But we were the minority. The overwhelming majority were Palestinian nationalists and their supporters. A shame. We have much work to do. As the chant "Palestine is our land" rose from the crowd, I was struck that the most radical, racist Zionists might join in that chant but give it their own meaning. I have lived in the United States my entire life, but I do not believe "The United States is my land." It belongs to the capitalists, not to me. Israel belongs to the capitalists and imperialists, not to workers. A "liberated" Palestine would belong to the capitalists not to the workers. (Recent events in South Africa exhibit again how bankrupt nationalism is.) Why must we again and again follow the bosses' nationalist "solutions" to racism?
But shouldn't these lands belong to their own people? Even as a political ideal nationalism is bankrupt. The world should be shared by all the world's workers and its resources used (conservatively) for the good of all.
The commitment of the participants of this demonstration was indeed inspiring. But without better politics, without internationalism, this movement is poison to the working class.
Alan Spector wrote:
I was at that protest. It was freezing cold, windy, lightly snowing at
times. The Chicago media lied, as usual, reporting that there were
"hundreds" of protestors. It was definitely at least a couple of thousand,
maybe more. The seriousness of the protestors was inspiring. The police were
not accustomed to dealing with protestors who were so committed, determined,
and focused. Issues of the "Middle East" will continue to be in the front;
there continue to be attacks against Iraq even as some of the former U.S.
"allies" are now trading more with Saddam. An understanding of imperialism
is crucial if a movement to end the suppression and exploitation of the
Palestinians and all the oppressed people of the "Middle East" is to be
successful.Alan Spector
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