* conferences
100 years of Zionism
Gilbert Achcar
In August 1897, delegates to the founding conference of the World Zionist Movement gathered in the Swiss city of Basel.
The 100th anniversary of Theodor Herzl's conference been a low-key affair. After all, the Zionists are divided by political disputes over the practical implementation of their historical project in Palestine/Israel. And the present Zionist government has succeeded in provoking the unanimous disapproval of Western governments. The official centenary conference organised in Basel was also marred by the controversy around the sordid behaviour of Swiss banks concerning the funds belonging to victims of the Nazi genocide.
To highlighting the oppression to which the Zionist state submits the Palestinian people, an alternative conference was organised on August 15-17, in Basel, by
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Association Suisse-Palestine, Association pour l'Union entre les Peuples Juif et Palestinien, and Sozialistische Alternative, Basel.
The conference was also supported by Mouvement suisse de la Paix, Neue Partei der Arbeit, Parti du Travail de Suisse, SolidaritéS). Israeli and Palestinian organisations, including the Alternative Information Center and the General Union of Palestinian Women also gave their support.
Three hundred people, mostly from Switzerland, but also from the Middle East and other countries, discussed, often passionately, a range of issues pertaining to the history and present-day realities of Zionism and the Palestinian people. Among the speakers were Saleh Abdel-Jawad (Palestine), Albert Aghazarian (Palestine), Abdel-Bari Atwan (Palestine/Britain), Khaled Ayed (Palestine/ Lebanon), Erica Deuber-Pauli (Switzerland), Meir Gal (Israel/USA), Tikva Honig-Parnass (Israel), Islah Jad (Egypt/Palestine), Elias Khoury etter century! of the International Institute for Research No. 15 From the PCI to the PDS. Livio Maitan (48pp. £2.50, $4, 25 FF) No. 16 Do the Workers Have a Country?, Jose Iriarte Bikila (48pp. £1.50, $2.40, 12 FF) No. 17/18 October 1917: Coup d'Etat or Social Revolution. Ernest Mandel (64pp. £2, $3, 15 FF) No. 19/20 The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia. An Overview. Catherine Samary (60pp. £2.50, $4, 20 FF) No. 21 Factory Committees and Workers' Control in Petrograd in 1917. David Mandel (48pp. £4, $5, 35 FF) No. 22 Women's Lives in the New Global Economy, Penny Duggan & Heather Dashner (editors) (68 pp. £4, $5, 35FF) No. 23 Lean Production: A Capitalist Utopia?, Tony Smith (68 pp. £4, $5, 35FF) No. 24/25 World Bank/IMF/WTO: The Free-Market Fiasco, Susan George, Michel Chossudovsky et al. (116 pp. £6, $8.75, 45FF) Subscription: for four issues (in Europe), £10 or 100FF; for four issues (outside Europe), US $20, E12 or 120 FF; for eight issues (in Europe), £20 or 200 FF; for eight issues (outside Europe), US $40, E24 or 240 FF. Individual back issues are also available (ADD 20% FOR POSTAGE OUTSIDE EUROPE. All payments must be made to P. Rousset. Preferred: French francs payable in a bank located in France. Postal giros to CCP Paris 11 541 97 T. Next best: sterling payable in Britain or dollars payable in the US. Contact us if you would like to pay in Dutch guilders or Belgian francs. Please avoid Eurocheques. IIRE, Postbus 53290, 1007 RG Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tel: 31-20-67 17 263 Fax: 67 32 106. E-mail: [email protected]
(Lebanon), Jakob Moneta (Germany), Akiva Orr (Israel), Maurice Rajsfus (France), Abraham Serfaty (Morocco/ France), and Ella Habiba Shohat (Israel/ USA).
Former Algerian president Ahmed Ben Bella and former Tunisian political detainee Khemais Chammari were also present. The cultural programme included a screening of films by Palestinian director Michel Khleifi, an exhibition of works by Israeli artist Meir Gal, and a musical evening with Palestinian singer Marwan Abado.
In terms of the modest goals set by the organisers with their limited financial resources, the conference was an undeniable success. It was reported in the Swiss media, including television, by the BBC World Service, and by various organs of the Arab press.
Beyond the obvious interest of listening to so many specialists on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for many participants the key importance of the event was the fact that it brought together political and intellectual opponents of Zionism from the many communities involved in one way or another in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Palestinians from the West Bank, from Israel and from exile, Israelis of European descent, Mizrahim (Oriental Jews), people from other Arab countries, including Arab Jews, and Europeans of Jewish descent. The 'ethnic' composition of the participants was so varied as to allow for coverage of the many aspects of this most complex of political and historical problems.
