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Bread and Roses V
Annual art exhibit in Tel Aviv...
Vision of the Organization for Democratic Action
ODA-DA'AM: Reveille for the Working Class
The following piece will soon be published in Solution: Israel-Palestine, edited by Joshua Simon, Sternberg Press, Berlin - New York.
he Middle East conflict will not find a solution within the current array of forces. On the one side there is American hegemony (somewhat shaken), Israeli refusal, an internal Palestinian schism, and dictatorial Arab regimes. On the other side is extremist Islamic fundamentalism. Those who have sought a solution under these conditions have reaped, until now, intifada, blockade, the separation barrier, and war. The negotiations taking place under the auspices of the Obama Administration will not undo the stalemate. A real solution will not be possible except as part of an international social, political and economic change, affecting not just Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab world, but also the Western industrial nations that today are at the heart of the capitalist order.
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Sindyanna of Galilee
Address
P.O.B. 35252
Tel Aviv 61351
Israel
Visiting Address
Rehov Ha-Aliyah 43
Second Floor
phone +972-3-537-3268
fax +972-3-537-3269
Links
Workers' Advice Center
Sindyanna of Galilee
Etgar: our sister-publication in Hebrew
Al-Sabar: our sister-publication in Arabic
Video48: a documentary-film group
CHALLENGE is indexed by the Alternative Press Index.
You want a welfare state? It's not about nostalgia, it's about class struggle
A review of The Rise and Fall of the Welfare State by Asbjorn Wahl. Pluto Press, 2011.
Assaf Adiv
ince the hot summer of protests in Israel everyone here has been talking about the Welfare State, Scandinavian style. The Rise and Fall of the Welfare State, by the Norwegian socialist Asbjorn Wahl, presents us with an opportunity to look closely at this concept. Wahl refutes the illusion according to which there is such a thing as a welfare state model that can act as a bridge between Capitalism and Socialism. The rise of unrestrained capitalism in the last three decades has brought about the destruction of social services and the end of Solidarity. At the same time, Wahl doesn’t look back with nostalgia. Rather, he produces an unsentimental critique, and a direct appeal to social groups and trade unions to come up with an alternative, political and social, to get the Left out of its present state of impotence. more...
The Unholy Trinity: Barak, Bibi, Mofaz
by Yacov Ben Efrat
n the night of May 7, Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz joined Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to obviate the need for early elections and rescue Israel from the mess it has gotten itself into. In the international sphere, two fateful and insoluble problems dog the government: the Iranian nuclear project and the Palestinian question. Moreover, the two issues are linked: Israel’s quarrel with the US over the settlements in the occupied territories makes it hard to get US backing for its policy towards Iran.
Educating for fear
by Ruth Lavie
he fear in which our children live is not fear of the monster under the bed. It is fear fostered by adults. Ruth Lavie on Holocaust Day and Memorial Day.
Another Round in Gaza
by Yacov Ben Efrat
nother round of violence between Israel and Gaza is coming to a close. Gazans count 25 dead so far, while Israel counts the number of rockets that the Iron Dome missile defense system shot down successfully. Both sides, Israel and the Islamic Jihad, have reached the conclusion that they’ve had all they can get out of this round, and they’re asking the experienced Egyptian referee to pull them out of the hole they dug for themselves. Both sides are satisfied. The Islamic Jihad is organizing a victory march in the streets of Gaza, while its leaders in Damascus appear on giant screens promising to respond to all Israeli aggression. Indeed, the Islamic Jihad has shown the Iranians that their money was invested wisely, that their rockets are not rusting underground but finding their way to the target.
The crisis of violence in the Arab street
by Assaf Adiv
m al-Fahm’s residents live in fear. Every day sees another violent brawl. Just ten days ago, a 16-year-old was stabbed to death. Last October, a father and his two sons were shot, and they were not even involved in the criminal underworld. In February, MK Ahmad Tibi initiated a Knesset debate on violence in the Arab sector. Data presented during the debate were deeply worrying. Some 67% of murders, 70% of murder attempts, and 38% of serious assaults are carried out by Arabs, who make up just 20% of the population.
The Syrian nation is a victim of the Cold War
by Yacov Ben Efrat
n February 24, Tunisia hosted the “Friends of Syria” conference, in the presence of foreign ministers of western powers including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Though officially Russia has been invited, it has firmly declined, claiming it was not informed who would attend or what the agenda would be. Russia doubts the aims of the conference, suspecting that the main objective is to set up a coalition to support one side of the internal conflict, as happened with Libya. Thus Russia has adopted the Syrian regime’s position, even though the US has declared it has no intention to intervene militarily. The US warns that elements connected with Al-Qaeda may infiltrate into the rebels’ ranks, and refuses to arm the Free Syrian Army saying that the identity of the rebels cannot be ascertained.
The Doha Declaration has no future
by Yacov Ben Efrat
n trying to explain the significance of the agreement reached at Doha between Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshal, many Palestinians are a little perplexed. Is this a genuine agreement that can be implemented? Or is it merely a publicity stunt meant to glorify Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who mediated between them? Those whose memory is a little longer than the average will note that just a year ago, in January 2011, Al-Jazeera began an aggressive media campaign during which it exposed documents proving – it claimed – that Mahmoud Abbas had sold Palestine and Jerusalem to Israel and betrayed the Palestinian claim. Abbas boycotted the news network in response.
RSS Feed
Subscribe to the CHALLENGE RSS feed and get a notification whenever a new article is published.
Address
P.O.B. 35252
Tel Aviv 61351
Israel
Visiting Address
Rehov Ha-Aliyah 43
Second Floor
phone +972-3-537-3268
fax +972-3-537-3269
Links
Workers' Advice Center
Sindyanna of Galilee
Etgar: our sister-publication in Hebrew
Al-Sabar: our sister-publication in Arabic
Video48: a documentary-film group
CHALLENGE is indexed by the Alternative Press Index.
