Israel is the only Jewish State in the
World – it is also the only Apartheid State in the World
One of the most familiar Zionist refrains
is that Israel is ‘the only Jewish state
in the world’. This is a last ditch defence
of Israel. However bad Israel might be, whatever it does, it is the only thing
that Jews in the world have. It is therefore important to understand why a Jewish state, in a settler
colonial context, must be a racist
state.
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| Demonstration in Afula against selling homes to Arabs |
In Britain for example if individuals
were to campaign to exclude Black or Muslim people from living in a town they
would be charged with incitement to racial hatred. The state, even though it is
racist, as the appalling treatment of the Windrush people demonstrates, is also
committed to a formal legal and political equality.
That was the legacy of the Scarman
Inquiry in the early 1980’s, set up as a result of the inner city riots. It was
realised that the existing level of police racism and violence and the fascist violence
of organisations such as the National Front could no longer be tolerated if British
society were not to be torn apart.
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| Killing a sea-turtle will get you a heavier sentence than killing a Palestinian in Israel |
In Israel it is different. It is the State itself which is responsible for
implementing and reinforcing the already existing level of racism. It is the State which, for example, sponsors
and works with the the Jewish National Fund, the Zionist organisation which
openly refuses to allocate land for the use of Israeli Palestinians.
Israel is a Jewish supremacist state.
In Israel being Jewish means you are entitled to privileges that non-Jews don’t
receive whereas in Iran or Saudi Arabia being a Muslim entitles you to nothing. Arguably Jews suffer less in Iran than Muslims. A Muslim state merely legitimises its
repression through the use of Islam.
The British state is formally Christian.
The Irish Republic is Catholic, albeit not much of one after the votes
legalising gay marriage and abortion. However the difference is that the rights
and privileges of non-Christians is not dependent on their religion.
The Zionists argue, if you are
opposed to Jews having just one Jewish state then that is anti-Semitic. There
is however a gaping hole in this ‘logic’.
The primary reason for opposition to a ‘Jewish’ state is not that it is
Jewish but that it is discriminatory.
In Britain there is no Christian
National Fund which owns or controls 93% of the land. No one says to me, sorry
you cannot rent or buy a property or live in a particular area because you
aren’t Christian. But in Israel, if you are not Jewish, then your right to live
anywhere you want is severely restricted.
93% of the land is owned or controlled by the JNF whose constitution
reserves the land it owns to Jews only.
In Israel over 400 towns or villages
bar non-Jews from living in them. As the
report
from Afula demonstrates, when Arabs bid for houses in a ‘Jewish’ area or actually
manage to buy a property there then it causes mass demonstrations of Jewish
residents.
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| In the good old days when Israeli Labour welcomed their fellow apartheid politicians from South Africa |
In Israel there is no Group Area Act or
petty apartheid as used to be the case in South Africa, there are no signs
barring Palestinians from certain areas but nonetheless there is a residential
apartheid in Israel which is just as effective as that in Apartheid South
Africa.
The law didn’t specifically state
that Arabs could be barred but that was the motive. In so doing the Court
retreated from its own decision in 2000 when it ruled, in the Ka’adan case,
that an Arab couple could not be refused the right to buy property because they
were not Jewish.
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| Israeli soldiers firing tear gas at demonstrators |
In the Jewish Nation State bill which
is making its way onto the Statute Book there is a provision which explicitly
allows for the creation of Jewish only communities. As Ayelet Shaked, the ‘Justice
Minister’ explained: “There is place to maintain a Jewish majority even at the price of
violation of rights.” ‘Shaked referred to Ka’adan and said regarding “the argument over whether it’s all right
for a Jewish community to, by definition, be only Jewish, I want the answer to
be ‘yes, it’s all right.’”
In 70 years in Israel, despite a
tenfold increase in the Arab population not one new Arab town or village has
been created. Arabs are confined to about 3% of the land despite being 20% of
the population.
Opinion polls demonstrate the racist
nature of the Israeli state as reflected in the opinions of ordinary Israelis. An
article ‘Marriage to an Arab is national
treason’ (27.3. 07)
revealed that over half of the Jewish population in Israel believes the
marriage of a Jewish woman to an Arab man is equal to national treason. Note it
is not a religious offence but it is seen as treasonous towards the (Jewish)
nation.
