Israel/Palestine

40 years ago this week, Israel fought the Six Day War against an alliance of Arab states seeking to destroy it, and won a crushing victory. The armed forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria, with troops and arms from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Algeria, were comprehensively defeated, and Israeli forces occupied Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Since then, Israel has denied the Palestinian Arab people who comprise the vast majority in those territories their right to self-determination. The West Bank is now dotted with Israel army checkpoints, riddled with Israeli settlements — there are...

Resolution 54 to Unison’s national delegate conference (June 19-22) calls for the union to support a campaign to boycott (undefined) Israeli institutions. Workers’ Liberty supporters are working with others in Unison to oppose this resolution on the basis of positive solidarity with the Palestinians. If you would like to support this statement, please email links.not.boycott@gmail.com with your name, branch and position (all signatories will be listed in a personal capacity unless specifically requested). AS democrats, socialists, critics of the policies and actions of the Israeli government...

“The attacks are strengthening my determination to defend workers” Being a trade unionist is a very dangerous business in Palestine. Rasem Al Bayari, Deputy General Secretary of the PGFTU (Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions) knows that well: following the destruction of a PGFTU building in October 2006 and the firing of two rockets at his home in January, on 6 April Rasem Al Bayari was injured by masked men who attacked him while he was in a car with his family. He describes these events and the enormous problems faced by workers in Palestine. Have you any idea who could have ordered...

By Dan Katz On Monday 14 May Palestinian Interior Minister Hani Qawasmi resigned putting the recently-formed “national unity” government under pressure. Gunmen fought street battles and two dozen fighters were killed. The Islamist Hamas movement and the more secular, nationalist Fatah, announced a unity government in February after talks brokered by Saudi Arabia. The leaders of Hamas and Fatah agreed a list of ministers and called for a halt to factional fighting that had claimed over 100 lives in the Occupied Territories. It was claimed that the deal had averted a full-blown civil war, and...

I got this letter recently from a woman in Surrey. Click here for comment on this from Workers' Liberty 32 Dear Mr Foot I was so disappointed in you when I heard your hysterical outburst against Israel on Any Questions. I have admired your column in the Guardian and your cogent socialist views for a long time. However, you did yourself no good in the programme in revealing your up-till-now well-hidden anti-Jewish bias. You took no account of the provocation received by Israel for such a long time from the terrorist group, Hezbollah. You just hate Jews - it was perfectly obvious. and you should...

A small outcry greeted Tam Dalyell MP's assertion that there are too many Jews in the entourages of Tony Blair and George W Bush, and that those Jews make Britain's and the USA's policy on the Middle East. I found the responses to Dalyell encouraging, but also seriously off the point. The important and effective antisemites now are not those who talk like Hitlerites about Jewish influence and Jewish "cabals,'. Such people can usually expect the response Dalyell got. Their talk is too close to what the Nazis said to justify genocide. It begs too-obvious questions and implies preposterous...

by paddy dollard The Arab League has offered to make peace with Israel on certain conditions, and Israel has responded with the proposal of a conference of Israel and the Arab states to discuss the Arab League proposal. Does this give grounds for hope for progress towards peace and the setting-up of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel? Probably not. The well-known cynical definition of diplomacy is that a diplomat is one who “lies abroad for his country”. Therefore you can’t judge anything by what the diplomats say. With Israeli and Arab diplomats and governments talking about...

The Histradut union has called a general strike over the government’s failure to pay almost 3,500 workers over the past months. Meanwhile, government is blaming local authorities for not following efficiency programmes initiated after the last such disputes. About 400,000 workers went on strike from 9am this morning. For more information see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6473681.stm http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-03-20-israel-strike_N.htm