Other Israel's new vision

by Brown Douglas

While much of the U.S. Left insists on a simplistic view of an undifferentiated, imperialist, "Zionist" (a term that can mean something different every time it's used) Israel, there is an Other Israel that is strong and vibrant and insists on projecting an alternative vision. That you don't hear much about it in the bourgeois media--or the progressive media, for that matter--is not only infuriating, but a major reason that many here in the U.S. hold on to a narrow view that harms potential solidarity.

There are a myriad of grassroots movements and organizations in Israel and Palestine opposing the occupation, many of which speak for themselves and are covered frequently in News & Letters. I want to focus on youth-centered organizations that are bravely opposing the Israeli occupation, showing human solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Palestine, and putting into action the potentially revolutionary slogan that "another world is possible."

OASIS OF PEACE

"Alternative Camp" is in its third year, and exists so that youth can escape the mainstream version of nationalist militarism. Youth at the camp are in an environment of resistance to Israel's rulers' occupation of the Palestinian territories. They discuss draft resistance, conscientious objection, and learn from the successes of others who started the refusenik movement in the 1980s as a response to the Israel/Lebanon War.

Importantly, Alternative Camp is held on the grounds of a joint Palestinian/Israeli peace community called Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace). Anyone who knows anything about Israeli society will know that any project involving Arab-Jewish equality and cooperation is a risky endeavor and under threat of attack by the Israeli government. This binational, self-governed community contributes to the revolutionary history of spontaneous self-education and self-government arising from freedom struggles, like the Freedom Schools in the southern U.S. during the Civil Rights Movement, and the Zapatista communities arising from the 1994 revolt. While there is clearly no one-to-one comparability between the above organizations, it's important to point out the continuity of self-organization of struggles and the possibilities of developing their contributions from practical experiments to revolutionary praxis.

With roots stretching back to 1970, the Shministim (high school seniors) refuseniks are the youngest and sometimes most vocal opponents of the Israeli occupation. This year, their letter to President Olmert states, in part:

"We, high-school graduate teens, declare that we shall work against the Israeli occupation and oppression policy in the occupied territories and the territories of Israel...We oppose the actions taken in the name of the 'defense' of the Israeli society (Checkpoints, targeted killing, apartheid roads-available for Jews only, curfews etc.) that serve the occupation and exploitation policy, annex more conquered territories to the State of Israel and tramples the rights of the Palestinian population in an aggressive manner" (see the full letter at: http://refusetokill.blogspot.com/2008/08/shministim-letter-2008.html).

This year, Udi Nir was the first Shminist to be sent to military prison--an almost inevitable repercussion from the Israeli state--as a result of the Shministim actions. This has spurred a movement of letter writing and demonstrations to get Udi out of jail, the kind of which is frequently--and sadly--the heart of refusenik solidarity campaigns. Those who hold a narrow view of Israeli society should ask themselves: Do we here in the U.S. have such a vibrant and brave group of resisters that frequently go to jail for opposing our militaristic society? There is no doubt that, to anyone interested in a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine and to all peace loving people of the world, the above movements give some hope that a solution can be worked out for the Middle East.

ALTERNATIVE TO EXPLOITATION

For those of us who work to build a movement and a revolution that achieves even more than the wildest hopes for Middle East peace and justice, some more questions could be posed: Isn't there something in these movements and groups, which function cooperatively in their struggle for an alternative to "occupation and exploitation," that points towards a new vision of human relations? Does a philosophy--a total view--of revolutionary transformation need to be brought in "from the outside," or is there something indigenous to these struggles that could act as a starting point? Marxist-Humanists hold that when movements and groups like Oasis of Peace, the refuseniks, Shministim and others form during freedom struggles, there exists an impulse within them to transcend the limits that by definition arise from being a group organized around a single issue. The philosophy of self-developing subjectivity and revolutionary humanism that Marxist-Humanism has to offer in solidarity can be a crucial component to transcending all limits and creating a new society.

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