Over 75 percent of participants did
not approve of apartment buildings being shared between Arabs and Jews. Sixty
percent of participants said they would not allow an Arab to visit their home.
About 40 percent of participants agreed that “Arabs should have their right to vote for Knesset revoked”. The
number was 55 percent lower in the previous survey. Also, over half of the
participants agreed that Israel should encourage its Arab citizens to emigrate.
Over half of the participants said they would not want to work under the direct
management of an Arab, and 55 percent said “Arabs
and Jews should be separated at entertainment sites”. Over 56 percent of
participants said they believed that Israel’s Arab citizens posed both a
security and a demographic threat to the country.
These results have been repeated
subsequently. For example in the Pew
Research Centre’s Israel’s Religiously Divided Society in 2016 48% of Jews say all Arabs
should be expelled from the country, compared to 46% who are opposed.
A Jewish State established by settler
colonialism cannot be other than racist.
That is the truth that racist hypocrites like Emily Thornberry refuse to
see.
I am copying below articles that
illustrate the depths of racism in the ‘Jewish’ state and why it is qualitatively
different to normal western capitalist states. This is important to
understand. Israel is not a ‘normal
capitalist state. Its political economy
and social relations are distorted by its settler colonial nature.
1.
The
first article Ignoring
Racism in Afula is about two days of demonstrations in the Jewish town of Afula in
Northern Israel. They are demonstrations
by 150 Jewish residents against the sale of a house to an Arab. “The
residents of Afula don’t want a mixed city, but rather a Jewish city, and it’s
their right,” explained Avi Elkabetz, a former Mayor who is running for
the position again. There
has been no condemnation of this by Netanyahu or indeed the Opposition
parties. Such things are taken for granted
in the ‘only democracy in the Middle East. Neither Elkabetz nor any of the demonstrators
were arrested or charged. Contrast this
with the Israeli Palestinian poet Nadeen Tatour, who was arrested and charged in
October 2015 and spent several months in prison before being held under strict
conditions of house arrest. She has just
been convicted
of “inciting violence and
supporting a terrorist organisation over comments she made on social media.”. The Israeli
state is seeking to gaol her for having written a poem which included the lines
“Resist, My People, Resist Them”.
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| Miki Zohar, Israeli MK and expert on Jewish Race |
2.
The
second article, Israeli
lawmaker proclaims supremacy of ‘Jewish race’ concerns the comments of Miki
Zohar, a Likud member of the Knesset. Zohar was explaining why it was that,
despite the clear evidence of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corruption, such as accepting
hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of the best champagne and cigars, Israeli
Jews are unconcerned. The ability of Netanyahu to play the race card is such
that everything else is secondary. Zohar’s
explanation? The ‘Jewish race’ is so superior to everyone else in the world
that they can see through the Israeli Police case against Netanyahu!
3. The third case, the killing or rather
murder of Samir Awad, a
child of 15 from the village of Budrus, is truly shocking. Two soldiers, known
only by their initials A.G. and A.D, caught Samir trying to cross a forbidden
fence circling the village. First they
shot him in the thigh and got hold of him but the little devil escaped from
their clutches and so. as he was running, they shot him in the back and in the
neck.
No doubt, like me, you will be
wondering why A.G. and A.D were ever charged and the answer is because of the
interference of the B’tselem human rights organisation. For over two years, the
soldiers had hanging over them the charge of committing “an act of haste and negligence”. Outrageous I’m sure you will
agree as it is clear that this young scamp, had he grown up, would have become
a terrorist.
4. The fourth case concerns a swimming
pool in Mabu'im in Israel’s
south. At the swimming pool in question,
there is strict separation between Bedouin and Israeli Jews. When the Jews want
to use the pool, which is most of the week, the Bedouin can’t use it and when
the Bedouin are able to use the pool Jews are banned. In other words there is
complete equality. Only malevolent and malicious troublemakers would wish to
upset this arrangement. It is cultural self-determination. Each group prefers to
be amongst its own and only a handful of leftists could possibly object.
