Judy Beishon CWI International Secretariat

Build mass working-class struggle to end war and win Palestinian national self-determination

In the space of just a week, the reports from Israel-Palestine included yet more terrible atrocities carried out by Israeli military forces in Gaza, the reappearance of the deadly and paralysing polio virus in Gaza, a major military offensive on Palestinians in Jenin in the West Bank, and a massive eruption on the streets of Israel together with a general strike.

The mass protests and strikes in Israel arose from a surge of fury against the Benjamin Netanyahu government following the sickening death of six Israeli hostages who had been held captive in Gaza since 7 October. “Israeli hostages die so Netanyahu can keep his coalition alive”, was the editorial headline of Israeli paper Haaretz, reflecting blame for the deaths being placed on Netanyahu by the mass movement. Netanyahu has repeatedly obstructed possible ceasefire deals, spurred on by the far-right parties in his coalition government who threaten to collapse the coalition if he stops the war.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters demonstrated and blocked major roads, facing heavy and brutal policing, including stun grenades. The general strike on 2 September was called by the leaders of the main trade union federation, Histadrut, defying legislation against political strikes, under pressure from grassroots workers’ anger and the families of the hostages. A number of leading capitalist representatives also called for the action, alarmed about the repercussions of the war on the economy and society, and an escalation of its spread against Hezbollah in Lebanon and in the West Bank.

The strike was extensive, involving transport, civil servants, local government services, schools, health services, large private sector enterprises and with many small businesses closing in support. It was a show of strength for the working class, ‘halting the country’ – the specific request of the Hostages Forum – and exposed for a few hours who has the real power in society: the working class, as opposed to the capitalist class and its government, which at present has support from only a minority of the population.

However, the encouragement and participation from some capitalist circles meant it also had a cross-class aspect, which the workers’ movement will need to break away from. No trust should be placed in those capitalist representatives or union leaders who collaborate with them, or the army generals who oppose the Netanyahu government.

Reflecting present consciousness and attitudes, the mass movement is aimed primarily at saving Israeli lives rather than Palestinians, who have suffered a far greater death toll under horrifically overwhelming military bombardment. But it shows the potential power of the Israeli working class to aid ordinary people on both sides of the national divide, initially through escalating the movement to bring about the downfall of the Netanyahu government and to stop the war.

The government coalition is precarious, consisting of six different parties with a majority of only four seats, including right-wing religious nationalists who are based on less than 15% of the population. The latter are intent on making use of their current influence in order to increase the Jewish settlements on land in the occupied territories – in the process encouraging brutal repression, slaughter and displacement of more Palestinians. Previously illegal outposts have been approved and, in June, 5,295 new settlement houses were authorised. Meanwhile, since 7 October, around 41,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and 600 in the West Bank have been killed. Around two million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza and 9,000 arrested across the West Bank.

This doesn’t mean that any illusions should be placed in the nature of a replacement Israeli government. While at some stage this prolonged round of shocking bloodshed will come to a close or shift to a lower level, the pro-capitalist political leaders who oppose Netanyahu’s government are not against the use of military repression in the occupied territories. No brand of pro-capitalist government will have a solution to the conflict or be able to satisfy the aspirations of Israeli workers for decent wages and conditions, as well as for security.

So the task that lies ahead for workers in Israel is to build a socialist political alternative that can cut across the dangers of further political polarisation and act in the interests of all workers in Israel in all respects, including having a programme to end the occupation. The Palestinian masses in the territories also need to build their own struggle and organisations, completely unaligned with pro-capitalist parties like Fatah and Hamas, in order to build a successful mass resistance to the occupation, and as the only route towards Palestinian self-determination that can also end capitalist exploitation and inequality.

Workers’ movements internationally can support those Palestinian and Israeli workers’ struggles on both sides of the divide and help with links between them. An important part of that at present is building the anti-war movements globally, in particular through stepping up worker-led demonstrations and actions, including sanctions decided and enacted by trade unionists against the transport of arms to Israel and other measures that can impact against the war, the occupation and the blockade of Gaza.

No trust can be placed in the interventions and sanctions imposed on Israel by capitalist governments – one of the latest being the UK’s suspension of 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel – or on decisions by the ‘international law’ institutions funded by those governments. While those limited gestures are not unwelcome to anti-war movements and more can be demanded, at the same time it’s necessary to  recognise that the world powers intervene fundamentally for their own capitalist and imperialist interests, including to try to prevent workers’ uprisings in the Middle East, and a wider war from developing, and not for those of workers at home, in the Middle East or anywhere else.

