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Inside: Michael Lighty on Socialist Vision and DSA's Mission PUBLISHED BY THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS Of AMERICA OCRATIC Winning the Peace • • Prospects for the Israeli left • • The Arab world after the accords • INSIDE DEMOCRATIC LEFT Is An Israeli Left Being Born? Meet DSA's New National Director... 10 by Eric Lee. .. 3 Socialist Vision and DSA's Mission The Arab World After the Handshake: by Michael Lighty. 11 An lnteNiew with Mitchell Cohen by Joanne Barkan. .6 On the Left by Harry Fleischman. 14 DSAction .. .9 Jimmy Higgins Reports. 16 cover photo courtesy of Americans for Peace Now near, it looks as though we might tal's power can onJy come from a EDITORIAL succeed in defeating the agreement. renewed and internationalized left. Many congressional representatives, The left-wing anh-N AFT A move reacting mostly to widespread fear of ment, including progressi\·e unions NAFTAAND job losses in the U.S., have decided and environmental and community recently to oppose NAFTA. Presi organizations, has taken ~mall but dent Clinton has acknowledged that significant steps toward the left's of OUR FUTURE he does not have the votes to pass it. ten-preached but rarely-practiced Yet what appears to be a victory may dream -- global solidarity. We must BY GINNY COUGHLIN not be. continue to work ilcross borders with For the past year I've been trav A victory in Congress would be labor unions, environmentalists,. tu elling around the country talking to only a first step in the fight against dents, Latino-led groups, and com students about the campaign to de NAFTA. Over the long haul, we'll be munity orgarnzations to build a feat the North American Free Trade successful only insofar as we pro grassroots movement to demand a Agreement, and why this campaign mote a truly progressive vision. We democratic, equitable, and interna is so important for the future of the must demand a democratic, anti-rac tional future. ~ U.S., Canada, and Mexico. ist, feminist alternative economic Aided by new production and and social integration of North Gi1111y Co11gl1/i11 is tl1e OS:\ Youth Or- communications technologies, cor America. As .things stand now, if ga111zer. porations are locating factories all NAFTA is defeated in Congress, it over the world and forcing workers won't be this progressive vision that • to choose low wages, long hours, and makes the headlines. The media will horrendous working conditions -- or probably interpret a NAFTA defeat DEMOCRATIC LEFT no job at all. NAFTA makes it easier as a victory for old-fashioned protec Ma11ngi11g Editor for North American companies to tionism -- or, worse, as a victory for Michael Lighty move production facilities to areas the racist demands of Pat Buchanan with the cheapest labor and most lax and the far right of the Republican l'rod11dio11 environmental protection, forcing Party. If that happens, our victory in David Glenn down wages and working conditions Congress will be a defeat for our E1fiturial Committu everywhere. movement. Joanne Barkan, Dorothee Benz, I've encouraged DSA Youth Sec But it need only be a temporary Howard Croft, Mitch Horowitz. tion chapters to make the campaign defeat. The struggle against interna Sherri Levine, Maxine Phillips against NAFTA a first step towards tional corporate control will not end Fo1111di11g Editor building an international movement with the vote on NAFT A. Transna Michael Harrington (1928-1989) to counter transnational corporate tional capital will steadily gain . control over our lives with demands power, with or without NAFfA, and D•mo<rohc loft (15..'N DI t.100207),. pub'.atwd bimonthly •t 15 Dul<hSt. t 500. NY, N' 1000~ Soa:inddo.. po•,.gef"'id for popular democratic control. we will gradually lose our ability to •t New York. NY (PuMiutoon 1'o. 071ll-9602i !>utacriphom: For most of the past year I didn't make locally-based or nationally S!I ro•gut.r; SIS bi~rnutlllllal Postmuttt :'oond add~ <hang•.io 15 Outch<:4.,t5fo0,NY, l\'Ylo lleJrocroticl..tft think we could win the N AFT A based demands on corporations or i. puhh•hed by the Otmo<r•oc 5.x\alist• of Arnone>, IS Dutch f.t • t 500, NY, NY J 003K m2) 962-0390. S.gntJ muln battle. But as the scheduled vote in governments r>rrruthtcponomtSofllot""tl'°"'tmd"°'........,,1ytltokojtlw the House of Representatives draws Serious resistance to global ca pi- °'X""~flOtJ 2 DrM<XRA11C Lrrr Is .An Israeli Left Being Born? A Survey of the Landscape After the Accords BY ERIC LEE nan article published in these pages a few tiation ahead. There might even be a little war months ago, I argued that "neither side" with Syria ahead of us. But the fact remains that in the Middle