Marxism and Israel: Left Perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Monday, November 15, 7pm
Thomas Hunter Hall, 930 Lexington Avenue, Room 414
A n evening in conversation with
Alan Goodman (correspondent for Revolution newspaper, voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party)
Richard Rubin (The Platypus Affiliated Society)
Questions for the panelists:
1. Historically, what role has the Marxist Left played in the development of Israel? What would a critical Marxist perspective on Israel, the ideology of Zionism and the Palestinian conflict look like? Has a Left critique historically been applied?
2. What is the relationship between American political hegemony and Israel? How has this traditionally been understood by the "Left", and how is it now portrayed? Has this understanding obscured attempts at political and theoretical analysis? How has it affected the international "Left's" approach to the actual political opposition among Palestinians?
3. Why have leftist approaches to the conflict emphasized a politics of resistance over cogent political visions? Do measures, such as BDS campaigns and the Flotilla effort, that seek to 'delegitimize' Israel and the ideology of Zionism through resistance to its immediate means and policies ameliorate immediate social conditions or clarify political conditions? If not, what sort of approach should be emphasized?
Suggested background reading from the Platypus Review:
Which way forward for Palestinian liberation? (PR: April 2010)
http://platypus1917.org/2010/04/08/which-way-forward-for-palestinian-liberation-2/
Catastrophe, historical memory and the Left: 60 years of Israel-Palestine (PR: May 2008)
Related Platypus events:
Which Way Forward for Palestinian Liberation? (Chicago: April 2010)
http://platypus1917.org/2010/04/04/which-way-forward-for-palestinian-liberation/
Platypus: Israel-Palestine and the One State Solution (Chicago: March 2008)
http://www.archive.org/details/PlatypusIsrael-palestineAndTheOneStateSolution