One can only regret that such gatherings of thinkers and activists from so diverse of thinkers and activists from so diverse origins, yet sharing common progressive values are not organised more often. They would be a welcome alternative to the numerous conventional international meetings dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian issue. More meetings like this one would undoubtedly contribute a great deal to the sonecessary convergence between Arab and Israeli left-wing anti-Zionist thinking. It would also provide the European supporters of the progressive anti-Zionist struggle with a better understanding of the topic, in order to treat it in the best way.
Unfortunately, not enough emphasis was put on the question of racism and anti-Semitism today, and how to fight it. As I stressed in the workshop I co-led on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, since the event was held in Europe with a mainly European audience; since Zionism was originally a reaction, however misguided, to the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe; and since moreover there is currently a resurgence of racism on the continent — not only anti-Jewish this time but also and mainly anti-Muslim, this issue should have been one of the key topics of the conference.
This was all the more necessary since the boundaries between anti-Zionism and antiSemitism in Europe are not always very clear. Anti-Zionism still serves sometimes as a disguise for anti-Semitic views. These cases are rare, but often become highly visible. In the Arab world too, the boundaries between anti-Zionism and anti-Jewish racism and Education in Amsterdam. Renewing and re-founding an alternative perspective.
and Education in Amsterdam. Renewing and re-founding an alternative perspective.
or fanaticism are very often crossed
Of course, one cannot treat the racism of the oppressed and the racism of oppressors as if they were the same. And Zionism, which is inherently racist and oppressive, is in no position to blame the Arabs for "anti-Semitism." The false claim that "anti-Zionism means anti-Semitism" is a key ideological argument used world-wide by Zionism to win sympathy from many short-sighted and well-intentioned persons.
But this does not change the fact that European anti-Semitism, like anti-Muslim Seminars on Che Guevara
A seminar on Che Guevara will be organised by the Organisation of Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America (OSPAAAL) in Havana on 25-27 September.
On 2-5 October, America Libre magazine is holding a seminar in Argentina on the same theme, followed by a festival in Buenos Aires on October 8th called "With Che: for a free America" Contact: Frei Betto, America Libre, tel/fax +54 1/953 2934 "3) September-ll SeWer " 1997. "Surviving in a Globalised World" Aachen, Germany
The International Autumn University on North-South Issues and the Environment is a seminar on environmental suicide, poverty and injustice.
Speakers include Susan George (associate Director of the Transnational Institute, former board member of Greenpeace International), Prof. Nanjundaswamy (KRRS, India), Christine von Weizsaecker (ECOROPA), Myriam Vander Stichele (Transnational Institute), and Alistair Smith (Farmers' Link).
Working languages are English and Spanish www.asta.rwthaachen.de/orga/ir/AU97.html
Ernest Mandel Study Centre:
Symposium on the Russian revolution
Co-organised with Espaces Marx, a pluralistic Marxist research foundation linked to the French Communist Party, the research centres of Paris VIII and
Dijon universities and journals including
La Pensée and Critique communiste. The symposium will take place at Université
Paris VIII on November 14-16.
This event is likely to be one of the major international gatherings of Marxists scholars and thinkers held in recent years. Scheduled participants include
Samir Amin, Daniel Bensaid, Robin
Blackburn, Samuel Farber, Marc Ferro, Janette Habel, Boris Kagarlitsky, Paul
Leblanc, V.P. Volobuyev, and Claudie
Weil.
Simultaneous translation into English,
French and Russian. Registration fee:
racism, is oppressive through and through This is why it should be kept clearly in mind that the priority in Europe is not anti-Zionism, but the fight against racism in all its all forms and shades. This is a fight where Muslims and Jews are objectively on the same side of the barricade today. And it is only on the basis of this uncompromising fight that solidarity with the Palestinian people can and should develop in Europe and the rest of the world.
For this reason, it would have been more effective to ask not only "what has Zionism omming soo FF100 for individuals, FF200 if sponsored by an institution, FF50 for students and unemployed. Accommodation in 2 or 3-bed rooms costs FF50 ($9) per night To register, write to Espaces Marx (64 Bd Blanqui, 75013 Paris, France), attaching a check for the registration fee, plus accommodation if needed (specify which nights). The check will be kept as a deposit and returned to you against payment in French cash on arrival. Meals will be paid on the spot International LaborMedia '97 (Seoul, Korea, 10-12 November 1997)
In spite of a total lack of financial resources and experiences Korean activists are trying to organise a conference on "Labour Movement and Media: Workers, Information Technology and Solidarity" and an international labour video and film festival in Seoul, Korea. Registration Fee: evening of November 8 - morning of November 13 -- Including accommodation for five nights with all meals and participating in Worker's mass rally Private room: 130 $ • Pension: 250 $ (30% discount for Underdeveloped Country, 10% discount for registration before 15 October). Contact: Seoul International LaborMedia '97 Committee, tel: +82-2-855-1913, fax: 858-1913, e-mail: [email protected] To join conference mailing list write to [email protected]] Internet: http://kpd.sing kr.org/labormedia South Asia and the diaspora 50 years after the end of British colonialism School of Oriental and African Studies* Malet St, London. 18-19 Oct. 1997
Organised and co-ordinated by the British-based South Asia Solidarity Group, this unique conference will bring together key academics and activists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Europe and North America. We will discuss the effects of globalisation on South Asia, and the intense organised struggles waged by powerful people's movements: a feature of all countries in the region today.
