Sad Demise of the Zionist Left

Dear friends,

I believe that Sarid's recent article, reprinted here, on the death of the two-state solution deserves closer analysis. Sarid was and is definitely a prominent ideological figure on the Zionist left. I suggest attaching  importance to Sarid's conclusions regarding the death of the two-state solution.  See some of my first comments on the article below.

Yossie Sarid  -Haaretz July 27, 2012

The Zeolots Have "Won" Again

"Don't waste your despair prematurely, save it up for when things get worse." That's what people in the know always advised us. It seems the time has come to open the emergency warehouses and start taking it out. And so we begin.

Writing is particularly hard for me this time. I have a vague but profound feeling that I'm progressing toward admitting an error, and not a negligible one: How did I fail to see the future; I can't forgive myself. And I have no breast to beat except my own.

It is no coincidence that this confession is being written now, on the eve of the Ninth of Av. As we do every year, this year too we will hear all the nonsense about "baseless hatred," which was ostensibly the main reason for the destruction of the Second Temple. You don't have to be a professional sermonizer to stuff us with this historical rubbish. Today every brainwashed layman  knows that if those people hadn't eaten each other alive, they would not have been defeated, and Judea would have survived forever.

Nothing could be further from the truth: The Great Revolt against Rome had no chance of success in the first place. But even the slim chance was extinguished when the Sicarii zealots began to murder the moderates in Jerusalem, until they eliminated the entire leadership. And the "price tag" advocates were not satisfied until they had set fire to the grain silos in the city, doomed it to starvation, and by doing so made defeat inevitable. The victims of the siege therefore had good reason to hate the Jewish terrorists, and their hatred was not "baseless"; it was "well-founded" hatred. Even today we have a duty to hate them in light of our historical and natural right to self-defense.

All these years I refused to believe that history repeats itself. I always convinced myself that what is done can be undone, and that the moment of sobriety, which was being delayed, would eventually arrive. Now it's too late. The successors have arrived at a crisis of leadership, and there is no strength for a rebirth. Perhaps we will try again some day, perhaps the fourth time we will succeed."

It's enough to keep track of five houses as they are being moved to see how farce turns into tragedy. When the sounds of houses being sawed are soon heard, the sounds of a funeral will be in the air: Farewell to you, our soul, from which we were unable to exorcise the dybbuk of the settlements.

The person who prophesied that 25 years ago and knew whereof he spoke was Meron Benvenisti, an intellectual and scholar, who on the pages of this newspaper explained his theory of "irreversibility," because what is done cannot be undone. And I attacked him: "There's no such thing as an irreversible situation," I wrote at the time, "only death is irreversible. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an active volcano, that's why it's absurd to speak about congealed lava, and why sow despair at the wrong time." You were more right than I was, Meron, I failed to see and I spoke nonsense. I didn't properly assess the blindness and the suicidal urge. I pinned false hopes on common sense, on the will to live, on the ability to stop at any moment and change direction. I was wrong, I was guilty.

This article will gladden the hearts of many. Finally we have the privilege of hearing from that Sarid an admission of error and guilt, blessed be He who has brought us to this time. Finally even he understands that the settlements are "forever," may they continue to multiply.

I regret having to spoil the party atmosphere, which is premature and apparently too late as well. In Basel he established the Jewish state, and in Jerusalem they destroyed it. In its place there will soon be a binational state, which is either South Africa or South Africa, because there is no third option. And that South Africa has long since ceased to exist. Thus, the time of your rejoicing is the time of your disaster.

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My comments: Sarid has reached the conclusion that the last existing  chances to establish a Jewish state have been totally destroyed and that Israel has already entered the "South African" stage. Of course, it will take some time until Sarid's conclusions sink into the mindset of what remains of the Zionist-left.  

It was clear to the founding fathers of the Zionist project that the return to Zion had to be justified by linking Zionism to one form or another of the prevailing ideological currents on the "outside." Without an ideological linkup to socialism (of one sort or another) or to universal democratic values (genuine liberalism), the Zionist project would be unable to fight for the souls of Jews in the diaspora. And what would happen in such a circumstance has happened.  Zionism is for chauvinistic cranks and becomes foreign to anyone who refuses to jettison universal values in the name of Zionist sovereignty. The ideological basis for the Zionist left has disappeared leaving many good souls in the air.  The Zionist left has been almost completely marginalized and no longer exists as any kind of electoral force. It is now being condemned by virtue of the death of its ideological basis to certain slow death.

