joanna wrote:
>
> But what is different about the Zionist state is that it would not exist
> in its present form without the collusion first of the Brits and then of
> the U.S. In other words, its autonomous image is a chimera, an illusion,
> guaranteed by the protection and subsidy of the most powerful and
> militarized nation state on earth.
This seems a near perfect statement of the core -- but for strategic and tactical reasons the struggle to destroy Zionism must involve at this point a real recognition of the partial success of the vicious Israeli strategy (I forget the exact wording) of creating facts on the ground. Hence while a two-state 'solution' is not a solution, it must remain the immediate goal of anti-imperialist forces, which involves recognizing (a) the real and permanent right of present Israelis to remain as citizens of Palestine and (b) the temporary right of Israel to continue to exist as a state.
Read Charles Glass in the Aug. 17 LRB for a superb account of Hizbullah's policy over many years of unifying _all_ Lebanese (including Lebanese who had been Israeli collaborators during the occupation). What Glass has to say will probably jolt some people on this list. The French shot (in more or less drumhead courtmartials) thousands of French collborators immediatley after liberation. Hizbullah gave and enforced strict orders that Lebanese collaborators with Israel were _not_ to be harmed, even when they had committed atrocities. No vengeance.
Carrol