Prospects of Marxism and the Prospective Palestinian State

Prospects of Marxism and the Prospective Palestinian State: Means of Success in Establishing a Nation

1. Introduction

As a citizen of Jordan, I have always felt that the Arab-Israeli conflict has persistently been marked with a spectrum of stereotypes, delegitimization and other types of prejudices. Politics has often failed to resolve this conflict, and the possibility for a future end of the ongoing unrest in the region is hard to believe. Early in the presidential campaign, Trump administration offered Israel an unprecedented string of promises that, as it seems, the administration is so keen to accomplish. [1]The latest attempt by the US to resolve the conflict is often referred to as ‘Deal of the Century’ which Palestinians would not like. However, as far as the leaks continue to be disclosed by unofficial channels, the deal may offer a (sort) of a state to the Palestinians, which means that there should be eager ideological insights to formulate to establish a firm ground for Palestinians to act like people who belong to a state. This paper discusses what Marxism can offer for the Palestinians at present and in future in their attempt to set the overall system of the prospective state. The paper will explore possibilities of success and failure of political Marxism in the process, and will also offer further insights on how this can be implemented. Finally, the paper will depict a virtual image for a Palestinian state through which Marxism may prove viable in modern day politics. Also I have chosen this artifact to enhance the significant relations between Jordan and Palestine and we not only share the same language but also the same history, culture, traditions, and the same pains. Above all Jordan and Palestine used to be one country.

1.1  What is the Palestinian Cause?

1.2 Why Palestine?

1.3 Marxism and political application

Marxism is deeply integrated into the Palestinian struggle. Throughout History from the time of mid 600 before Christ until recently, Palestine has always been an Arab state which is part of a larger Arab and Muslim community. The Marxism theory and Marxist scholars have unanimously been against Zionism as a concept and subsequently Zionism in action through the modern-day State of Israel. With the increasing infliction of Jews to Palestine and with the horrific massacres that occurred by Adolf Hitler with targeting of ethnic minorities in particular Jews and individuals of Jewish heritage, many on the left thought were leaning towards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, nonetheless as this essay will explore, however, Trotsky scholars and theorist remained firm in rejecting Zionism.

According to Marxism approach, unlike liberal social thoughts that human beings are passive and individual consumers, human beings are productive and active beings and they can change the world ‘The whole of what is called world history is nothing more than the creation of man through human labour’ (Marx 1844a:357). (Sayers 2003, p.4).  

2. Prospects of a Palestinian state in the light of Marxism

The continued growth of the Jewish community in Palestine, demanded a Marxist response. There was a growing tendency in the Marxist left to recognize the existence of two national groupings, one Palestinian Arab and the second, Israeli Jewish. It should be said that Trotskyist groups rejected the idea that these changes were authentic or organic. The Trotskyist conclusion was that Palestine remained an Arab country. The Jewish minority could and should be assured of democratic civil rights, but the axis of the democratic struggle remained the call for an independent and undivided Palestine. (Kaminer, n.d.)

The proceeded with development of the Jewish people group in Palestine, requested a Marxist reaction. There was a developing inclination in the Marxist left to perceive the presence of two national groupings, one Palestinian Arabs and the second, Israeli Jewish. It ought to be said that Trotskyist bunches dismissed that these progressions were legitimate or natural. The Trotskyist end was that Palestine remained a Middle Easterner nation. The Jewish minority could and ought to be guaranteed of popularity based social equality, yet the pivot of the fair battle remained the require of a free and unified Palestine.

2.1 Perceptibility from Deal of the Century

It’s the Middle East peace plan focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Devised by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The deal of the country is synonymy to a strategic plan to eliminate the Palestinian cause. The recent US attack against Palestinian fundamental principles is a continuation of a colonial agenda in Palestine aiming to legitimize the presence of occupation state at its core, the Arab-Israeli conflict is about two fundamental things: land and people.

First, Trump announced his administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as a response from Mahmoud Abbas he has chosen not to meet with any senior US officials essentially giving Jerusalem, a city sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians, exclusively to Israel, the Jewish state. The Trump administration has made clear its intent to similarly eliminate from the negotiations table the Palestinians the right of return thus paving the way for a deal on Israel’s terms. A move that would ignore decades of negotiations surrounding a two-state solution along the 1967 borders as well as sideline Mahmoud Abbas and the PA entirely. (Israeli Elections: Gantz vs Netanyahu et al., 2018)

The Israeli- Palestinian conflict is often seen as an intricate deadlock. Marks by decades of failed attempt to sign a peace, on the other hand Trump’s Administration has finally revealed what the Zionist’s are planning with the “Deal of The Century” for occupied Palestine. Trump’s plan calls for to complete Forcible Transfer of 2 million Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip, to the desert of the Sinai!  According to a video that was launched recently during a Zionist seminar, reveals maps shown how the country is being divided into separate parts amongst other countries. This procedure is called: “Deal of The Century”.

