Middle East

An answer to those who argue that the German and Austrian people have a "collective responsibility" for the Holocaust. The German and Austrian people themselves, and especially the proletariat that was lied to, betrayed and sold out by the Stalinists, the Socials-Democrats and the bourgeois parties, have no guilt to bear. The capitalists push this idea in order to cover up for the responsibility of capitalism in this terrible crime and also to hide the fact that millions of German and Austrian workers were opposed to Hitler, and many Socialists, Communists and Trade Union activists also died in his camps.

The preparations for war are acquiring a more feverish and urgent character by the day. On September 16, Iraq offered to allow UN weapons inspectors back without conditions. But this does not mean that war is off the agenda. On the contrary, war is now much closer. The decision by Iraq to allow the inspectors back was a last desperate attempt to avoid military action. The press has described it as Saddam Hussein's ace card. But this is not a game of cards but a life and death struggle in which the rules are made up as we go along.

What was the real role of British imperialism in the formation of the state of Israel? What position did the Soviet Union and US imperialism take at the time? And how did the PLO leaders pose the question of the struggle against Israel in the past? What solution can Marxists offer both the Palestinian and Jewish workers In this brief article we try to answer these questions and develop a perspective.

The events of last September were painful ones. But as the dust finally settles on the shattered ruins of the twin towers, a growing number of men and women are beginning to think and act for themselves. The terrible blows that shake the lives of the millions also help to knock out of their heads a hundred years of dust and cobwebs. Slowly, painfully, the fog is clearing from many minds and people are compelled to come face to face with reality. One year after September 11, Ted Grant and Alan Woods look at what has happened in the aftermath of the attacks.

The report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a most striking proof of this old saying that the first casualty of war is always the truth. It is being presented by the war party in Washington and Tony Blair as conclusive "proof" that Saddam Hussein is just "months away" from launching a nuclear bomb.

Last night up to a hundred British and American planes have attacked Iraqi air defences 240 miles west of Baghdad, alleging that their planes came under attack by Iraq. It is self-evident that the latest military operation was an act of unprovoked aggression and a calculated provocation.

The sound of war drums from Washington becomes louder and more insistent by the day. The recent declarations of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld leave no doubt as to the intentions of the ruling clique in the USA. They are impatient to launch a military operation against Iraq. When this perspective becomes reality there will be enormous potential for a massive anti-war movement around the world. The best activists in the workers' and students' movements will want to show their anger and to oppose the war, and we must be prepared.

With splits surfacing even within the Blair cabinet over war with Iraq, opposition to this military adventure is swiftly growing within the British Labour movement. Many unions are determined to raise the matter at the TUC and Labour Party conferences, which is now threatening to dominate the political agenda. From the Editorial Board of the British Marxist Journal Socialist Appeal.

With splits surfacing even within the Blair cabinet over war with Iraq (although they have not formally discussed the question!), opposition to this military adventure is swiftly growing within the British Labour movement. Many unions are determined to raise the matter at the TUC and Labour Party conferences, which is now threatening to dominate the political agenda.

Styling themselves on the American organisation of the same name, the Black Panthers campaigned against discrimination and oppression of Sephardic Jews who had emigrated from Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. The movement led to brutal clashes with the state. The peak of the confrontation between the Panthers and the authorities was in 1972, when 60 people were arrested on the May Day demonstration where they had chanted slogans not just against poverty but against the annexation of Arab lands.

From a geopolitical point of view Turkey has an important strategic position, not only for imperialism, but also for the world proletarian revolution. Quite significant economic and industrial development has been made particularly since the 60’s and this process has enormously strengthened the proletariat. Of course, in comparison to the big European countries, the basis of Turkish capitalism remains relatively weak and unstable. The rotten and corrupt Turkish bourgeoisie has not been able to solve any of the fundamental problems of society. This article looks at the current situation in Turkey, and the tasks facing Marxists.

We are publishing an article by Inge Eriksson, University lecturer in 'European studies with a historical orientation', at Malmö University, Sweden. The article analyses the roots and conditions that led to the Holocaust under Nazi Germany.

5000 Palestinians who used to work in Israel and have been unemployed for the past 22 months since the Gaza Strip was sealed off, have been demanding that the Palestinian Authority provide them with either regular unemployment payments or alternative work.

On June 15 Israeli bulldozers began to dig trenches for the building of a fence that will separate Israel from the West Bank. One of our Israeli correspondents comments on the plans to build a huge fence separating Israel from the Palestinian territories.