[E-rundbrief] Info 1418 - Uri Avnery: Israeli Salvation Front
Matthias Reichl
info at begegnungszentrum.at
Fr Mär 27 16:43:47 CET 2015
E-Rundbrief - Info 1418 - Uri Avnery (IL): The Israeli Salvation Front
Bad Ischl, 27.3.2015
Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
www.begegnungszentrum.at
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The Israeli Salvation Front
Uri Avnery
March 28, 2015
THE 2015 election was a giant step towards the self-destruction of Israel.
The decisive majority has voted for an apartheid state between the
Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, in which democracy will slowly
disappear.
The decision is not yet final. Israeli democracy has lost a battle. It
has not yet lost the war.
If it does not draw the lessons, it will lose the war, too.
All the justifications and alibis of the Israeli Left are useless.
It's the bottom line that counts.
The country is in existential danger. Not from the outside, but from
the inside.
An Israel Salvation Front is needed now.
We have no other country.
FIRST OF ALL, the full extent of the debacle must be acknowledged and
full responsibility must be taken.
The leaders who lost must go. In the struggle for the life of the
state, there is no second opportunity.
The struggle between Isaac Herzog and Binyamin Netanyahu was a match
between a lightweight boxer and a heavyweight.
The idea of a National Union government must be rejected and roundly
condemned. In such a government, the Labor Party would again play the
contemptible role of a fig leaf for the policy of occupation and
oppression.
Now a new generation of leaders is needed, young, energetic and original.
THE ELECTION pitilessly exposed the deep chasms between the different
sectors of Israeli society: Orientals, Ashkenazis, Arabs, "Russian",
orthodox, religious and more.
The Salvation Front must encompass all sectors.
Every sector has its own culture, its own traditions, its own
faith(s). All must be respected. Mutual; respect is the foundation of
the Israeli partnership.
The foundation of the Salvation Front needs a new authentic leadership
that must emerge from all sectors.
The State of Israel belongs to all its citizens. No sector has
exclusive ownership of the state.
The huge and growing gap between the very rich and the very poor,
which which largely parallels the gap between the ethnic communities,
is a disaster for all of us.
The salvation of the state must be based on a return to equality as a
basic value. A reality in which hundreds of thousands of children live
under the poverty line is intolerable.
The income of the upper 0.01%, which reaches to the heavens, must be
brought down to a reasonable level. The income of the lowest 10% must
be raised to a humane level.
THE ALMOST total separation between the Jewish and the Arab parts of
Israeli society is a disaster for both and for the state.
The Salvation Front must be based on both peoples. The chasm between
them must be eliminated, for the good of both.
Empty phrases about equality and fraternity are not enough. They lack
credibility.
There must come into being a sincere alliance between the democratic
forces on both sides, not only in words but in actual daily
cooperation in all areas.
This cooperation must find expression in frameworks of political
partnership, joint struggles and regular joint meetings in all areas,
based on respect for the uniqueness of each partner.
Only a permanent joint struggle can save Israeli democracy and the
state itself.
THE HISTORIC conflict between the Zionist movement and the Palestinian
Arab national movement now threatens both peoples.
The country between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is the
homeland of the two peoples. No war, oppression or uprising will
change this basic fact.
If this conflict continues without end, it will endanger the existence
of both peoples.
The one and only solution was and is their co-existence in two
sovereign states: a free and independent State of Palestine side by
side with the State of Israel.
The two-state solution is not a recipe for separation and divorce. On
the contrary, it is a recipe for close co-existence.
The 1967 borders, with mutual agreed changes, are the basis of peace.
The co-existence of the two states in the joint homeland does
necessitate frameworks of partnership at the highest level, as well as
open borders for the movement of people and goods. It also needs solid
security arrangements for the good of both peoples.
Jerusalem, open and unified, must be the capital of both states.
The painful tragedy of the Palestinian refugees must find its just
solution, agreed upon by the two sides. This solution will include
return to the Palestinian state, a limited symbolic return to Israel
and the payment of generous compensation by international funds to all.
Israel and Palestine shall work together so as to achieve a return of
Jewish property left in Arab countries or the payment of generous
compensation.
The State of Palestine will keep its affinity with the Arab world. The
state of Israel will keep its affinity with the Jewish people in the
world. Each of the two states will have sole responsibility for its
immigration policy.
The problem of the Jewish settlers in Palestine will find its solution
in the framework of agreed border changes between the two states, the
inclusion of some settlements in the Palestinian state with the
agreement of the Palestinian government and the re-settlement of the
rest of the settlers in Israel.
Both states shall cooperate in the creation of a democratic regional
partnership, in the spirit of the "Arab Spring", while resisting
anarchy, terrorism and religious and nationalistic fanaticism
throughout the region.
The masses of Israelis and Palestinians will not believe in the
chances of peace and co-existence if there is no real and open
partnership between the peace camps of both peoples.
To establish such a partnership, organizations and individuals of both
sides must start right now to conduct joint political action, such as
constant consultation and joint planning on all levels and in all areas.
THE JEWISH character of the State of Israel finds its expression in
its culture and its affinity with the Jews throughout the world. It
must not express itself in its interior regime. All citizens and all
sectors must be equal.
The democratic forces within the Jewish and the Arab public must join
hands and work together in their daily actions.
International pressure by itself will not save Israel from itself. The
salvation forces must come from within.
World-wide pressure on Israel can and must assist the democratic
forces in Israel, but cannot take their place.
BASIC VALUES do not change. However, the ways of talking about them
with the public must change.
The old slogans are ineffective. The values must be re-defined and
re-formulated in up-to-date language, in line with the concepts and
language of a new generation.
The two-state vision was defined after the 1948 war by a small group
of path-blazers. Since than, huge changes have taken place in the
world, in the region and within Israeli society. While the vision
itself remains the only practical solution of the historic conflict,
it must be poured into new vessels.
There is a need for political unity, a unifying salvation front that
brings together all the forces of peace, democracy and social justice.
If the Labor Party is able to re-invent itself from the bottom up, it
can constitute the basis of this camp. If not, an entirely new
political party must be formed, as the core of the Salvation Front.
Within this front, diverse ideological forces must find their place
and engage in a fruitful internal debate, while conducting a unified
political struggle for the salvation of the state.
The regime within Israel must assure complete equality between all
Jewish ethnic communities and between the two peoples, while
safeguarding the affinity of the Israeli-Jewish public with the Jews
in the world and the affinity of the Israeli-Arab public with the Arab
world.
The situation in which most of the resources are in the hands of 1% of
the population at the cost of the other 99%, must come to an end. A
reasonable equality between all citizens, without connection with
their ethnic origin, must be restored.
There is no social message without a political message, and there is
no political message without a social message.
The Oriental Jewish public must be full partners in the state, side by
side with all other sectors. Their dignity, culture, social status and
economic situation must be accorded their proper place.
The religious-secular confrontation must be postponed until after
peace is achieved. The beliefs and ceremonies of all religions must be
respected, as well as the secular worldview.
The separation of state and religion – such as civil marriage, mass
transportation on Shabbat - can wait until the struggle for existence
is decided.
The protection of the judicial system, and above all the Supreme
Court, is an absolute duty.
The various associations for peace, human rights and social justice,
each of which conducts its laudable independent struggle in its chosen
field, must enter the political arena and play a central role together
in the unified Salvation Front.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery
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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
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