The new state solution which they called was viewed as the following:

“By merging the Gaza Strip with part of the Sinai Peninsula, it will be possible to create a new thriven, sovereign and viable state for all Palestinians. Egypt and Israel guarantee the respect and defense of the borders of the new state. Israel with the Arabs nation and the international community could invest in the new Palestinian state and Egypt as the donor state. Technological and logistical support in areas such as water and agriculture could make this desert bloom. The new state Mediterranean coastline would offer rich opportunities for trade, commons, and tourism. The new state will fix the immigration policy so that anyone wishing to voluntarily relocate will receive generous absorption and economic packages”.  [2]

Three possibilities for this agreement to fail after viewing this video;

From the outside, it appears Trump and Kushner are insisting on moving along with a set of false assumptions and illusions.

The first is the constant maneuvering around the Palestinians in negotiating and coming to terms with a peace agreement. The current US administration has effectively abandoned the previous held dialogue with the Palestinian leadership; thus practically ignoring Palestinian concerns and aggressively adopting a pro-Israel agenda. This can be seen manifested through several Trump policies such as;

1 – The closure of the East Jerusalem consulate;

2. The transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem which significantly reduced life-saving assistance programs;

3. The overlooking and ignoring of Israeli settlement expansions;

4. Recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights (which is internationally recognized as Syrian territory);

5. The recent suggest that the administration is prepared to acknowledge the West Bank as Israeli territory.

There is very little credible chance of serious support for any peace plan that does not include plans for the Palestinians to be entitled to their own country alongside an Israeli country.

 The Second false allusion the Trump administration is insisting on is time. It is very dangerous to assume that time is in our favor – that in the end the Palestinians can be forced or humiliated to accept anything less than an official recognized State without any permanent costs to Israel. This is a recipe for further turmoil and human tragedy. Given the demographic realities, with the Arabs soon emerging as a majority in the land – controlled by Israel from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – it is also a formula for the erosion of Israel as a Jewish democracy. This, in turn, could have serious consequences for the American-Israeli alliance and the American popular rapprochement on which it is based.

 In addition to the above, it is delusional and naive to believe that the legitimate hopes of Palestinians for political dignity and a recognized State – even if they are constrained by legitimate Israeli security concerns – can be purchased through economic incentives. If this problem could be reduced to dollars and cents, it would have been solved decades and decades ago. Even if money is the solution, it is unlikely that the US or Gulf Arab states will provide the huge funding needed. (Burns, 2019)

 The illusions of the “Deal of the Century” seem to have been born partly from arrogance to make it impossible to revive hopes for two states for the two countries. This is the most dangerous proposal for everyone. In a nutshell “The Deal of the Century” is not a negotiation of peace it’s a negotiation for land and people.

2.2 Modern politics prejudices and the Palestinian cause

In 1948 and after all the incidents that happened that year along with the fight over identity and land when everything began, awful observations started to shape as a final product of the occasions that prompted an entangled situation in the locale. From that point forward, Palestinians and Israelis do not find it easy to interact or even to accept the idea of building relations among each other. 

On the other hand some believe that the conflict as religious. They link their point of view to the fact that Israeli occupation infringe the Palestinian Holy places. The prejudices and generalizations are a consequence of the considerable number of occasions that have occurred over the history, and is right now continuous. It’s obvious that a specific gathering can shape a thought regarding another because of genuine occasions and circumstances (Altalhami, 2017).

Prejudices can be defined as “a positive or negative attitude, judgement or feeling about a person that is generalized from attitudes or beliefs held about the group to which the person belongs”. Brown (2011: 7).

According to (Altalhami, 2017), she mentioned several ways to reduce prejudices in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throughout 5 different aspects:

3. Conclusion

Marxism has long been the solution for oppressed weak nations as with the Palestinian people, this is a clear example of how an ideology or a though process can resolve a longstanding ongoing conflict, moreover the Palestinian society as a whole – even though it is a very multicultural society – remains a very religious and conservative society and Marxism address religion (indirectly) as it calls for freedom, equality and justice and these are the most prominent values in religions as a whole, and Abrahamic religions in particular and therefore Marxism is applicable to the Palestinian conflict in a manner. Having said all of that, Marxism is not the full solution and there are still significant worries which need to be dealt with when applying Marxism to the Palestinian conflict, this is because Marxism is heavily intertwined with communism and not religion.