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| The Board of Deputies, which is always concerned about 'antisemitism' harbours a number of vile Islamaphobes |
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| Roslyn Pine's manifesto when she stood for Vice President of the Board of Deputies |
5. The next story concerns Roslyn Pine of
the Board of Deputies who described Muslims as “the vilest of animals” and Arabs in similar terms. I am sure you will agree that Ms Pine,
although she might be considered a tad controversial, is entitled in a free
society to express her opinions. Only
leftist troublemakers and anti-Semites could possibly object to her expressing
her opinion.
The fact that the Board of Deputies has
been leading the charge against Corbyn’s ‘anti-Semitism’ is completely
irrelevant. There is no comparison between anti-Semitism, which as we all know
is the world’s longest hatred and calling Muslims ‘animals’ when we all know
that most Muslims are only waiting for the chance to become martyrs in the
global jihad.
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| Roslyn Pine's opposition to 'antisemitism' doesn't extend to Muslims |
However
I am sure that you will all be pleased to hear one piece of good news from
Israel. The Times of Israel reports
that a man was sentenced to 10 months for stabbing a rare sea turtle, killing
the blighter. This is one more month
than Elor
Azaria received for murdering Abed al Fatah a-Sharif, a wounded Palestinian
who was lying unconscious on the road. Yes I hear you say, how disgraceful that
the turtle killer received one more month in prison than an Arab killer. Don’t they know that, according
to the Deputy Defence Minister Eli Dahan Palestinians are animals? New
deputy defense minister called Palestinians ‘animals’ What possible
justification is there for having given Azaria only 1 month less than the
turtle killer? The turtle in question was very rare . Palestinians by way of contrast are only too
numerous. Clearly the Israeli justice
system leaves a lot to be desire!
Netanyahu and his fellow cabinet members promote
racist laws whose sole purpose is to give this superiority the force of law
Some 150 Afula residents, including former Mayor Avi
Alkabetz, who is running for the position again, and Acting Mayor Shlomo
Malihi, demonstrated Wednesday against the sale of a home in the city to an
Arab family. “The residents of Afula
don’t want a mixed city, but rather a Jewish city, and it’s their right,”
explained Elkabetz, adding, “That’s not
racism.”
If that isn’t racism, then what is? In Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s Israel, which translated the Zionist vision of a national
home for the Jewish people into an ultranationalist project of Jewish
supremacy, it is easy to get confused. Racism and ethnic superiority have
acquired legitimacy, and Netanyahu and his fellow cabinet members promote
racist laws whose sole purpose is to give this superiority the force of law.
Theoretically, if we’re talking about the kind of Jewish state the right talks
about, why resist Afula’s desire to be a Jewish city?
As long as such racist behavior gets by without
provoking determined opposition, public condemnation and vocal criticism, it
will increase and become legitimate and transparent. The opposition to the
right-wing government has an important role to play here. It must draw red
lines and mold the public discussion in
accordance with its worldview. Why weren’t Zionist Union Chairman Avi Gabbay,
Meretz Chairwoman Tamar Zandberg and even Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid in
Afula leading an anti-racism counterdemonstration? Why didn’t they express
support for the sale of the home to an Arab family?
This is a critical ethical question with far-reaching
political implications. The right, as it is reflected in the most
ultranationalist government in Israel’s history, draws its power in part from a
blatantly racist, anti-Arab base. Netanyahu himself appealed to his potential
voters in the last election by warning that “Arabs are coming to the polls in droves.”
The left must recognize that its main purpose is to
erase racism and represent a sane, enlightened alternative to the moral
darkness into which Netanyahu is leading Israel. Otherwise the left will never
be reawakened and it will be wiped off the political map.
Israel expects foreign governments to take expressions
of anti-Semitism within their borders seriously and to publicly denounce it. In
Israel, in contrast, expressions of hatred for Arabs are met with total
indifference at best or encouragement at worst. To our great shame, we cannot
expect the government to denounce such ugly behavior, since the right itself
spreads hatred and racism and benefits from them in elections. But if the
protest in Afula failed to bring opposition leaders, who claim to champion
equality and human dignity, to the streets, then who needs them?
