Defeating Zionism Requires Winning Democracry

A talk by John Spritzler -- an important analysis, and
interesting that 74% of the US population doesn't support
the US siding with Israel against the Palestinians, according
to a U of Maryland opinion poll.Israel, as we all know, depends on the United States' virtually unconditional military, economic and diplomatic support, without which it could not get away with its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Israel has cost the U.S. $1.6 trillion between 1973 and 2002.

Therefore, our goal, some would say, is simple: persuade the American public that the pro-Israel foreign policy of the U.S. is wrong.

Fine. But how successful do we need to be in our persuasion of the American public? Consider, as a benchmark for deciding how much is enough, that when Nixon defeated McGovern for President in 1972, he got 61% of the popular vote, and that was called a "landslide" victory. McGovern was "crushed."

What percent of Americans, would you say, must we persuade to adopt the view that our government should not take either side in the Israel-Palestine conflict? What percent would mean we had finally succeeded in our task?

51%?

60%?

70%?

Keep in mind that 61% is a "landslide."

News Flash!! A couple of weeks ago, the University of Maryland conducted an opinion poll in many nations, including the United States. They asked people, "In the Israel-Palestine conflict, do you think the U.S. should take Israel's side, the Palestinians' side, or not take either side?"

71% of Americans said "not take either side." Another 3% disagreed, saying "take the side of the Palestinians." So 74% of Americans--today--say that our government should not take the side of Israel. 74%! Thats so much more than a landslide that it deserves to be called a SUPER-LANDSLIDE.

But despite 74% of Americans being opposed to our government siding with Israel, it is VERBOTEN, TABOO to express this view in the American mainstream. Howard Dean, speaking off the cuff at a barbeque, casually mentioned something about how the U.S. should be "evenhanded" in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the establishment came down on him like a ton of bricks. Dean was publicly scolded by the likes of Nancy Pelosi. The elite seized on a non-event, Dean's "scream," and used it as a pretext to drum him out of the race with ridicule. (If Dean hadn't screamed, then for sure some photographer would have taken a photo of him with his shoe untied or something similar, and used that instead.) All this despite the fact that Dean's campaign manager, Steve Grossman, was a former president of the Jewish lobby's main organization, AIPAC. (Not to mention that Dean's wife is Jewish and he is raising his children as Jews.)

While it is true that most of the 71% of Americans who say "take neither side" do not understand that Israel means ethnic cleansing (how could they, since the mass media never tells them), and while it is true that we want the public to oppose Israel's ethnic cleansing and not simple "take neither side"...

Still, if current SUPER-LANDSLIDE American public opinion actually shaped U.S. government policy, then Israel would be unable to get away with its ethnic cleansing. If American public opinion shaped government policy, we in the SDP, and everybody in the world opposed to Zionism, WOULD BE DANCING IN THE STREETS, CELEBRATING THE VIRTUAL DEFEAT OF ZIONISM.

But we all know that the American public is NOT represented in Congress, or the White House, or ABC, or CBS, or NBC, or FOX, or CNN, or even NPR.

We do not have a democracy.

If we DID have a democracy, Israel would not be able to get away with its ethnic cleansing. And as long as we don't have a democracy, Israel will continue to be able to get away with its ethnic cleansing.

So, the aim of ending Israel's ethnic cleansing requires us to fight for real democracy in the United States. The two objectives are inseparable.

OK, but how can we win real democracy in the United States?

For starters, we need to do three key things to build a movement that will gain the confidence and strength to do whatever it takes to win.

1. Identify winning real democracy as our explicit goal. No movement ever wins an objective the rulers don't wish to permit, unless it makes that objective so explicit that all of its members understand the real goal and won't be satisfied with anything less.

2. Talk to people about ALL the reasons why we need and want real democracy--not just one reason about a conflict far away on the other side of the world, about which most people have little or no direct knowledge or concern. We need to connect all of the issues that concern people togther so that we build a single large popular movement for the one thing that connects all of these issues--the need for real democracy to win them. We need to talk to people not only about Israel-Palestine, but all of the other problems that resonate so strongly with people: that Big Money uses high stakes standardized tests to make our children blame themselves for being denied decent jobs later in life; that Big Money denies senior citizens pensions to live decently in retirement and denies them adequate health care--even if they have nominal insurance--when they really need it; and other terrible facts of life in these very undemocratic United States.

3. Let people who already know we don't have democracy and that we need it (and most people fall in this category) know something else that they DON'T already know--that they are not alone, that they are not a tiny powerless minority, but on the contrary they are the majority who can, potentially, turn the tables on the plutocracy that holds all of the power today. Except for our ballot question, there is virtually no public expression of the view that most people already hold--that we don't really have a democracy. It is as TABOO and VERBOTEN as saying the U.S. should not take Israel's side. This makes the majority feel like a tiny minority, which is exactly what the ruling plutocracy wants them to believe, because hopeless people don't fight back.

The ballot question calling for replacing the state Legislature with ordinary residents selected at random like a jury is a step towards doing these three things. Specifically, this ballot question:

1. Tells people that the SDP, previously known to the public only as an organization opposed to Zionism, is for real democracy, not our current fake democracy, and that the two issues are inseparable;

2. Tells people that the SDP wants ordinary Americans, not big money, to make the important decisions in our society, including foreign policy, because we know that the values of most people are opposed to ethnic cleansing, and we trust ordinary people to agree with us about Zionism once they learn the facts about it;

3. Tells people, through the vote results as well as the discussions among people during the campaign, that they are not alone in believing that we don't have real democracy, that that is the key problem in our society, and that we need a fundamental change to get it.

The revolutionary change that we want and need (and yes, it is revolutionary, by definition, to defeat an anti-democratic ruling class in order to get real democracy) is possible when people have conficence in themselves that they are a majority in wanting it and that they are RIGHT in wanting it.

Then people will take the concrete steps, whatever may be necessary, to win it.

This is how to defeat Zionism, and win a better world.

Thank you.