Democratic Palestine : 25 (ص 3)
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- Democratic Palestine : 25 (ص 3)
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Editorial
Anti-Zionist Israelis are Allies
On June 11th, there was a meeting between a PLO delega-
tion and an Israeli delegation in Budapest, Hungary. This
meeting led to controversy within the Palestinian movement,
which necessitates an explanation of the different viewpoints
concerning relations with Jewish forces in ‘Israel’.
THE NIHILISTS
The first viewpoint is a nihilistic one. The advocates of this
viewpoint oppose any relations with Israelis. They do not see
the necessity of having relations with democratic, anti-Zionist,
Jewish forces in ‘Israel’, even if these people are supportive of
the Palestinian struggle and legitimate rights, and opposed to
the repressive Israeli policies against the Palestinian masses.
The nihilists say that any meeting with any Israeli means
outright recognition of the state of ‘Israel’. Concurrently, they
reject the idea of making use of inter-Israeli contradictions as
being wishful thinking.
THE RIGHTISTS
In contrast to the first viewpoint, the rightists go as far as
meeting any Israeli, whether Zionist or not, provided that the
Israeli concerned claims to be a supporter of the PLO. The
rightists believe that such contacts -will lead to Israeli and US
recognition of the PLO. It is clear that the advocates of this
viewpoint put more emphasis on the diplomatic work. They do
not see the importance of changing the balance of forces in the
region as a prerequisite for forcing ‘Israel’ and the USA to
concede to Palestinian demands and recognize the Palesti-
nians’ legitimate, inalienable, national rights. Many times in
the past, spokespersons of the Palestinian right wing have
declared this or that year as the year of liberation, after listen-
ing to this or that US official speak about the importance of
solving the Palestinian problem. These rightists were spelling
out their ideology which is an idealist one.
THE REVOLUTIONARIES
The third viewpoint neither minimizes nor overestimates the
importance of relations with Jewish forces. The advocates of
this viewpoint clearly see that relations with democratic and
progressive Jews are important. They put only one condition to
such relations, namely, that the Jewish forces involved should
first of all be anti-Zionist. Secondly, the advocates of this
viewpoint recognize the importance of gaining support for the
PLO and Palestinian national rights. Revolutionaries within
the Palestinian national movement realize that Zionism, in
theory and practice, means the negation of the Palestinian
people’s right to Palestine. In theory and practice, it means the
implantation of an alien canton in the Middle East, a canton
opposed to national liberation, democracy and progress,
whose main function is promoting imperialist interests. For
this reason, Palestinian revolutionaries think that the thesis
about a Jewish nation being in formation in ‘Israel’ is irrele-
vant. Such a thesis merely serves as an excuse for the im-
perialists and colonialists to market their merchandise in the
Middle East via the state of ‘Israel’.
In the last PNC session, held in Algeria in April, the PFLP
objected to a resolution on this issue, which was adopted by the
council. This resolution (see text of the PNC resolutions in this
issue) did not state the condition mentioned above.
ASSESSING THE BUDAPEST MEETING
In Budapest, Abu Mazen and Abdel Razaq Yahya of the
PLO Executive Committee met an Israeli delegation headed by
Charlie Biton of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality.
The delegation included members of Mapam which is a Zionist
party. The policy of engaging in such meetings is harmful to
the Palestinian struggle, for a number of reasons:
First: For the PLO to meet a delegation that includes avowed
Zionists tends to blur the distinction between Zionism and
anti-Zionism. Such a policy weakens the struggle of the PLO
and its allies against Zionism and the state of ‘Israel’. At pre-
sent, the Palestinian movement is fighting an important battle
to defend UN resolution no.3379 which equates Zionism with
racism. For their part, ‘Israel’ and the US government are at-
tempting to reverse this resolution, which would never have
seen the light of day had it not been for the Palestinian armed
struggle and the support the PLO enjoys from the friends of
the Palestinian people all over the world. The resolution would
not have seen the light of day had it not been for greater
awareness of the atrocities of the Zionist state, among peace-
loving people all over the world. Still, the rightists contend that
their policy is correct, although it blurs these realities.
Second: The Budapest meeting occurs at a time when the
Zionist Prime Minister Shamir is promoting relations with
‘Israel’ on the African continent. Without a doubt he is mak-
ing use of the fact that some Arab regimes - and even the PLO
-have contacts with Israelis, asking African leaders, «why
shouldn’t you too?» Here one should ask what the difference is
between meeting the Zionist, Shamir, and meeting a member
of the Zionist party, Mapam.
Third: the Budapest meeting occurs at a time when the US,
‘Israel’ and the reactionary Arab states are very active in their
efforts to reach a capitulationist settlement for the Arab-Israeli
conflict, based on unilateral solutions and bilateral negotia-
tions. The prelude to such a settlement is the liquidation of the
PLO and Palestinian national rights. There is no doubt that the
reactionary Arab regimes will utilize the PLO’s contacts with
Zionist elements to justify their own negotiations with the
Zionist enemy and recognition of the Zionist state. It is for this
reason that Butros Ghali, Egyptian minister of state for
foreign affairs, praised the meeting in Budapest, terming it a
positive step.
In conclusion, we would like to stress the importance of
contacting the democratic and progressive, anti-Zionist forces
who support the PLO and Palestinian national rights, while »
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