[lbo-talk] Law Student With a History of Taking Left Turns

[Bryan Atinsky]

Dennis,

There seems to be an all too common tendency among the 'left' to fall into
the formulation of an highly uncritical binary schema of the
Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

One which is dangerous in its deceptive simplicity and which doesn't see
that the answer isn't in deciding this or that, but neither this nor that (I
am aware that this tendency is common to all ideological stands. The right
would merely switch around the negitive and positive definitions):

Zionist Nationalism Bad/ Palestinian Nationalism Good
(http://indymedia.org.il/imc/webcast/61393.html)
(http://indymedia.org.il/imc/webcast/61241.html)

Jews are an artificial people/ Palestinians are a natural people
(http://indymedia.org.il/imc/webcast/61045.html)

Zionists destroy environment/Palestinians nuture the environment

Reject Jewish Nationalism / accept Islamic Nationalism

Israel as a class society/ Palestine as a classless society

There are many more of these binaries...

I believe that at the same time that we critique Zionist ideology and
protest the actions of the Israeli government/military/police forces, we
need to also recognize and critique the history and present existence of
class conflict, environmental degredation, gender oppression, religious
nationalist tendencies, etc. within Palestinian society (and further to
recognize that these tendencies are not merely the effect of Israeli
occupation but formations internal to the society itself) .

In fact, it seems that both the Israelis and Palestinians themselves feed
off of each other with these mirrored oppositions that work to exteriorize
and deflect critique of the problems inherent in their own socieites.

Both Israeli and Palestinian society, as they exist, need to be rejected and
surpassed for something that is neither this nor that.

Forward looking, not looking to an idealized history or present.

Otherwise, we are not really approching the problem in a realistic manner
that has any chance of leading towards a more beneficial future.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dennis Perrin" <dperrin at comcast.net>
> the
> PLO moderated and pushed for a two-state settlement, has grown corrupt and
> inept, and has ultimately played into Sharon's hands. There are extremists
> on both sides. There are cold-blooded killers on both sides. The young
woman
> in the piece we're discussing has far too romantic a vision of the
> Palestinian resistance, and thus is unable, or unwilling, to denounce
> suicide/homicide bombers who are not only criminal, but are criminally
> stupid. Every exploding bus and pizzeria sets the Palestinian cause back;
> and those on the Western left who romanticize such tactics are doing a
> tremendous disservice to the people they claim to care about.