The above article
is Haaretz’s lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers
in Israel. See also:
Likud's MK Miki Zohar says Jews
are the smartest in the world, so know Netanyahu isn't corrupt
Likud MK Miki Zohar speaks during an Interior Affairs Committee meeting
at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, February 20, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
A lawmaker from the ruling Likud party said Wednesday
that the “Jewish race” is the
smartest in the world and possessing of the “highest
human capital,” which is why, he said, the Israeli public did not buy into
the allegations of wrongdoing by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
MK Miki Zohar made the comments during a radio debate
with veteran political journalist Dan Margalit about the corruption
investigations in which Netanyahu is either a suspect or has given testimony.
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| Ahma Tibi notes the similarity between Jewish race specialists and Nazi race specialists |
His assertions led to a Twitter spat with Joint (Arab)
List party MK Ahmad Tibi, who noted Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews as a race
during the Holocaust.
Citing recent opinion polls that show Netanyahu
enjoying strong support despite being a suspect in three graft investigations,
Zohar argued that the media focus on the probes has not convinced the Israeli
public that the prime minister is unsuited to lead the country.
“I can tell you something
very basic,” Zohar said during the Radio 103FM debate. “You can’t fool the Jews, no matter what is the media writes. The public
in Israel is a public that belongs to the Jewish race, and the entire Jewish
race is the highest human capital, the smartest, the most comprehending. The
public knows what the prime minister is doing for the country and how excellent
he is at his job.”
Tibi, in response, tweeted a picture of Zohar with the
message: “An elected official in ‘the
Jewish state’ presents: race theory.”
Tibi, whose party and its members have often raised
ire among their Jewish colleagues with their open support for the Palestinian
cause, followed that tweet up with a photo of himself reading Amos Elon’s book
“The
Pity of It All,” which examines how the Holocaust brought an end to
German-Jewish culture.
Zohar tweeted back: “And on the back cover there is a photo of Albert Einstein, another Jew
who brought great news to the world.”
“What’s the
connection between you and Einstein?” Tibi rejoined. “It isn’t even a relative relationship.”
In a follow-up interview with Hadashot TV news, Zohar
at first denied that he had spoken about the supremacy of the “Jewish race,” but, presented with a
recording of his earlier comments, doubled down and reiterated: “The Jewish people and the Jewish race are
of the highest human capital that exists.”
“What can you
do? We were blessed by God… and I will continue to say that at every
opportunity,” he said. “I don’t have
to be ashamed about the Jewish people being the Chosen People; the smartest,
most special people in the world.”
Zohar cited the many innovations and discoveries made
by Jews, and said that Israel had achieved more in its 70-year span than some
peoples had in thousands of years.
“You can
understand why we usually win a lot of Nobel Prizes,” he said.
Israeli prosecutors
concluded that the two soldiers acted properly when they shot and killed an
unarmed teenager 10 meters away as he ran away from them
Gideon Levy, Jun 14, 2018 4:57 AM
Opinion
Palestinian and Israeli
activists flee tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration
against Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank, on November 17, 2016. Majdi
Mohammed/AP
A.G. and A.D. presumably celebrated. Maybe they raised a toast with their
lawyers at some fashionable pub, or perhaps they just basked in the good news
with their families. It was the relief of their lives. The poor souls’
nightmare is over. How they harassed them when the teenager was killed, but
all’s well that ends well: The central district prosecution decided last week
to withdraw the indictment against them, two-and-a-half years after it was
filed.
True, it was sickeningly ridiculous that they were charged with “an act of haste and negligence” for
shooting an unarmed, already wounded teenager in the back as he was running or
his life. Still, it was an indictment, which itself was only filed after the
deceased’s family and B’Tselem petitioned the High Court of Justice.
For a moment it seemed as if the two would be given a suspended sentence
of maybe a day, or even a one-penny fine for killing a boy who had not yet
turned 16, even though he didn’t pose any danger or threat to them. But even
this faint hope for a remnant of delayed and symbolic justice – for even the
faintest likeness of justice – was dashed, and what could be more predictable
than that?
