Monday, January 30, 2006


Hamas Sweeps Elections...

Some talking points in reaction to the recent elections in Palestine by Left Turn editor Rayan El-Amine who works for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in San Francisco:

It should go without saying but I will go ahead and say it - as progressives,
radicals and leftists we know that Islamists ideology and Islamist parties often
represent regressive, patriarchal, homophobic and sexists politics. But the
Hamas win should be seen in the context of the political situation in Palestine.
I have compiled ten points below to try to give that context.
(I have also copied point # 5 for at top of the list for emphasis.)

Rayan

____________________________________________________________

"The biggest obstacle preventing a progressive, secular, democratic movement from
blossoming in Palestine is not Hamas but the continued colonization of Palestinian
land and repression of Palestinian civil society by Israel"

1) Hamas’s victory is a protest vote by Palestinians against the horrendous
conditions they live under and a statement to those who make their daily lives
miserable - primarily the US/Israeli governments and the corrupt Fatah leadership.
Palestinian society and politics had been historically one the most secular and
progressive in the Arab world and even in this election many secular Palestinians
voted for change not for an Islamic state.

2) The Palestinian elections are a microcosm of what US foreign policy has done in
the ME in the past year. US policies have helped usher Islamists in Egypt,
Lebanon (increased Hezbollah in parliament), religious Shiites in Iraq (not
secular) and in Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a religious conservative was voted
President.

3) US and Israeli policies have historically worked against secular and
progressive movements in the region and have directly helped Islamist movements
(Israel at one point directly aided Islamists in Palestine to counter the secular
PLO in 70's and 80's). The US helped a variety of dictators in the region crush
Arab Nationalists and left secular movements and directly funded Islamist
organizations when it seemed to serve its interests.

4) Hamas won with a slogan of "reform and change" not “Islamic theocracy and
jihad”. Furthermore the vote by 77% and overwhelming majority now represents one
of the most legitimate democratic representative governments in the ME.

5) The biggest obstacle preventing a progressive, secular, democratic movement
from blossoming in Palestine is not Hamas but the continued colonization of
Palestinian land and repression of Palestinian civil society by Israel

6) The mainstream US coverage of the Palestinian elections gives no context to the
rise of Hamas. Hamas is presented as have grown out of some sort “genetic” or
"cultural" anger and irrationality of Palestinians, when in reality it is as a
result years of violence and oppression perpetuated by Israel on Palestinian
society. ( NY Times had 4 articles on the issue this weekend in one day, none
mentioned Israeli killing of Palestinians and only one mentioned that Palestinians
where occupied).

7) Groups like Hamas are much more complex and dynamic then some people in the
West think on all sorts of issues from democracy to women’s rights (that was seen
in the development of Hezbollah in Lebanon). Their Islamic rhetoric tells more
about their desperation than their aspirations. Furthermore, Hamas has for years
has successfully filled a vacuum of social services, schools and hospitals to
serve the most marginalized in Palestinian society which seems to be a the center
of their work.

8) Anti-Jewish sentiment exists in the Arab world and should be confronted by
progressive forces. But it should be understood that anti-Jewish sentiments in
the Arab world is different than historically European anti-Semitism. The
apartheid nature of the state of Israel, the racist foundations of Zionism and its
countless abuses against Palestinians and Arabs are the most significant factors
of anti-Jewish sentiments in the Middle East. Jewish minorities under Islamic
rule and in Islamic empires before Zionism faced far less institutional racism
than in Europe.

9) The argument that a Hamas victory will make Israel more right wing seems
irrelevant considering the recent history of Israeli policies. Israel did nothing
to help improve the lives of Palestinians in the past few years even when the most
malleable president, Mahmoud Abbas was in office. Palestinian negotiation with
Israel and the so called “peace process” has led to nothing but continued ethnic
cleansing, land confiscations, targeted killing and unilaterist policies.

10) As progressives and leftist in the US we should be emphasize that the growth
of Islamists and the retreat of progressive politics in the Middle East is a
direct of US imperialism. If you want progressive movements to grow in the Middle
East, fight Isreali occupation and US imperialism and support Palestinian SELF
DETERMINATION.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Isnt that how they turn some poor boys on the street to some fanatic suiside bombers ..



mynewsbot.com

Anonymous said...

Max...
The vote for Hammas has nearly nothing to do with Israel. The Fata lead and created by Arafat has done nothing for the advancement of their own people. The entire area is in a stalemate. The Israelis feel they have no partner so they vote for a gov. which is taking unilateral action and the Palestinians have given up on talking to Israel and are voting with the hope that someone in their own leadership will improve anything in their lives. The Palestinians day to day problems have much more to do with their own leaders then with Israel.

Anonymous said...

While it is true that the recent Hamas victory was to a large extent a reflection of Palestians dissatisfaction with Fatah and the PA, to say that "The vote for Hamas has nearly nothing to do with Israel" is just not being honest. As Rayan points out very succintly in his talking points, whatever the specifics of this election were -- the final results need to be understood within the larger context of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands (supported 100% by the US of course).

The Israeli government has never been concerned with finding a 'partner' in the so called 'peace process', they have been concerned with finding (and propping up) corrupt lackeys that will basically 'ok' US/Israel proposed policy. Its like saying the US government has been concerned with 'human rights' or something bizarre like that. Anyone who bother to look at the historical record understands this to be a joke.

Finally to say that the Palestinians 'day to day problems have much more to do with their own leadership then with Israel' is to misunderstand how something like a military occupation works and operates. Corrupt leadership, repressive governments, fundamentalist regimes - all of these things have historically been (serious) *effects* of the lack of real self-determination for the people in that specific region. There is rarely such a thing as a 'democratic progressive force' in a country where all of these kinds of movements have been systematically eleminated and or kept down by other powerfull nation states (In the case of Palestine, primarily the US). Understanding US policy in the middle east over the past 80-90 years is crucial to understand the elements at play in Palestine.

If your interested, there is luckily plenty of well research reading on the subject. One piece to check out is: "Want to End Terrorism? End Foreign Occupations" writen by the wel known blogger Juan Cole who is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern and South Asian History at the University of Michigan.

His website is http://www.juancole.com/

Anonymous said...

Max...
First I am not quiet sure that you picked up on this but its your boy Jonathan from east 11th St.(AKA these days Jerusalem).
Obviously Israel has a role to play in the situation over here but to say that the Palestinian leaders have been "corrupt lackeys that will basically 'ok' US/Israel proposed policy." is crazy.
Israel did not want the PLO or Arafat in power nor the Hamas. This is their own shit leaders they have elected. Continuously blaming Israel for the entire misery might be comfortable but is untrue. Their are two sides here. And the Arabs have never missed a chance to fuck things up for themselves a little more. They are basically having a civil war between them these days which Im sure is Israelis fault as well. I have never held back criticism towards Israel and You know I love you man but I wish you could be as sharp with the critical comments towards the Arab side.

Anonymous said...

Are you doing this blog thing or what?

max said...

i took a little break from the bloggin world... ima be back pretty soon. I just published a little reflection piece on my experiences so far.