Re: [L-I] Palestinians divided over 'armed Intifada'

Why is it that the question is usually posed as whether the oppressed should use violence or not, rather than as what kind of violence, and against whom?

Personally, I think that the PFLP's assassination of the ultra-racist Israeli Minister of Tourism a few years ago was a righteous, praiseworthy act. On the other hand, I think that suicide bombings directed mainly against people inside Israel who have almost no social power (including even Arabs and super-exploited foreign workers) are a mistake, both in strategic-tactical terms and as a matter of principle. I know that it's much harder to selectively target military, political and capitalist figures and institutions, but one dead high-ranking scumbag is worth a thousand dead people who ride buses, and with none of the negatives.

The attack on the U.S. convoy last week was certainly directed against a legitimate target, but I still don't know if it was carried out by Palestinians for good reasons or was a provocation arranged by the Israelis for their own purposes. (The attack on the U.S.S. Liberty in 1967 was also an attack on a legitimate target, and certainly would have been supportable if carried out by anti-imperialists, but was of course carried out by the Israels for their own reactionary reasons.)

_______________________________________________
Leninist-International mailing list
[email protected]
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international