Israeli working class

In contrast to certain other left organisations, the Socialist Party and Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) recognise the crucial role that the Israeli working class will need to play on the path to a socialist solution to the conflict.

One of the counter-arguments sometimes used is that Israeli Jews are privileged compared to Palestinians and have a vested interest in the occupation being maintained. The average standard of living for Jewish people in Israel is significantly above that of the Palestinians living under occupation and also above that of Palestinian residents inside Israel. But it is also the case that many Israeli Jews live in poverty. According to Israel’s National Insurance Institute, in 2022, 39% of Palestinian residents of Israel lived in poverty, as did 35% of Israel’s ultra-orthodox Jews and 14% of non-orthodox Jews. Many Israeli Jews who are above the poverty line are also struggling financially. The route out of such conditions for both Israeli Jews and Palestinians in Israel is for united, working class-based struggle against their capitalist bosses who all at root have a system-based reliance on exploitation.

At the same time, most Israelis feel physically insecure due to the national conflict, an insecurity that is a constant theme in the Israeli capitalist media, played up as much as possible. It isn’t surprising that Israel’s military forces are seen by Israeli Jewish workers as vital for their defence; but the long Gaza war has been exposing the limitations of superior force – it cannot totally defeat right-wing Islamist militias like Hamas or Hezbollah and deliver long-term security for Israelis, never mind being capable of stopping the Palestinians’ yearning for liberation.

Questioning on what the alternative is and developments in political consciousness within Israeli society are inevitable, with the 2 September general strike – which demanded a Gaza ceasefire – being an important and significant step along the way. Even before these latest events, polls of Israelis were showing that two-thirds want a prisoner exchange deal rather than continued war and more than two-thirds want Netanyahu out of power.

The present rabidly right-wing Israeli government is in many ways a product of the bankruptcy of the capitalist governments before it; the inability of those governments to solve any of the problems facing Israeli capitalism. The acute crisis now faced by the Israeli ruling class is reflected in open divisions at the top of society: former army leader Benny Gantz walked out of the war cabinet, defence minister Yoav Gallant has denounced Netanyahu for blocking a ceasefire deal… in fact, virtually all the upper echelons of the military apparatus have criticised the government’s decisions regarding the Gaza war and interventions in the West Bank. They have warned that greater Palestinian resistance will be fuelled, the war fronts might spread out of control, the military can become overstretched, fewer reservists are reporting for duty, and the repercussions on the economy can worsen.

As with all the other capitalist establishment figures, those generals have no workable solution. And they can’t have, because there is no solution on a capitalist basis. At some stage the Netanyahu government will be removed and subsequent leaders will turn to peace talks, as has happened many times in the past. But while some kind of Palestinian entity will again be discussed, it will only be through removing capitalism that the Palestinians will be able to achieve a genuine, independent state that can meet their aspirations for security and decent living standards. This means it will not be achieved through negotiations involving the world’s imperialist powers and the region’s Arab elites but only through building democratically run mass organisations of Palestinians that adopt socialist ideas and that can come to challenge and remove capitalism.

In Israel too, workers will need to remove their ruling capitalist class and bring in democratic socialism based on public ownership of the main industries and services, guaranteeing full rights for minorities. Only on that basis can they meet their own aspirations and live in peace and security, in a socialist confederation, alongside the peoples in neighbouring countries.

The CWI is fighting for:

• An immediate end to the attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem
• Withdrawal of all Israeli military forces from the Palestinian territories
• Immediate lifting of the blockade on Gaza
• Release of all Palestinian political prisoners and Israeli hostages
• The right of Palestinians to resist repression and aggression. A mass Palestinian struggle to fight for genuine national and social liberation. The establishment of popular, democratically controlled committees to lead the struggle, with the right to provide armed defence
• The right to national self-determination for the Palestinian people, including forming an independent Palestinian state
• Building of direct links between workers on both sides of the national divide
• Building of democratic and independent workers’ parties in both the Palestinian territories and Israel
• There will be no peace and liberation under capitalism and imperialism! Real national and social liberation can be achieved on a lasting basis through socialist change. For a socialist Israel alongside a socialist Palestine, with two capitals in Jerusalem and full rights for minorities, while recognising that workers’ and oppressed peoples’ organisations will democratically negotiate and decide the state boundaries and forms
• A struggle by the masses of the Arab states against the dictatorial capitalist Arab ruling elites. For a voluntary socialist confederation of the Middle East