 Sarid's article admits that he can no longer suggest a practical, possible alternative to escape the inevitable degeneration of "victorious" Zionism that lives and breathes in a moral vacuum. Israel's role in the power struggles in the region as the faithful ally of the US empire make do  live quite well with "pure" Zionism, without any sort of Zionism that pretends to be an element in a successful synthesis of Jewish and universal values.  

It is sad that Sarid is almost unconsciously placing his last vestige of hope for the Jews in Palestine in an ephemeral, totally imaginary "one state solution."  Both the one-state and the two-state solutions are dead and irrelevant to the newer and deeper dynamics of the region. But, at this moment, Sarid's honest admission of his errors is an awesome shock to those who still harbored illusions about reforming this Israel, at this stage of its downward spiral.  

Revolt and Revolution – Syrian Illusions and Syrian Realities

If one tries to read most of the more serious material dealing with the Syrian crisis, one cannot but notice that the discussion has polarized around two major approaches. And after the polarization, it seems that the participants in this debate are merely scouring the area for another fact, thesis, bit of information which is supposed to add strength and depth to their own major thesis.

There those on the left who see the rebellion against the Assad regime as a genuine, democratic and progressive struggle. This being the essence of the matter, it is the duty of the left to give broad principled support to the popular forces fighting for a new Syria. It is in the nature of an authentic and genuine people's movement to outgrow the reactionary influences which hope to mobilize it to the pro-imperialist cause.

There are those on the left who argue that the rebellion, whatever its origins, has become an important ally of US imperialism. As such, the rebellion has allied itself with Syria's reactionary neighbors and is building its main hope on major intervention by the forces of imperialism active in the region. The forces active in the opposition and running it have determined the reactionary nature of its goals.

It is a commonplace that when major interests are involved, there will be a surfeit of analyses and arguments for each set of interests. There is a natural tendency to spend one's time analyzing the ongoing analyses. This is interesting and may in some cases serve as a temporary, intermediary position. However, as far as I can understand the broad outlines of the struggle in Syria, they are quite clear.

I dare, even at this stage, to add another consideration for us here in Israel who may find ourselves in the eye of the storm quite soon.  The forces fighting for regime change in Syria hope to use a "new" Syria to isolate Iran in preparation for the threatened military strike against that country.  The imperial game is clear and unequivocal.  One would hope that this threat, in and of itself, would be enough to help people decide against any support for a rebellion that could serve as a launching pad for another major war by the US-Israeli axis of aggression.

Richard Seymore's Hasty Conclusions

 Richard Seymore, http://www.leninology.com/who posts rather modestly under the link lenin is reputed to be one of the sharper minds in the Trotskyist left in England.  

On July 24, 2012, just two-three  days ago, Seymore gave us this "precise" message:

"The Syrian revolt enters a new phase posted by lenin

As Bashar al-Assad flees the capital, the armed segments of the revolution appear to beinflicting blows on sections of the security apparatus and taking over major cities: the revolution is turning a corner.  Robert Fisk reports that a crucial dynamic now is the fracturing of an alliance between the Sunni middle class and the Alawite regime, signalled by the spread of the revolt to Aleppo.  And defections from the state-capitalist power bloc continue.  Indeed, Juan Cole has suggested that such divisions must run deep in the Syrian state for the opposition to be capable of planting a bomb that can kill a senior minister."

Seymore states without qualification : Assad has fled the capital. This was not and is not true. This is obviously a bit of rebel propaganda. Why did Seymore promote it as pure fact?"

Seymore states: "Armed segments of the revolutionaries are inflicting blows against the security apparatus." This  effective  bomb planting  can be seen as a  success of mass struggle, but it is in essence an act of an individual or a terror cell.  Seymore presents this as an act of "armed segments of the revolution," but this is a guess and not a fact.  It might be the work of Al-Qaida or another similar group. Seymore is quite celebratory over this bit of individual terror, which he converts into an act by the armed segments of the revolution.  This may be true, and it may not be true. Killing or shooting the main "bad guys" is popular but always problematic on a deeper level. But Seymore will approve of anything "his side" does on the basis of the claim that the circumstances are dictated by the regime.