East conflict "is in any the Middle East is finally resolving a conflict I hurry to reach a peace agreement." It which has lasted for three generations. turned out that both sides were actually in quite This should be cause for celebration in the a hurry. Israeli left and peace movement, and it is. To emphasize the snail's pace at which the Within days of the good news of an Israeli-PLO peace process then appeared to be moving, I peace accord, Peace Now organized a very large came up with what seemed to be, at the time, a demonstration in Tel Aviv's biggest square. funny scenario. I suggested that the next excuse The right answered with a series of violent for delay might be local elections in Norway. clashes with the police in Jerusalem. What could be further removed from the Since then, most of the left has been busy Middle East than Norway? congratulating Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin It would tum out that Oslo was where the and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on their breakthrough finally came. courage and initiative. I saw this right here at My predictive powers having been amply home the other day when Rabin paid a visit to demonstrated, I have now been asked to write our kibbutz factory. A spokesman for the kib about recent developments in the peace process butz hailed Rabin as a "man of peace," and the and especially the Israeli left's reaction. Consid prime minister was greeted with a standing ering my track record as a prophet, I hope ovation. readers will forgive me if I limit the discussion At any other time in 1993 such a reception at to what is actually happening, and not what will a left-wing kibbutz would not have been imag happen next. inable. When Rabin deported four hundred All the obstacles I pointed to on the Israeli Hamas activists to Lebanon, he was widely and Palestinian sides were really there; but they criticized by the Israeli left. When he closed off were all overcome. There is now genuine reason the flow of Palestinian workers in an attempt to for optimism. There will besomed ifficult nego- stop the wave of knife-wielding terror, he was Nov£MElER/D£CFMElE:R 1993 3 coalition. The point is that withoutMeretz, without its public and private pressure, Rabin and Peres would probably never have taken the step of talking with Arafat. The Labor Party doves who fought for the PLO recognition and the compro mise on Gaza and Jericho fought as allies of Meretz. Alone, they were not able to get the Labor Party to move beyond the talk of "territo rial compromise" and a "Jordanian option." Behind the scenes and in public as well, Meretz promoted the change in Israeli policy. This is exactly what Environment Minister Yosi Sarid declared when Meretz launched its 1992 elec tion campaign: Meretz would lead the way for the Rabin government. Every leader of the Israeli right now says this is what happened. Rabin has abandoned his traditional position and adopted Meretz's line. Does this mean that the need for an inde pendent left has diminished or disappeared? Yes and no. Now that Labor has embraced what was once Mapam's (and later Meretz's) unique position of talking with Palestinians who recog nize Israel and repudiate terror, it's arguable that there is no longer a need to build a left party Tens of also attacked by the peace camp. Finally, when in order to pressure Labor to make conce:.sions. thousands he launched "Operation Accountability" -- the What was once Mapam's heresy is now Labor's came to a recent air and artillery war against Lebanon - policy. rally called by even government ministers from the Meretz On the other hand, it is not only the issue of Peace Nowln bloc (comprised of the socialist Mapam party peace that has separated Meretz (and Mapam in Tel Aviv In and its two liberal partners) were outspoken in particular) from Labor. A whole range of issues early -- economic, social, and cultural -- divide Israeli September. their condemnation of Rabin's brutality and inhumanity. Until early September, it was actu- society, and on these the Labor Party and the ally not a very good year between Rabin and the Left do not always agree. Israeli left. Israel's political formations will need to In the wake of the accord with the PLO, the learn again how to talk about these i:.:.ues Since Israeli left has taken an attitude of forgive and the 1967 Six Day War, Israeli politic:. has been sterile. Author Amos Oz has often pointed out Do the accords mean that the that the constant discussion about borders has diverted attention from the real issues. No one need for an independent Israeli has talked for a generation or more about the kind of society we want to have here in the left has disappeared? Yes and no.