12.09.2024

No illusions in Histadrut

There is no possibility of a united Jewish-Arab working class politics at this historic juncture. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is using every and any excuse to keep the war in Gaza going, writes Yassamine Mather

On September 2 there was an attempt at a general strike in Israel (it was quickly aborted following a court order). This occurred after the death of six Israeli captives held by Hamas. We do not know exactly how they died and the issue remains a matter of dispute (in times of war, one should be very cautious about making assumptions). The Israeli authorities claim the captives were shot by Hamas, which could be true, possibly because Israel had sent a team led by security agency Shin Bet to try to free them. On the other hand, Hamas has its version of the story: the hostages were shot by Israeli forces or died in a bombing raid.

It was these deaths that sparked the call for a general strike by Histadrut, the Israeli union confederation, following protests organised by relatives of the captives. The action was primarily effective in municipalities where the opposition is strong, like Tel Aviv. An Iranian-born, pro-Netanyahu Zionist with whom I was recently debating on a TV programme claimed there were no strikes in northern Israel and reports suggest support for them was much weaker in government sectors, particularly in Jerusalem (and especially east Jerusalem, where the politics lean more towards the settlers and rightwing supporters of the current government).

The day before the general strike, there were reports of large demonstrations, not least in Tel Aviv, with a total of 500,000 taking to the streets throughout the country. That is a significant number, considering the size of the Jewish-Israeli population. But it was not just Histadrut behind the strike: various corporations also encouraged employees to take the day off and join the protests.

Economism

Some elements of the left have commented that this strike was a harbinger of better times or a sign of Arab-Jewish unity. In my opinion this is a serious mistake. For example, a statement from the Socialist Party in England and Wales claimed that, for a brief moment, the general strike exposed where “real power” lies.¹ The main point is that the strike had the support of corporations and bosses, so it hardly demonstrated the ‘real power’ of the working class. Rather, it illustrates the lack of political independence of the class, particularly when it is aligned with centrist or mainstream political factions within Zionism.

Successive opinion polls show that over 70% of the Israeli population now favour a deal that can lead to the return of the hostages. However, this does not mean opposition to the current war and genocide in Gaza. According to Dana Mills, writing on the website 972,

Among Israeli Jews, we did see just that: very high and sweeping support for the war ... consistent numbers of people who think the war is justified. But for questions that ask if Israel can achieve “total victory” we see a decline in confidence, with around two-thirds rejecting Netanyahu’s claims that such an outcome is within reach.²

Back in Britain, SPEW also highlighted poverty statistics, noting that 39% of Arab-Israelis and a similar percentage of ultra-Orthodox Jews, 35%, live in poverty. This is supposed to foster hope for a potential alliance between these blocs. However, in reality, most in the ultra-Orthodox population tend to support rightwing, not leftwing politics. Poverty alone does not automatically translate into left-leaning political views - think of the poor whites in the Antebellum South. Of course, a couple of decades ago the same organisation was telling us that the solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland lay in the unity of Protestant and Catholic workers - a typical economistic solution, ignoring the political implications of colonialism and imperialism.

Although some compare Histadrut with the UK’s Trade Union Congress, it has historically been a pillar of the Zionist project, working to exclude Arab labour from the Israeli economy by demanding that employers hire only Jewish workers. This makes it quite different from other trade unions worldwide.