Seymore relates further: the armed segments are …"taking over major cities: the revolution is turning a corner." This pious wish is presented as a fact. Now, simply stated, this event, reported by Seymore, never happened. The subject of Seymore's imagination regarding events that did not happen is (not the rebels) but "the revolution." The revolution according to Seymore is "taking over cities and is turning a corner."  But what could be the source of such a set of totally fanciful assertions?

Was it pure chance that the rebel activity and propaganda intensified in order to influence the proceedings of the Security Council? Why knowing the need to be cautious about all news from the various fronts, did Seymore allow himself to go ecstatic over the unconfirmed facts and allegations?

Moreover, the attempt to build a certain picture of events on the basis of opinions of Fisk and Cole is purely arbitrary. (And if my memory does not betray me, both these gentleman supported US sponsored intervention in Libya).  Similar evaluations and assertions as well as counter evaluations on the same subjects flood the media. At any rate, we have heard endless accounts about Assad's fracturing coalition and his disintegrating military. As a matter of fact, we started out with Barack, many a month ago, eliminating" Assad in a week or so," plus mass defection by tens of thousands of soldiers. Nowadays we have to make do with a general here and a diplomat there.    

There is a major disconnect between Seymore's long and detailed analysis and the real developments on the ground. In fact, Seymore's analysis is really a recycling of a long list of major arguments that occurred over the last year and a half. Quite clearly, his analysis was preparing him for a very certain set of events, or better non-events, and he rushed, without caution and responsibility, to report "successes" and "victories" that never occurred.

Two More Comments for My Faithful Readers.

Anti-Intervention as a Principal or a Tactic

I personally know some very committed leftists who demand to depose Assad but also reject imperial intervention. I respect their position knowing that their opposition to foreign intervention in Syria is sincere and steadfast. However, I fear that it might be increasingly difficult to maintain their position. In the event of critical and decisive battles in which the rebellion hovers between total loss or victory – there will be growing pressures for the justification of intervention. Indeed, if the rebel cause is that just, it will be increasingly hard for many "anti-interventionists" to argue against intervention.  This kind of retreat from principle has already begun.  Defections from the anti-intervention camp in the left are being noted.   

Really Revolution?

A few months back I participated in an academic discussion on the Arab Spring. Everyone there, left right and center, was talking about the revolution in Egypt and Tunisia. A young woman sociologist suggested that we might all be a bit hasty in defining the events as a revolution, as important and as significant as they were. She was, of course, absolutely right. The categorization of events in the region as revolutions, up to this point, is totally unhelpful. Both the limited and rather conservative goals of the revolts and the relative weakness, if not the total absence of any organized revolutionary forces within them, suggest that we are discussing, at the very best, pre-revolutionary developments. 

The revolution has not yet come. The region needs one. The present situation is unsustainable.

No Accreditation for Expropriation

The settler right is celebrating another victory http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/ariel-university-wins-vote-goes-to-idf-for-final-approval-1.451794 .

The Israeli Council for Higher Education has protested the usurpation of its authority by the government and the IDF, but to no avail. The ball is now in its court. The CHE must act. Inaction on its part will be justly interpreted as passive acceptance of the new university, born in the sin of occupation. The CHE is not without the means to nullify this outrageous bit of academic banditry.

It is hereby suggested to the CHE and to all worthy institutions of higher learning all over the world that they go on record to the effect that doctoral studies and the doctorate awarded by the so-called 'Ariel University' cannot and will not be recognized as legitimate university studies. I understand that there are those who might consider this an extreme measure.

However, occupation, expropriation, repression, and politicide cannot and should not be condoned as a basis for academic effort. Let the candidates for study at this gross mockery of educational values and simple decency, know that they may be wasting their time and money. Let the HCE of education lead the international academic world in deciding that studies at this so called university are null and void. No doctoral studies and no doctoral awards in the shadow of shame, on the blooded  ground  of  a cruel, brutal and ugly occupation