour Party.  Most
tendencies within that range have never developed a serious understanding of
imperialism.  Many of those tendencies have even been enthusiastic
supporters of imperialism--for example the "liberal socialists" who worked
together with the AFL-CIO and the CIA to destroy independent  and Leftist
labor unions in many parts of the world.

There is also a major part of the "Left" which considers itself more in the
tradition of the revolutionary Marx and of Lenin. That part of the Left has
been very vocal in its public opposition to imperialism, Zionism and the
brutal treatment of the Palestinian working class. Some segments of that
"Left" support the creation of a Palestinian state. Other Leftists,
including myself, remain absolutely committed to opposing Zionist
imperialism, but believe that nationalist solutions such as those offered by
Arafat will not lead to liberation for the Palestinian working class any
more than the Algerian working class is experiencing "liberation" these
days. Only the complete elimination of capitalism can bring that about.

However, unlike armchair intellectuals who only criticize, many of us will
nevertheless struggle, with every bone in our bodies, to oppose, publicly,
the brutal exploitation and oppression of the Palestinian working class. And
to struggle to bring to the attention of the American people how they are
being lied to and manipulated by a media which shows the pictures of an Arab
who may have participated in the killings of Israeli soldiers, but would not
dare show the faces of the Israeli helicopter gunners who fired machine gun
bullets at ambulances.


Alan Spector



----- Original Message -----
From: <KSamman@aol.com>
To: <wsn@csf.colorado.edu>; <nveroli@igc.org>;
<TGanesh@southampton.liunet.edu>; <ssherman@gborocollege.edu>;
<socgrad@listserv.binghamton.edu>; <jeschurt@hotmail.com>;
<chris@gse.utah.edu>; <br00141@binghamton.edu>; <grosfog@ix.netcom.com>;
<br00576@binghamton.edu>; <bh08643@binghamton.edu>;
<tganesh@southampton.liunet.edu>; <bf22171@binghamton.edu>;
<bb05265@bingsuns>; <br00195@binghamton.edu>; <dtomich@binghamton.edu>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2000 7:35 PM
Subject: The US Left & Palestine


> Greetings,
>
> A question to my progressive friends.  Why is the US left so damn silent
> about the Palestinian issue?  It seems ironic to me that while the US
media,
> in its very biased ways towards Israel, is obsessed with the Middle East,
the
> Left is deadly silent, whispering very few words on the issue.  Please,
> someone give me a serious response to this.  There are probably some good
> historical reasons for this and I would like to hear them.
>
> I'm sure it's not due to any simple explanation like "the left does not
view
> Arab Palestinian lives as worth fighting for," as some of my Arab
colleagues
> have claimed.    Obviously not since they have been quick to respond to
> injustice and oppression wherever it may show its ugly face.  Rightfully,
> whenever injustice occurs in Latin and Central America, China, Eastern and
> Western Europe and the US, the US Left speaks out loudly, if not on the
> street at least among themselves.  But why not Palestine?  Why the
silence?
>
> It's not ignorance that explains it, since many of us regularly discuss
> issues we are not familiar with.  Nor is it due to the fact that it's an
old
> issue that has bored us to death.  We discuss many old issues that have
> persisted decades, even centuries.  Likewise, it is not due to any racist
> dislike of "the Islamic Orient" since many of us have persistently fought
> such racist politics on a daily basis.  And lastly, and most controversial
of
> all issues, it's not due to the fact that the US left is extremely
> uncomfortable discussing anything related to Zionism since it may touch on
> the ugly history of Western anti-Semitism?  No, obviously not since many
of
> you are willing to be critical of Zionism when discussing it at a
one-to-one
> basis.
>
> So why the silence?
> Are all the above allegations wrong?
> If they are wrong, as I hope, then please give me alternative
explanations.
>
> Does one have to be Arab or Muslim to talk about this issue?  Should we
leave
> this issue to be discussed only by the very racist, anti-Arab, anti-Muslim
> Media and political officials?  For the sake of a meaningful left I hope
not.
>
> Khaldoun Samman
> --------------------------------------------------------
>
> Our people's suffering is silent.
> No one hears our suffering.
> No one hears our children's cries.
> No one hears our mothers' cries.
> No one hears our mothers' mourning their children.
> They only hear the stones.
>
> We are invisible in our suffering.
> We are invisible in our pain.
> We are invisible in our death.
> Our suffering is invisible.
> Our pain is invisible.
> Our death is invisible.
> But every one sees our stones. Our stones are not invisible.
>
> Our rage is silent.
> No one hears our rage.
> Our fears are silent.
> No one feels our fears.
> Our mothers are silent.
> The stones are not silent.
>
> Our children are not silent any more.
> Our children grow hard and they die hard.
> Our children are fed up with silent death.
> They are fed up with silent cries.
> They are fed up with cries for justice.
> Silent justice died with the thousands of freedom martyrs.
> Silent justice died a thousand times with Mohammad Durra.
> Silent justice died a thousand times with every child martyr.
>
> There is no silent justice any more.
> Justice is not a free bird any more.
> Justice is a thousand Thorne birds.
> Justice is a sling shot in the hands of our children.
>
> Our children like stones because every one sees them.
> Our children like stones because every one hears them.
> Our children like stones because every one feels them.
>
> Mothers, plant a stone in your children's hair when you comb them every
> morning.
> Mothers, plant a stone in your children's lunch boxes every day.
> Mothers, give your children stones for their daily allowance.
>
> The nearer the dawn, the darker the night.
> Freedom is like the early morning bird,
> which starts to sing as it feels the light of the day.
> Our people are morning birds.
> They sing when they feel the light of the day.
> They feel the dawn is coming, and they sing loud beautiful tunes.
>
> Our rage is not silent any more, even if they can not hear it.
> Beware our children's lunch boxes.
> Beware our children's black hair.
> Beware our morning birds.
> Beware our children singing in the morning.
> Beware our children when they taste freedom,
> for there is no stopping until the birds of Jerusalem sings again.
>
> Our birds of flesh will defeat your birds of steel.
> Our birds of love and hope will defeat your birds of fire and hate.
> Our birds singing in Arabic will defeat your hateful foreign settlers.
>
> Our birds over Palestine are birds of hope and light,
> chasing the sunshine rays of our land,
> chasing butterflies over our olive fields,
> singing love tunes for our land,
> dancing with joy and hopes of freedom,
> painting the skies with their beautiful bright colors,
> flying ever so high to see the land from sea to sea.
>
> Beware our children's rage.
> Beware our children's stones.
> Beware the scream of our butterflies.
>
> Mohammad Chehab
>