Solidarity 296, 18 September 2013

Defend the Bedouin, stop Prawer Plan

In the last few months there have been many protests in Israel over government plans to remove tens of thousands of Israeli Bedouins from their ancestral villages and land. Named after prime ministerial advisor Ehud Prawer, the “Prawer Plan” is the Israeli government’s attempt to “resolve” the disputed ownership of land currently inhabited by Bedouin Arabs, primarily in the Negev desert. The government claims that residents will be compensated and provided with alternative accommodation in specially designed towns. But many Bedouin and human rights organisations denounce the plan as...

Two and a half months' debate: socialism or vote-catching?

Over the next two and a half months, a fundamental debate will be run among some hundreds of left activists, most of them at present politically homeless and looking for a way forward. At the founding conference on 30 November of the Left Unity group, the main debate will be between the "Left Party Platform" (LPP), proposed by Kate Hudson and others, and the "Socialist Platform" (SP), proposed by Nick Wrack, Soraya Lawrence, Will McMahon, Chris Strafford, Cat Rylance, and others. Former Socialist Worker journalist Tom Walker, now a member of the SWP-splinter ISN, explains his support for the...

Rivers of rubbish: on the reputation on the left of AWL's predecessor, Socialist Organiser (1991)

Biblical scholars, I understand, have a terrible time of it working out what some of the long-vanished early Christian groups believed. They have to rely on such chance survivals as the "Dead Sea Scrolls". Most of the rich history of the competing Christian groups in the later Roman Empire is lost: the victorious Catholic Christians entwined with the Roman and later states from the early 4th century onwards, suppressed their opponents and left little trace of them and their beliefs except for factional slanders and lies. Mostly we don't know what they believed. If all the files of Socialist...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.