The Israeli Communist Forum (July 2003)

The movements against the war and the capitalist globalization, and the communists

The current globalization is characterized by  growing domination of the the imperialist powers and the transnational corporations  (TNCs) on the world economy, by committing more aggressive acts which becoming more and more brutal, including further using of armed forces in direct military interventions. In fact, we see to a certain degree a return to use of classic direct colonialism, after that since tens  years the imperialist were obliged to use in most cases "only" neocolonialism, as result of the international situation that existed till the collapse of the socialist countries. The occupation of Iraq by Britain and US is the most vivid example lately, when there was not even the slightest pretext to justify the opening of the war, which was aimed to take control over the oil in the region, to deploy  more strategic military bases, and to intimidate everyone who is opposing the new imperialist order in the Middle East as well as in the whole world.

The United States is still the most powerful imperialist power in the economic field, and especially in the military field. Nonetheless the escalating development of other imperialist centers, like west Europe and Japan, may change the balance in the future. There are contradictions among these centers, which were manifested for example before and during the war against Iraq. But, we should remember that even those who did not support the war did it mainly out of pure interest and not due to a principled position. In other cases, like in the war against Yugoslavia in 1999, they (including Germany and France) supported the war and took active part in it (as they took part before in the total dismantling of this state), and they might do the same in other cases in the future.

The lack of counter-balance to the  world imperializm, the role of which Soviet Union and other former socialist countries played for many years, enables the imperialist powers to wage this aggressive policy, to open wars, to occupy countries an to enforce their political and economic dictates more then ever on Peoples and countries all over the world.

The imperialist globalization is also characterized by growing exploitation of the Peoples of the developing countries, many millions of them are suffering from malnutrition, hunger, ignorance an old and new epidemics. The gap between the developing countries and the developed countries is broader then ever.

Additional characteristic of the globalization is the crude interference of the international institutions of the global capital and the TNCs, which making the resolutions of national institutions of various countries irrelevant, and enforce upon them extreme anti-social economic measures, in contrast to the inters of their citizens.

Also in the developed countries an unprecedented onslaught is taking place on all former social achievements. We witnessing a decrease in salaries, abolishment of many social rights, a transition of permanent workers to "part time workers", and of organized workers to workers who have "personal contracts". There is a significant decrease in unemployment allowances, as well as those of pensions. The public health an education's systems are becoming less an less efficient. At the same time the cost of their services is going up and up.  There is a growing tendency to enact laws against the trade unions and to limit the right of the use of strike as well as other means of workers' struggles.  

In Israel we witness the same phenomena. In last months an unprecedented anti-social measures against the workers and poor strata were passed. They include a severe cut in the payments for children (and many families in Israel have many children), big trim in pensions and delay of age of pension in 2 years for man and 7 years for women (both 67), cut in income allowances, unemployment allowances and all this in addition to general salary decrease.  

There is no doubt that all these phenomena which occurring in Israel are part of the general phenomenon of globalization and its crude anti-social aspect. Nonetheless in Israel the toilers are also paying the cost of the policy of war and occupation of the government, which has its huge economic cost (in addition to the harsh cost of lives). Billions of dollars are transferred from the health, education and social budgets to the military budget, in order to keep the settlements in occupied territories and to acquire of more and more various weapons.

After the war in Iraq there were those who had illusions that the US administration will pressure Israel in order to mitigate the anger in the Arab world. In reality US is not making any serious effort to bring an end to the Israeli occupation, and it continues to back the aggressiveness of Sharon Government, which uses the situation in order to commit new crimes against the Palestinian People.

In Israel itself acts of protest against the policy of war and occupation, and against the anti-social measures are being held, but they are far from the scale that is necessary in the current situation. There are also initial acts of protest against the globalization, which are important ones, but very far from the scale of protest which we have been witnessing in last years in US, west Europe and other areas in the wold.

The strong movement against the globalization in various parts of the world is an expression of a positive tendency of resistance against capitalist globalization, or at least against some of its most dangerous aspects. Because of that in our opinion the communists should take active part in the acts of protest, even when the slogans which are raised are not those that we have preferred to have, and even when the organizers are having a lot of political an organizational weaknesses. This does not mean that participation in activities should bring to being diluted in the framework of the broad movement. The communist should act in order to have influence on the movement, on its content and on its organizational methods. While acting together we should try to convince participants in those acts, that finally a basic solution to the main problems which humanity is facing can be achieved only through fundamental change of the regime. We should clarify that in the framework of the capitalist system we can act against certain aspects of the globalization, and to have certain  improvements in national, regional and may in rare case on world level. But we will not be able to liberate the world from additional wars, growing gaps and exploitation of the Peoples of the developing countries and of the toilers all over the world.

Taking into account the fact that the big capital is acting in coordination on world level, using international institutions like WTO, INF, continental and regional alliances, and international centers of the parties which represent its interest –  it is very important that the communists, as the most persistent opponents of the capitalist globalization, will cooperate among themselves in every possible form on regional as well as on world level. We held the opinion that there is a necessity for more international meetings, with broader participation, in which an exchange of experiences, as well as of opinions, will take place, an eventually also coordination of struggle. All this in an effort to enhance the struggle against capitalist globalization and for making it more properly organized, with more clear content and slogans, which will be aimed not only against various aspects of it, but also against the social system in the framework of which it was developed.