Speakers and participants will examine the new strategies and theoretical approaches emerging in these movements, and the identities of class, caste, gender and nationality which these struggles are heightening and reshaping.
conferences * led to?", but also, "is Israel the answer to present-day anti-Semitism?" and "how best to fight anti-Semitism, which Herzl called the 'propelling force' of Zionism, while recognising that Zionism now incorporates antiMuslim racism."
No doubt the organisers of the Basel counter-conference took it for granted that these questions are linked. But the point is precisely that these progressive concerns cannot be considered as self-evident. They must on the contrary be stated on each occasion, and repeated very loudly. * n Many of these speakers are well known activists in South Asia, but speaking for the first time in Britain. * Sponsored by SOAS, De Montfort University and Luton University Registration: £3/day for students, low and unwaged £10/day for waged individuals, and £25/day for institutions. Cheques payable to SASG, c/o Londec, Instrument House, 205-217 Kings Cross Rd, WC1X 9DB. For further details tel./fax +44 171 354 8744 or 713 7907 Raise your banners '97 31 Oct.-2 Nov. 1997, Sheffield, England
Following the enormous success of the '95 festival, plans are under way for a bigger, better, even more exciting celebration of political music.
Invitations have gone out to some of the best known British and international names in political music. An extensive programme of films, drama, performance poetry, workshops, children's events, exhibitions and discussions will complement the more than 20 concerts which are planned for city centre venues, large and small. To receive a programme send a SAE to the Festival Office. RYB, PO Box 44, Sheffield, S4 7RN Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference Sydney, Australia, April 1998
Organised by the Asia Pacific Institute for Democratisation and Development. See advertisement in last month's magazine.
The Institute also welcomes applications to present papers at the conference, and suggest specific themes for discussion under the general framework of supporting democratisation, self-determination and social justice and opposing the neo-liberal austerity offenSIve.
Individual affiliation to the Institute costs A$150 per year. Affiliates are entitled you to copies of major articles by Institute Fellows, a bi-annual newsletter and access to Email news services on developments in the Asian region. Contact: Dr Helen Jarvis, School of Information, Library and Archive Studies, (SILAS) University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052 Australia. Or Email to: [email protected]. Or fax to: 02-96901381
35
Censorship of "terrorist" and guerilla websites
The recent kidnapping and assassination of Spanish politician Miguel Angel Blanco by the Basque separatist group ETA has ignited a backlash of cyberspace censorship in the United States
In early July, the Spanish government requested last week that the Cable News Network (CNN) remove its link to the group's web site. CNN refused, sayıng that it was standard practice to provide links that relate to the subiect matter of current affairs stories.
Several days later, the Institute for Global Communications (IGC), a nonprofit Internet service provider for activist groups, had its system crippled by a deluge of mail bomb attacks against a site maintained by the New York-based Euskal Herria Journal (EHJ). A flood of mail with bogus or no return addresses from anonymous automated mail relay systems swamped the IG's servers. On 20 July IGC reluctantly suspended the EHJ site. "This destructive campaign has overwhelmed our ability to keep our system running and we have made the difficult decision to suspend the Euskal Herria Journal Web site -- under protest -- so that we can continue to serve the many other individuals and organisations who depend on our services," IGC said in a press release.
"If a non-profit Internet provider like us can't keep up a controversial site, I don't know who can," said Maureen Mason, programme co-ordinator for IGC.
In fact, IGC is not the only group under fire for its links to guerrilla group web sites. Along with the ETA, rebel groups such as the MRTA, FARC-EP and Zapatistas have joined the burgeoning ranks of political groups that are bringing their message to the Internet. Some are finding cyberspace allies on American university servers, raising a heated debate on First Amendment rights of free speech.
In early May, officials at the State University of New York at Binghamton shut down a student-operated site for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), Latin America's largest guerrilla group.
"For us, it was not an issue of academic freedom," said Anita Doll, director of communications at Binghamton. "It was an issue of the appropriate use of university resources."
Not all universities agree. Officials at the University of California at San Diego, took no action when, shortly after the 36 International Viewpoint