One Israeli/American friend commented on my BR piece that it seemed I interviewed mainly Israeli peace movement people who are over 65. He suggested–and I agreed– that it would have been excellent to interview, among others, Hadash (Communist Party) MK Dov Kheinin.
Another friend then pointed to this very informative interview in English with Kheinin, that was published in February 12. Two days after the Israeli election, if memory serves me well.
It was conducted by phone on January 6, that is, while the assault on Gaza was still raging; and it was posted by Josh Nathan-Kazis.
The whole interview is very important. But here’s just the beginning:
- … What is your position on Israel’s actions in Gaza?
We of course oppose the war in Gaza. We think that the war cannot be and is not actually a solution to the problem. It is part of the problem. We think that the only way to achieve security for the people in the Israeli Negev is through a real cease-fire with Gaza, including the opening of the blockade on the Gaza strip and an agreement on an exchange of prisoners and detainees including the release of Gilad Shalit [an Israeli soldier abducted by Hamas in 2006]. We think that such a ceasefire agreement is possible and such an agreement can open a possibility for a real dialogue; a political dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians and the Palestinian National Authority in order to achieve a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian settlement.
What do you make of Meretz’s initial support for the bombardment, and the support of the mainstream Jewish Israeli left?
Well, unfortunately Meretz supports the war. It is most unfortunate. I think that this is the moment for leftists to raise opposition and to make it clear to the Israeli public that there is an alternative. The war option is not the only one. We can have another political way.
Why is it that they supported the bombardment and your party doesn’t? Are there political considerations that exist for them that don’t exist for Hadash?
I think that it is time for political courage. You have to be courageous in [Israel] right now to oppose the war. But this is the time not to wonder where the wind blows, but to make it clear what your policies are and what your suggestions are for the Israeli situation. There are people from Meretz who decided to leave Meretz and join us. It reflects the disappointment of some Meretz activists in the position of the leadership of the party vis-à-vis the war.
Hadash is often grouped in the media with the Arab parties, and your voters are mostly Israeli Arab. What does it mean for Hadash to be a mixed Jewish Arab party?
You know, Israeli policy is based more and more on the total separation between the Jews and the Arabs. This separation exists not only on social and cultural grounds but also in the way politics are being conducted. As a matter of fact, there are two lines of politics in Israel. There is the line of politics for the Jews spoken in Hebrew and there is a different line of politics for the Arabs spoken in Arabic. It is extremely important to have these very brave political experiments of Hadash combining Jews and Arabs together into a joint political movement based on the same political principles. This is the reason why Hadash is so important in the Israeli political spectrum…
Big thanks to the friends who drew the interview to my attention.
The communists are nearly always “mixed” and are the first to be “mixed”, for example in Ireland and in South Africa.
As a South African I can’t agree with Mr Khenin that a rich and a poor component of society cannot together build a nation. That is what we are trying to do here and we are not having an “explosion” to compare with Israel/Palestine.
As a communist I can’t agree with Cde Khenin, either, because the actual nation is the one constituted de facto by the ruling class, and I don’t see where he is telling us how that is going to work. What will it be, one bourgeoisie, two proletariats? Or two bourgeoisies, with protective barriers between them? Then what about the WTO and all the rest of it?
Nevertheless I wish him all of the best.
That commenter on your blog may actually be working for the Israeli government
Straight out of Avigdor Lieberman’s Foreign Ministry: a new Internet Fighting Team! Israeli students and demobilized soldiers get paid to pretend they are just regular folks and leave pro-Israel comments on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other sites… The approach was test-marketed during Israel’s assault on Gaza, and by groups like Give Israel Your United Support, a controversial effort to use instant-access technology to crowd-source Israel advocates to fill in flash polls or vote up key articles on social networking sites.
“Will the responders who are hired for this also present themselves as ‘ordinary net-surfers’?
“Of course,” says Shturman. “Our people will not say: ‘Hello, I am from the policy-explanation department of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and I want to tell you the following.’ Nor will they necessarily identify themselves as Israelis. They will speak as net-surfers and as citizens, and will write responses that will look personal but will be based on a prepared list of messages that the Foreign Ministry developed.”
The full article, translated by Occupation Magazine into English here:
The Foreign Ministry presents: talkbackers in the service of the State
Cecilie Surasky performs an invaluable service by keeping her Muzzle Watch watching the far-right-wing in the US who are trying to stifle discussion of Israel’s descent into the very jaws of hell. I don’t know if she is left or right but she is an American working hard against the evil beast that is dragging both Israel and the US into the abyss.