I wondered:
>> Is it time for the Palestinians to simply surrender to Israel (giving
>> up the idea of a separate state and the two-state "solution") and then
>> struggle to win civil rights within the Israeli political system, as
>> with the South African struggle against apartheid?
Louis responds:
> That might make sense if the state of Israel was coexistent with all the
> occupied territories, including Gaza which is implicitly occupied, and all
> the Palestinians were citizens. As it stands now, it is much more of an
> attempt to eradicate Zionism, a much tougher fight since it runs counter to
> the Messianic/cryptofascist foundational myths of the Zionist state. The
> whites in South Africa were ready to get rid of formal apartheid as long as
> economic apartheid continued. Israel is too racist to go that far.
I don't quite understand the syntax ("it is" refers to what?) But no matter.
I was wondering if the Zionism could be eradicated using the political
equivalent of judo, using the enemy's strength against him, and
striking against the Messicanic/cryptofascist foundational myths in a
different way -- by saying "we don't need an independent state; we
want to be Israeli citizens." (BTW, I don't know if the Zionists are
more racist than most of the Afrikaners were. Most of the Anglo types
were more pragmatic of course.)
Marv writes:
My idea of abandoning the one-state solution has > been mooted for
some time, mostly among Palestinian intellectuals legitimately
frustrated by the lack of progress towards a viable Palestinian state
and politically estranged from both the PA and Hamas. Ali Abunimah is
a prominent exponent of this view in the Palestinian diaspora. Apart
from internal political considerations in Israel and Palestine, there
is the additional complication that US and Western public opinion has
been strongly conditioned to support a "Jewish state", reflected
through both parties in Congress, whereas there was virtually no
congressional support for South African apartheid in the wake of the
US civil rights movement.<
If the Palestinians switched to pushing for a one-state solution with
themselves as citizens of Israel, that would dilute the notion of a
"Jewish state," which would definitely be a good thing.
As Robert indicates, my speculation does not have any institutional
bases among Palestinians; a few scattered intellectuals don't count
(just like we pen-pals don't really count for anything in the real
world of politics). However, it's possible that there may be some
inchoate (unorganized) attitudes among "everyday" Palestinians in
favor of my hypothetical position. I don't know if that's true or not.
BTW, I don't know about "virtually no congressional support." There
were a bunch of Dixiecrats who turned into GOPsters (like Jesse Helms)
who supported apartheid, though perhaps covertly.
Max writes:
>Seems to me military action doesn't work, but non-violent civil disobedience
>that makes it impossible for the economy to function could. It takes a lot of
>discipline -- more than I have -- but I think it would have better prospects.<
If I were Palestinian, I'd advocate a strategy of non-violent civil
disobedience, whether or not the two-state "solution" were abandoned.
I liked the action where Palestinians dressed up as Nav'i (Pandoran
natives) to try to highlight the aggressive nature of Israeli
colonialism. Maybe they should demand an environmental impact
statement for that damned Israeli wall. Could it be that it threatens
to make some species of animal extinct (besides Palestinians)?
--
Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own
way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
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