[DEBATE] : (Fwd) Genuine Palestine solidarity

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

On Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 3:16 AM,  <grinker at mweb.co.za> wrote:
> Since when did states taking other states to international courts
> set up by imperialism to manage the world by other means
> constitute 'genuine' solidarity as Patrick seems to argue?
> This merely strengthens the notion that conflict arising from
> struggles agianst oppression and domination can be sorted out
> at fora designed by capital in an attempt to maintain international
> relations of domination and exploitation. Maybe there needs to
> be a discussion on this list on what internationalism and solidarity
> should really mean?

Taking Israel to the International Criminal Court, even winning a
negative judgment against it, won't have any immediate material
negative impact on it.  But, even if it's unsuccessful, just filing
the lawsuit will let Palestinians, and others in the Middle East
threatened by Israel, know that they are not abandoned by the rest of
the world in the face of the Israeli onslaught.

It will also have a positive ideological impact.  Islamic movements in
Egypt and Jordan and others in opposition to the regimes in power
there and elsewhere, have been heaping praises on Hugo Chavez and
using his action as an ideological weapon to attack the Arab elites
who collaborate with the Israeli occupiers.  In the process, some in
the Middle East will surely take a second look at the idea of
socialism as it has been put into practice in Latin America.

As for solidarity, I suggest that those of us outside the Middle East
consider what actions we may take that can further the advances of the
following peoples, in additions to the Palestinians in the OPT:

* Palestinians in Israel (the strongest weapon of the Israeli state is
its ability to separate the Palestinians in Israel from those in the
OPTs) and those Jewish leftists (such as those of the Alternative
Information Center) who ally with them;
* Political oppositions in Egypt and Jordan.

The Palestinians in the OPT will have stronger hands if Israel loses
allies in Egypt and Jordan and faces rebellions at home.

Yoshie