by Ken Brociner in Politics
Posted on July 14, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Last Modified on July 14, 2008 at 11:31 pm
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Moderator’s Note : This message was Ken’s response to an announcement today on the email list of the Progressive Democrats of Somerville (PDS) of the planned July 19th “No Attack on Iran” demonstration. Although the event was announced on the PDS list, it has not been endorsed, nor proposed for consideration of an endorsement by PDS.
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I would like to briefly explain why I will NOT be participating in the “No Attack on Iran” demo in the hope that it might provide some food for thought for PDSers (of which I am one) and others on the left.
First off, I am against an attack on Iran – by the U.S. and/or Israel.
But…the way this particular demo is framing the issue is – unfortunately – all too typical these days (on the left).
Nowhere in the demo’s “Call” or in the brief “background” is there any mention whatsoever of one of the root causes of the current crisis (I would argue it is THE root cause) – namely Iran’s constant calls for and predictions of the destruction of the state of Israel.
One of the things about PDS that I have always liked is that – as far as I can tell – it has avoided getting sucked up into the kind of political dogma that has proven to be so counter-productive to the growth of a truly vibrant left in this country.
While I agree with some of the positions that United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) takes (and Saturday’s demo has been called by their local affiliate in Medford-Somerville as part of a nationwide series of demos called by UFPJ), it is important to realize that UFPJ has always taken a very one-sided stance on any issue related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In fact, it has never even endorsed a two-state solution to conflict because so many of its members do not support the existence of Israel.Instead UFPJ has chosen a somewhat “neutral stance” by refraining from supporting either a two-state solution (which practically every other peace group in the US supports without reservation)or a so-called one state “solution.”
My point here is that it comes as no surprise whatsoever that the local affiliate of UFPJ would not even see fit to even mention WHY Israel feels so threatened by Iran and its apparent rush to develop nuclear weapons…. and why even a parallel demand of the demo – to call on Iran to STOP calling for/promising Israel’s destruction – why this simple demand has not been incorporated into the political perspective of the demo’s “Call” or “Background.”
I doubt PDS endorsed this demo (if in fact there has been an official endorsement)with all these factors in mind. But I hope that in the future any involvement we might have with the conflict in the Middle East will reflect a much greater sensitivity to Israel’s very real and legitimate fears. One way to do this is to be more aware of UFPJ’s politics when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In conclusion, I want to reiterate that though I strongly oppose an attack on Iran for all sorts of reasons, I won’t be going to this particular demo because of all the reasons cited above.
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Iran’s “threats” to Israel — such as they are — is NOT the root of the issue. Indeed, the Israelis themselves privately conceed that they aren’t particularly threatened by Iran but are exaggerating the issue for political purposes.
The Israeli newspaper Ha’artez reported this on 25 October 2007:
Livni behind closed doors: Iran nukes pose little threat to Israel
By Gidi Weitz and Na’ama Lanski, Haaretz Correspondents
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said a few months ago in a series of closed discussions that in her opinion that Iranian nuclear weapons do not pose an existential threat to Israel, Haaretz magazine reveals in an article on Livni to be published Friday.
Livni also criticized the exaggerated use that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is making of the issue of the Iranian bomb, claiming that he is attempting to rally the public around him by playing on its most basic fears. Last week, former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy said similar things about Iran.
Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/916758.html
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Incidentally, the Arabs have had a comprehensive peace offer on the table since 1981 — which ISRAEL has rejected consistently. WHo is “threatening” to whom, really?
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949373,00.html?iid=chix-sphere
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You claim “the Israelis themselves…” and then go on to cite/cherrypick one article from last October that cites- but doesn’t quote – two Israeli leaders. If anyone reads the current Israeli press on ANY given day of the week, it is crystal clear that that the overwhelming majority of Israel’s political and military leaders – from left to right … all take Iran’s threats very, very seriously …as do the Israeli people. If you really believe otherwise (as you seem to), then you have fallen victim to your own propaganda.
You seem to want to get into a discussion of the overall history of the conflict….which I have no interest in doing whatsoever. Sorry – maybe someone else will snap at your bait.
If you want to distort history with that dogmatic,time-worn propaganda of “it’s all Israel’s fault” – that’s your problem.
People who are serious about moving towards a peaceful two-state settlement of the conflict recognize that both sides have contributed to its continuation, while at the same time both sides have made – and are continuing to make- serious efforts to reach peace.
The only “major players” who continue to argue otherwise, who continue to insist that it’s all Israel’s fault are Hamas, Hezbollah,and Iran.
I hesitated before posting my objections to the one-sided nature of this Saturday’s demo because I knew that people like you would reply in precisely the way you have and that I might get pulled into a time-consuming exchange that I have little interest in. So I will do my very best to resist any temptation I might have to reply any further to comments like these. I am determined to spend whatever time I have to work on achieving peace in the Middle East and to help defuse the current crisis with Iran – in productive ways. Getting into arguments with propagandists is, for me a waste of time.
Ken Brociner
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I’ll be standing at the vigil in Porter Sq. to bear witness to the futility and barbarism of using violence to resolve conflicts. We can argue over the reasons Israel might fear Iran and Iran might fear Israel but the bottom line for me is that we need to find nonviolent ways to address our differences (and fears). I live here and I consider it my responsiblity to criticize our government’s war-mongering and to stand up for peace and justice for all who suffer from US bullying.
