Strike at Iran Khodro car plant in Tehran: "Going on strike is the only way to act" We received this brief report by the Workers' Action Committee (Iran) on a recent strike at the Iran Khodro car plant in Tehran. The production line in most halls came to a halt and, with the slogan "Going on strike is the only way to act", the strike took over the whole plant.
Iraq – Opening the Gates of Hell Sectarian violence has plagued Iraq since the February 22 destruction of the sacred Shia al-Askariya shrine in As Samarra, pushing the country dangerously close to civil war. As the US army in Iraq faces the prospect of being dragged into such a war, opinion polls in the United States show that support for the Bush administration is at an all time low. The conditions are being laid for an all out explosion both in Iraq and in the United States.
Three years of imperialist occupation of Iraq - countless thousands dead and descent into civil war The constant stream of news, combined with photographic and video evidence, about maltreatment of Iraqis at the hands of occupying troops is having a traumatic impact on the Iraqi people. It is also affecting the outlook of soldiers, both British and American, and on the population in Britain and in the US. This will serve to strengthen resistance to the occupation inside Iraq and to increase pressure in Britain and America for withdrawal of the troops.
Holocaust denial, anti-Islamic cartoons – all reactionary propaganda David Irving’s holocaust denial highlights one side of bourgeois reactionary propaganda; the recent anti-Islamic cartoons highlight another. It is all used to divide the workers and poor of the world. This is particularly clear in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Islamic world up in arms - Sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind Last week, the growing turbulence in the Middle East came to a head as protests erupted over the publication of cartoons picturing a caricature of the prophet Mohammed. The fact alone that all this happened more than five months after their actual publication in a Danish newspaper clearly shows that the publication was only the spark that lit the fuse. You cannot explain the present conflagration without looking at the underlying frustrations of the millions of Muslims all around the world.
Hamas wins Palestinian elections: the early stages of the class struggle and the hypocrisy of imperialist democrats The Israeli Marxists had predicted the victory of Hamas some time ago. They understood how discredited Fatah had become among the Palestinian people and the only credible alternative they could turn to was Hamas. They also explain that Hamas will be sucked into the so-called “peace process” and will end up being exposed. All this will eventually help the Palestinian workers and youth to draw revolutionary Marxist conclusions.
"The Writing was on the Wall"- Hamas in power, what next? Hamas’ ascent to power has been a concluding result of an ongoing process that should be analysed against the background of the events spanning decades, not only in Israel/Palestine but also the whole region and the world. Here Nadim al-Mahjoub, an Arab Marxist, gives his interpretation of the situation.
Israel: the shift in the Labour Party reflects growing class polarization The shift to the left in Israel and in the Labour Party has not dropped from the sky. This shift is rooted in these struggles of the past period. Looking at the struggles of the last 10 years, we can see that the working class was willing to struggle against privatization and the austerity measures of the Israeli ruling class. This has now found its reflection in the Labour Party.
Ariel Sharon – transforming a war criminal into a national hero Sharon is seriously ill and may never return to active politics. This has thrown the whole of the Israeli establishment into turmoil, as now a question mark is being placed above the party he founded a few weeks ago, Kadima. Society is so polarized that one man can balance at the top. Without him the balancing game may not hold for long.
Ariel Sharon – myth and reality A comment on the background of Ariel Sharon, an army man involved in terrible crimes against the Palestinian people who went on to become Prime Minister of Israel. From this position, which he still holds, he continued to oppress the Palestinians, while also attacking the workers of Israel.
Ahmadinejad and company: Reactionaries of the world unite! The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has made several anti-Semitic statements in the recent period, the latest being a denial that the Holocaust ever took place. Why has he come out with such incredible statements? Are his threats to attack Israel real? Or do they reflect the need to divert attention away from the real problems faced by the Iranian masses?
New Israeli Labour leader under pressure from Left and Right The election of the new leader of the Israeli Labour Party, Amir Peretz, has been described as a political earthquake, which indeed it is. Peretz has a reputation of being a left, militant trade union leader. Now he is coming under immense pressure from both the left and the right, which reflects the growing class conflict within Israeli society.
From Zbeidi With Love - To Sharon On December 5 a suicide bomber blew himself up in Natanya, Israel, killing several civilains. As we warned a few days ago, one of the instruments Sharon can use in whipping up anti-Arab sentiments among the Jews in Israel is precisely this kind of attack on civilians. It comes conveniently for Sharon at a time when the working class is moving to the left!
Israel: The two dangers on the road of the working class The change of leadership at the top of the Israeli Labour Party is still sending shockwaves throughout the whole of Israeli society. Now the new leader will come under immense pressure. Sharon with his new party is also manoeuvring. He can play the game of provoking further conflicts with the Palestinians to re-enforce the siege mentality among the Jews and he can try and trap Labour in a new coalition. These are the two dangers facing Israeli workers.
US arrogance has no limits in Iraq A minority voted for the new Iraqi constitution. Fighting has now erupted on the Iraqi-Syrian border. The resistance is being strengthened, not weakened. And now we have the revelations about the use of chemical weapons by the US army. The Pax Americana is wallowing in blood. This article was originally published in the Italian Marxist journal, FalceMartello.
