>On one hand you seem to be saying that all leftists must consciously
>struggle against all nationalisms, regardless of contents of given
>nationalisms, advancing a consistently anti-statist position. On
>the other hand, you seem to be saying to Palestinians, "Israel
>exists & will not go away -- deal with it," thus legitimating the
>nationalisms of Zionists while negating the nationalisms of
>Palestinians, at best perhaps advocating "a two-state solution," at
>worst merely recognizing the "facts on the ground" -- including the
>Zionist state & U.S. imperialism that keeps it alive. Is your
>position coherent?
Yup, of course it is. I have no interest in legitimiating Zionist nationalism. On the other hand, what would a Palestinian state look like? It'd be very weak, and at the mercy of Israel, the U.S., and the World Bank.
There's an ugly article in the current Dissent by a fellow named Gadi Taub, who argues for a Palestinian state on the grounds that every people needs its state - "two states for two nations." This kind of organicist nationalism repels me. What I'd like to see is as plural and secular a state as possible (acknowledging that nation-states aren't going to go away any time soon, just like Israel isn't).
What do you advocate?
Doug