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Kate,
I totally respect your viewpoint and your values. But the one part of your perspective that I find to be shortsighted is this: when you say you “live here….”, does that absolve you – or any of us – from also thinking of ourselves as citizens of the world? A rhetorical question only – in that I know that you very much do think of yourself in this light. But if that is the case, then why is not appropriate to insist that any demo against a war with Iran also include a condemnation of Iran’s repulsive and extremely provocative rhetoric about destroying Israel? -esp in light of the Iranian gov’t s public “denial” that the Holocaust ever occurred and its refusal to abide by UN resolutions to fully open up its nuclear facilities for inspection?
Sincerely,
Ken Brociner
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Well, Ken, if we did what you suggest (insist that any demo against a war on Iran also include a condemnation of Iran’s repulsive etc. etc.) then we would also have to insist on a condemnation of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and the cluster bombing of Lebanese civilians and its refusal to abide by UN resolutions to fully open up its nuclear facilites for inspection etc. Context is important but that’s a lot of demands for a local vigil. Yes I certainly do consider myself a citizen of the world and on Saturday I want to keep it simple and say with my presence at the vigil that I object to a US or a US/Israel attack on Iran.
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Kate,
This demo is about trying to prevent a war between the U.S. and/or Israel and Iran. So my objections to the demo are based on issues that are closely linked to the threat of such a war.
You have raised relevant issues, but not ones that deal directly with the current crisis.
Your list of other concerns (which I too find troubling) are all directed towards Israel. I suppose you do so to make your point that if we condemn Iran we also need to condemn Israel…a dubious moral equivalency at best.
But it seems to me that if we are going to bring in other issues such as the ones you have listed, then there should also be explicit mention of Hamas and Hezbollah terrorism (and Iran’s direct support of both) which have a hell of a lot to do with Israeli actions and over-reactions.
Just so as not to be misunderstood, I am not urging you or anyone else not to attend Saturday’s demo. There are solid reasons for attending. I only wanted to explain why I won’t be going. As an American Jew and long-time left-wing activist, I find these kinds of oversimplified,one-sided demos to be ones that I cannot and will not be part of.
I don’t have much more to say about all this – and so if you care to have the last word, you can.Thanks for the respectful exchange.
Ken
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Iran must be dealt with and dealt with harshly. Force is all those people understand and until Isreal bombs those facilities, Iran will pursue WMDs. WMDs in the hands of radical states poses to a great a risk for mankind for us to allow utopian views of the world to stand in the way of action. I am sorry that some Iranians will be killed, but I am sure all attempts to prevent innocents from getting killed will be made by Isreal. It has to be done. Protesting this just makes people look silly.
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Ken, as US citizens, we can’t directly control what Iran’s government does. As such, it doesn’t make sense to me to spend my advocacy time talking what Iran should or shouldn’t do. Iran’s going to do what Iran’s going to do. The only productive discussion, in my mind, is what our response will be. The demo is about steering the US/Israel response — the response we have direct control over — against war.
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Greg,
On one level you are quite right. Demos in the US are highly unlikely to have any direct impact on Iran’s policies.
However,I think you are overlooking the following important factors:
1)Tightening the economic sanctions against Iran may be the only way to convince the regime in Tehran to change direction – which in turn may be our best hope to head off a war. Of course a tightening of sanctions should be combined with a much more vigorous diplomatic effort to reach an agreement with Iran than the Bush administration has made to date.
2)When the peace movement refrains from pointing to Iranian responsibility in the current crisis it undercuts efforts to strengthen sanctions.
3)The American peace mvt seriously undermines its own credibility when it issues such one-sided critiques as this particular demo does.
4)You express a concern about taking up too much of your “advocacy time.” But all I am suggesting is inserting an extra sentence or two in the literature/background that goes out with calls for the demo…along with a few extra words on a poster…or a few posters in a demo that also call for Iran to cease its bone-chilling rhetoric to “wipe Israel off the face of the earth” etc. etc. ad nauseum….AND to abide by Security Council resolutions to halt their uranium enrichment program.
Now whether or not UFPJ would “allow” people to march with such posters (which they might) is besides the point. My objection is to the politics – or “political line” to be more precise- of these nationally coordinated actions. In the world according to UFPJ, the entire crisis is the fault of the United States and Israel. However in the world outside of such sectarian groups as UFPJ…a world that includes practically every gov’t in the world – including every single European gov’t that opposed the US invasion of Iraq,Iran is seen as being a huge part of the current problem.
For a lengthier example of what I am talking about, go check out Abby Yanow’s letter to the editor in the current Somerville Journal. If this wasn’t such a serious crisis, I would say her opening paragraph was downright funny. Not one word, not even a hint, that Iran bares any blame in raising tensions, in escalating the crisis. Nothing there about Iran’s threats to destroy Israel…nothing about Iran’s recent missile tests etc etc.
So many left-wing progressives bemoan the fact that we don’t have more political traction than we do (blaming it all on the mainstream media etc), yet so few of these same people ever stop to take an honest look in the mirror in order to to gain a better understanding of why this is so.
For a more fully developed discussion of this syndrome,I would encourage people to read my current column in “In These Times.com”.
Ken Brociner
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Hmm…”bares any blame”? As in exposes itself? I think you mean “bears.”
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