Labour Youth calls for Israel Boycott to mark UN Day of Solidarity with Palestine.

by Fedayeen Wed Nov 29, 2006 17:13

This is a good initiative from LY but, though they may not be aware of it, there is a glaring contradiction involved. Labour is a member of the Socialist International and LY is a member of the youth section of that international. Both these internationals have Israeli affiliates: the Israeli Labour Party and its youth section. The leader of the ILP, Amir Peretz, is also the minister for defence and so is directly responsible for the massacre of civilians during the recent failed invasion of Lebanon and the on-going massacre of Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territories. The ILP sits around the cabinet table with the openly racist YB party which advocates ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian citizens of Israel. The ILP is not really a left party but part and parcel of the Israeli establishment.

If LY are to have any credibility on this issue they could start with these actions:

Lobby the Irish Labour Party to break all relations with the Israeli Labour Party (Pat Rabitte held private talks with the war criminal Amir Peretz, when he visited Ireland, prior to his entry into government).

Campaign for the expulsion of the ILP youth section from the youth section of the Socialist International.

You can hardly ask other people to boycott Israel if you have direct links with organisations that are part of the Israeli government!

by Labour_member - Labour Thu Nov 30, 2006 04:04

A Chara,

The Irish Labour Party broke off all links with the Israeli labour party some time ago. You can ring them officially to confirm this if you wish.

by avi15 Thu Nov 30, 2006 18:36

For example, you can go to the Israeli Labour Party's web site and read a spolicy peech by Amir Peretz. In it, he doesn't sound much like a fascist to me. Here are a couple of excerpts:

"As part of the political chapter the Labor Party wishes to reach a final agreement by the end of the decade. The agreement would mean an end to the conflict and separation from the Palestinians. We would do this on the basis of the following guiding principles:

1. A just and lasting peace with our neighbors must be based on the principle of two states for two peoples, with the existence of one state not threatening the existence of the other.
2. The right way to reach peace is through direct negotiations between the sides.
3. Israel will maintain its military advantage and uncompromisingly fight terror of all kinds in cooperation with the international community.
4. The separation fence will be completed immediately. The unfortunate attempt by the Israeli government to push the fence eastward for political reasons caused Israel major international damage. The fence will be built on a route acceptable both to the security and legal authorities.
5. We will give the road map new political content in coordination with the international community.
6. As part of the moral road map the settlement blocs will be under Israeli sovereignty.
7. Jerusalem will be Israel's eternal capital within borders that guarantee a Jewish majority and character with international recognition."

"We can not ignore the fact that unfortunately while Israel has reached a considerable majority that favors agreement with the Palestinian people, it appears the Palestinians are going in the opposite direction, and might grant substantial support to Hamas.

In that case we will not accept political deadlock for too long. We will examine the possibilities of separation between us and the Palestinians. Physical, political and military separation. This separation will help us shape our lives and our priorities while allowing the Palestinians to rebuild their society. Such separation will allow Israel to converge into itself, give up many of the isolated settlements in Judea and Samaria and keep the settlement blocs.

Even if we choose the path of separation we will continue bolstering the pursuit of peace. The pursuit of peace must not die out because of doubts as to the nature of our partner. The pursuit of peace is real and must be the most important subject in the education of the young generation in Israel. We are fighting because we are being fought. We are not fighting because of territorial ambitions but because of the necessity to protect our right to live in peace and security.

The pursuit of peace is also a bridge of truth between us and the Arabs who live among us. They must feel they are citizens of Israel in every sense. The pursuit of peace will not dull the rightness of our struggle and our determination to fight the terror organizations, but it will give the young generation the correct perspective. They are going to war to achieve the peace that was and remains our desired goal."

by Avid16 Thu Nov 30, 2006 21:24

Well, we could read those nice words. Or we could look at the devastation of Lebanon after the bombing of civilian targets on Peretz's orders