The indictment was withdrawn. A.G. and A.D. acted properly when they shot
an unarmed teenager from a range of 10 meters as he ran from them. They
violated nothing. Their act of killing wasn’t even hasty or negligent. They are
good soldiers, excellent ones, even though the day after the killing a senior
officer said, “Something that wasn’t
right happened there.” Not right, but apparently not wrong enough. So go
ahead, dear soldiers; continue to kill Palestinian teenagers who don’t endanger
you. You can even kill them as they run away, because no harm will come to you.
A.G. and A.D. were a platoon commander and a soldier from the 71st
Battalion of the Armored Corps. They shot from behind and killed Samir Awad,
who tried to cross the fence that constricts his village, as he ran from an
ambush the soldiers had set up in the prickly-pear bushes. They shot him in the
back and will never be punished for their act. They shot him in the leg first,
and after he fell wounded and got back on his feet they managed to grab him by
the arm, but he got away from them. Then they shot him twice from behind, a
bullet to the back of his neck and a bullet in his back, killing him. So now
they can calmly fly off to India or Costa Rica for their post-army trip –
perhaps they’ve already done so – and forget everything. But the home of the
boy they killed in Budrus will never be the same again.
It was winter 2013, the last day before the semester break. The science
exam was over, and the pupils left the school, located around 200 meters from
the fence. Six of them came down the hill, for their usual test of courage –
crossing the fence. It was Munir, Hosni, Muhammad, Saher, Musa and Samir.
The first five sensed danger and decided to back off. Samir chose to
continue. He did not know that six soldiers lurked among the cactuses. He
crossed an old hole in the inner fence and was caught in the space between two
fences. Then the soldiers of the brave Reshef battalion emerged from their
hiding places and shot in the air. Samir was scared to death and tried to
retrace his steps. His legs got tangled in the brambles. They shot him in the
thigh. He managed to extract himself and began to run, wounded, back toward the
village. They shot him twice more from behind. The indictment that was annulled
detailed the serious deviations from the rules of engagement.
When I came to the village the day after the killing, Samir’s blood was
still smeared on the rocks. Here the soldiers hid, and here he was caught
between two fences and here’s where they shot him. The picture was clear, the
facts decisive. After two and a half years of intensive investigation it
emerged that there was no evidence. In the interim, Israeli soldiers also
killed Lafi Awad, in the same place, the same way. Why not? The two graves are
next to each other, and the two killers are already someplace else.
MKs say the
practice, which is unofficial but familiar to residents, 'has no place in a
democratic state'
 |
The entrance to the pool, Mabu'im, June 17, 2018. Eliyahu Hershkovitz
|
Knesset members from both the opposition and the
ruling coalition called on the attorney general Tuesday to work toward ending
the separation between Bedouin and Jews at a public swimming pool in southern
Israel.
As Haaretz
revealed at the beginning of the week, Bedouin are not permitted to enter
the pool in Mabu'im at hours designated for Jews – and vice versa. Bedouin who
wanted to enter the pool on Saturday were stopped at the entrance and were told
that the pool was "for members only."
In a letter to Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit,
Knesset members called the separation
"a grave practice that has no place in a democratic state" and
said it violates an anti-discrimination law.
They added that "it is difficult to stand idly by
while children are kept outside of the pool only because of their religion, in
a country where they are considered equal citizens."
The letter was signed by Meretz MKs Tamar Zandberg,
Mossi Raz, Michal Rozin, Ilan Gilon, and Esawi Freige; MK Yousef Jabareen
(Joint List); Zionist Union MKs Eyal Ben-Reuven and Stav Shaffir; Yesh Atid MKs
Pnina Tamano-Shata and Yael German, and MK Akram Hasson (Kadima).
As previously reported by Haaretz, the separation is
undeclared but nevertheless familiar to both residents and visitors, Jews and
Bedouin alike.
An employee said the pool has activities for the Bedouin
community during the week ater 6 P.M. and on Friday nights, while the rest of
the time the pool is open only to members.
"There is a tacit agreement here," a
resident of Mabu'im said. "Bedouin
will not enter the pool when there are Jews because the residents threatened to
stop coming."