Given the political dynamics in Israel and its population, which consists of a 75% Jewish majority and 20% Arab minority, there is a prevailing trend towards rightwing politics that exacerbates divisions within the working class. According to Dana Mills,

We have also seen the popularisation among Israeli Jews of some very extreme positions regarding the war, including opposing humanitarian aid and complete justification of almost all military actions. Commonly held opinions also include the argument that Israel should strike Hezbollah and Lebanon hard and that Israel should occupy Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there.³

That is why simplistic solutions, such as a bourgeois-democratic single state, encompassing the currently recognised state of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, is not realistic. There is no reason to believe that those sections of the Hebrew working class who do benefit from settler-colonial policies should embrace such a solution. As comrade Moshé Machover keeps reminding us,

Under capitalism there is no way in which this overthrow of the Zionist regime can be expected to be supported by the Israeli Hebrew working class, for the simple reason that this would mean this class exchanging its present position of an exploited class, but with national privileges vis-à-vis the Palestinians, for a position of being a class still exploited by capital, but without the national privileges. This is not a deal that is likely to have support from the main force that can overthrow the Zionist regime.⁴

That is why we should concentrate on the colonial nature of this conflict: its resolution can only be one of decolonisation. And we do need a regional solution based on Arab unification: such a vision would involve the overthrow of oppressive regimes in the region, offering an alternative to the Israeli Jewish majority - a vision of solidarity within the working class across Middle Eastern borders.

Philadephi corridor

Last week we also heard a lot of hype from Netanyahu, claiming that the Philadelphi corridor (between Gaza and Egypt) is the main obstacle to the latest peace negotiations. As pointed out by several commentators in Israel, this is a red herring. The Israeli daily, Haaretz, fact-checked this Netanyahu claim and it appears it is a total fabrication - an excuse from the Israeli premier, not least given that he is under pressure from captive families and large scale protests. Others have pointed out that the rather childish diagram he displayed on Israeli TV, with arrows showing funds coming from Egypt to Gaza, is also deceptive - it does not show funds released by Qatar, which were sent to Israel and then forwarded to Hamas (before October 7 2023).

According to reports in several Israeli papers, there was a lot of loudly expressed disagreement at a recent cabinet meeting. Those shouting at Netanyahu included the Mossad head who has been negotiating in Qatar, as well as commanders from the Israel Defence Forces, who disputed Netanyahu’s claims about the corridor. Shin Bet’s chief told the cabinet that the corridor was a non-issue, as it could be controlled electronically.

The Israeli premier has declared that he aims to capture or kill the Hamas leadership in Gaza, crucially Yahya Sinwar, demonstrating that he is not interested in peace negotiations, but wants to continue the war. Comrade Machover argues that while Netanyahu’s immediate reasons for doing that are to stay in power and avoid conviction in court over corruption charges, there is the overriding Zionist goal of incorporating the whole of Palestine, which would, by definition, require large-scale ethnic cleansing to ensure a Jewish majority.

According to Haaretz editor Aluf Benn, Israel is now entering the second phase of its military campaign in Gaza, aiming to take full control of the northern Gaza Strip and potentially open the area for Jewish settlement and annexation, depending on international reactions. Palestinian residents in north Gaza could face expulsion, under the guise of ‘protecting their lives’, while the IDF target Hamas militants. Netanyahu will likely regard such territorial expansion as a major victory.

In this phase, Israel has appointed colonel Elad Goren to oversee ‘humanitarian efforts’ in Gaza, positioning him as a de facto ‘governor’. Netanyahu has instructed the military to replace international organisations in distributing aid, which would give Israel control over essential resources and allow it to potentially remove the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. According to this scenario, Hamas is expected to remain in control of the southern region, surrounded by Israeli forces. The Israeli government hopes that the worsening conditions for Palestinians in south Gaza will turn them against Hamas.

Then there is talk of yet another ‘promising’ new proposal by the US and its allies. However, none of these proposals will work when the Israeli government continues its genocidal actions. Every day, every hour that the proposed ceasefire is delayed, more and more Palestinians, including hundreds of children, die - not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank; and not just from military action, but from preventable diseases, poor diet and hunger.

1. <pThe Socialist September 5-11 2024.↩︎
2. <pwww.972mag.com/israeli-public-opinion-war-gaza.↩︎
3. <pIbid.↩︎
4. <p‘One-state, two-state illusions Weekly Worker May 5: weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1489/one-state-two-state-illusions.↩︎