4. Bibliography

• Altalhami, R. (2017). Prejudices and Stereotypes in Conflict Areas: PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT. [online] Research Gate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316832103_Prejudices_and_Stereotypes_in_Conflict_Areas_PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI_CONFLICT [Accessed May 2017].
• Burns, W. (2019). Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ for Arab-Israeli peace is doomed by delusions. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trumps-deal-of-the-century-for-arab-israeli-peace-is-doomed-by-delusions/2019/05/07/451d82b2-70d5-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html?utm_term=.74edb0be612f [Accessed 7 May 2019].
• Brown, R. (2011) Prejudice: Its social psychology, John Wiley & Sons.
• Hassan, Z. (2019). Trump’s Plan for Israel and Palestine: One More Step Away From Peace. [online] Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Available at: https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/12/11/trump-s-plan-for-israel-and-palestine-one-more-step-away-from-peace-pub-77905 [Accessed 11 Dec. 2018].
• Israeli Elections: Gantz vs Netanyahu, B., The Levant Weekly News Roundup—August 11, 2., GCC and Yemen Weekly News Update—August 11, 2., GCC and Yemen Weekly News Update—August 4, 2., GCC and Yemen Weekly News Roundup—July 28, 2., Afghanistan and Pakistan Weekly News Roundup—June 23, 2., Now Chad, t., Egypt and North Africa Weekly News Roundup—August 11, 2., Egypt and North Africa Weekly News Roundup—August 4, 2., Egypt and North Africa Weekly News Roundup—July 28, 2., Turkish Local Elections Pose Challenge for The Opposition, a., Unanswered Questions About Malaysian Cooperation With Saudi Arabia, I., Bangladesh, S., Turkey Weekly News Roundup—August 11, 2. and Hanan Ashrawi, M. (2018). Five Views: Trump Reverses U.S. Policy on Jerusalem – 2018 January-February – WRMEA. [online] WRMEA. Available at: https://www.wrmea.org/018-january-february/five-views-trump-reverses-u.s.-policy-on-jerusalem.html [Accessed Feb. 2018].
• Issa, S. (2010). Palestine: notes from the inside. Race & Class, 51(3), pp.66-72.
• Kaminer, R. (n.d.). The palestine question analyzed in the light of marxist politics. [ebook] Available at: https://www.marxists.org/subject/jewish/kaminer.pdf [Accessed 10 May 2019].
• Sayers, S. (2003). Marxism and Human Nature. Taylor & Francis.
• Wetherly, P. (2005). Marxism and the State. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• YouTube. (2019). Palestine: Trump’s ‘Steal of The Century’ Revealed!. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkWcHwfwfZQ [Accessed 16 Apr. 2019].
• YouTube. (2018). Who is Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian teen charged for slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier?. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPTC4nJzFWY [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].

5. Appendix

I will be viewing some pictures were drawn by a famous Jordanian artist called Osama Hajjaj. Osama Hajjaj was born in 1973 in Amman -Jordan, he works currently at “Al Arab Al Youm” newspaper and he have worked earlier with several daily newspapers such as “Al Rray” & “Al Dastour”.He have also sketched for international websites such as “Cagel cartoons” He have his own website in addition to a page on Facebook where he post his cartoons on a daily basis. His drawings are related to people’s life in Jordan and the political events in the Middle East and the world.^[3]

It says Ahed AlTamimi wins..

Ahed Tamimi is one of the well-known characters in Palestine. She’s known by her resistant to the Israeli occupation since she was a child.

Ahed was arrested in a violent Israeli army raid at her home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh.

A video recording showed her slapping an Israeli soldier a day after the Israeli army shot her cousin in the head, placing him in a coma.

This was drawn by the time when Ahed went out the prison.

Image source:

http://sawaleif.com/%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%AD%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AC-42-373335/

For more details about Ahed AlTamimi please follow the link below.[4]

[1] https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/12/11/trump-s-plan-for-israel-and-palestine-one-more-step-away-from-peace-pub-77905

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkWcHwfwfZQ

[3] https://www.cartoonmovement.com/p/12440

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPTC4nJzFWY