- 16th June 2018
For some time now, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has been
leading the charge against Jeremy Corbyn over highly controversial allegations
of anti-Semitism. But now, undeniable evidence has reportedly emerged exposing
that a leading member of the Board of Jewish Deputies is an out-and-out racist.
Last Thursday the Jewish Chronicle reported that they had “seen tweets shared by Roslyn Pine, who stood
unsuccessfully to be vice-president of the Board in last month’s elections,
describing Muslims as “the vilest of animals”, as well as
one describing Arabs as “so evil”. She also retweeted a
message describing Arab migrants to Europe as “an invading army”.”
When challenged by the Chronicle
on her abhorrent views Pine, who represents a far-right tendency within the
Board, was emphatic
I detest the creed of Islam and I’m
entitled to say it.
Her invective stands in stark contrast
with the words and actions of the longstanding anti-racist campaigner Marc
Wadsworth – who was recently expelled from the Labour Party over extremely
dubious allegations of anti-Semitism – as well as Jeremy Corbyn himself.
And Pine’s dangerous views are not
anomalous amongst the leadership of the Board of Deputies either. Robert
Festenstein, who also stood to become a Vice President of the Board, courted
controversy recently by agreeing to be interviewed by Britain’s leading
Islamophobe, Tommy Robinson. Festernstein is also a director of the right-wing
Jewish Human Rights Watch, a group that conflates opposition to the crimes of
the Israeli State with anti-Semitism.
In August 2015, another representative
of the Board of Deputies (as well as Jewish Human Rights Watch), Jonathan
Neumann, compared Leicester City’s Labour-run Council to Hitler’s genocidal
regime because the Council had agreed to boycott goods from illegal Israeli
settlements in the West Bank.
In a YouTube video made at the time,
Neumann explains, in direct reference
to Leicester’s boycott: “When the Nazis first came to power in 1930s
Germany, one of the very first things they implemented were boycotts of Jews.”
Who do the Board of Deputies Represent?
The Board of Deputies of British Jews
has been presented in the Tory press as an organization that represents the
voice of Jewish people in Britain… as if there is just one voice! This is not
the case. As Jewish Voice for Labour made clear in a recent
statement:
“We are appalled by the actions and
statements of the Board of Deputies. They do not represent us or the great
majority of Jews in the Party who share Jeremy Corbyn’s vision for social
justice and fairness.”
Rather, the Board of Deputies represents
a very particular strain of thought – one which unflinchingly supports the
actions of the current Israeli government. This was confirmed by Roslyn Pine
herself when, during her leadership campaign, she was
asked “How will you [as a potential Vice President of the Deputies]
represent the diversity of opinion in our community with regards to Israel?”
She responded:
That is not required by the Board’s
constitution, nor is it feasible. The Board should take no view as to this or
that Israeli policy. The Board’s remit is to do whatever in its power to
support Israel’s security, well-being and standing.
Clearly a large part of this mission
includes smearing and attacking those who oppose Israeli State terror,
including Labour’s current leader.
The Fight for Democracy
And while Corbyn and his supporters have
always sought to promote democracy and fairness, the Board of Deputies serves
the opposite purpose. Indeed, Roslyn Pine again provides evidence of this when responding
to the following question “What is the one thing that most frustrates you
about the Board?” She replied:
Not having any role in decision making,
despite sitting on a division (International). The democratic mandate seems to
be for the very few. It seems that the views of the average deputy count for
very little.
Her wording (unconsciously) evokes the
very antithesis of the Labour Party’s current slogan – “for
the many, not the few” – as well as the underpinning values of the
labour movement.
But clearly there remains a minority of
Labour Party members who do not share in this noble idea – including numerous
MPs and Councillors, many of whom are enthusiastic supporters of the ongoing
witch-hunt against socialists.
One of the main tasks facing Labour
members at the moment, therefore, is to push for the full democratisation of
the Labour Party – including the readmission of expelled socialists and the
reintroduction of mandatory reselection – which would enable pro-working-class
MPs and councillors to replace the current pro-capitalist ones.
