Internationalism: Why It Matters

The Middle East continues to dominate the news, not just in Iraq, but also through new delelopments in Israel and Palestine. I have always believed that we, as the largest National Students Union in the world, and the largest national federation of student bodies in Europe, should have something to say about international issues. Tom Hurndall, who tragically died after his life support system was turned off after he was shot by a member of the Israeli army when he was defending Palestinian homes, is an inspiration to me as a student activist who was passionate enough about the things he believed in to dedicate, risk and, tragically, give his life to the fight for justice as he saw it.

Many of our members are deeply concerned with justice for the Palestinian people and I personally know several people who have felt moved to visit Palestine to see for themselves the situation there. My organisation, the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, has a minority view on the British Left in that we believe in a ‘Two State Solution’ to the Israel/Palestine conflict: we believe, in contrast to other forces in the student movement such as the SWP and Student Broad Left, that Israel has a right to exist a national entity for the Jewish people.

Conflicts within Israel, and the Israeli peace movement, are seldom talked about amongst either the British Left, or in Palestinian Solidarity Campaigns. This is not only wrong, since any just peace must include organised Israeli and Jewish people, but also dangerous. The recently published rise in anti-Semitic attacks have been directly linked to the situation in the Middle East and are a stark reminder that international politics – and the way we approach it – has a direct baring on multi-cultural Britain. That is why I have never understood why people say that international politics is irrelevant to our movement, or that we should have nothing to say about it. Not only do our sisters and brothers beyond our boarders look to us to stand with them against oppression, but situations around the world are of consequence to so many living in the UK.

In Israel itself, I was interested to hear about the Peace Index survey, conducted earlier this year, which shows an overwhelming support for political negotiations with the Palestinian side along with increased belief that such negotiations could lead to peace. A majority of Jewish Israelis also think that new Palestinian leader Abu Mazen is making a sincere effort to end terrorism and has the ability to do so, or at least to reduce it substantiality. 77% of the Jewish public currently support or strongly support diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. 94% of the Arab sector believe in negotiations.

It is always important, when discussing and formulating our views and responses to injustices perpetrated in the names of whole societies, to remember that societies contain internal conflict. I have met people, some on the NEC, who blame the entire Israeli Jewish people for the conflict. This is like blaming all Americans for the actions of George Bush. In fact, there is a tremendous pace movement in Israel, with many refusing to serve in the occupied territories. The Histadrut national labour union recently held a one-hour solidarity warning strike of the nation’s healthcare system to fight against Jerusalem’s Bikur Holim Hospital, who are refusing to make pension payments to over 200 former employees.

Unless we seek to find out, understand and stand in solidarity with labour movements within aggressor nations such as Israel – as well as the rest of the world! – we will go down the path of dividing the world into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people and ‘good’ and ‘bad’ nations. It is important that we as a movement not only take a stand against oppression, but also make take a stand with the right forces – those standing for democracy and human rights – which cut across national conflicts and stand against the governments and authorities that perpetrate them.

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