CP of Israel, Our Principal and Practical Responsibility to Struggle against Fascism and Racism

From: Communist Party of Israel, Monday, 25 January 2010

 http://www.maki.org.il  mailto:interelations@maki.org.il 

Statement of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Israel, January 15, 2010


MK Muhammad Barakeh, the Chairperson of Hadash - Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (DFPE) and member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Israel (CPI), will take part later this month, with the blessings of the CPI and DFPE leaderships, in the Israeli parliamentary delegation to commemorate the International Day of the Auschwitz Death Camp Liberation by the Red Army. His participation is a clear expression of the ideological and political line, put forward by the CPI and DFPE for many years:

January 27th, the day of Auschwitz's liberation by the Red Army, was designated by the UN as the International Remembrance Day for the victims of Fascism and Holocaust. For throughout the 20th century, Communists led the struggle against fascism and racism. We are proud of this struggle and are committed to its humane values, now and in the future.

The Holocaust of European Jewry is an inseparable part of the racist essence and monstrous practice of fascism. The lesson of the Holocaust is universal and humane. Dealing with it is both a humanistic and a Communist duty. For us, it is also a very contemporary lesson. No people is immune to fascism and racism. These dangers exist in the Israeli society as well, and struggling against them obligates us to form, within the Israeli society, a broad democratic front of resistance and action.

The CPI is well aware that in the recent years, the Israeli establishment made great efforts to appropriate the Holocaust for the benefit of the official Israeli propaganda. This is a false connection. As the Communist Party of Israel, it is our duty to contribute to the struggle against the misuse of the memory of the Holocaust, which is intended for the justification of the Occupation. The way of dealing with it is not by running away or avoiding the mater. Dealing with it does not mean forfeiting into the hands of the Israeli establishment the universal marking of events and ceremonies commemorating the victims of Nazism.

Choosing the day of Auschwitz's liberation by the Red Army to be the International Remembrance Day for the victims of Fascism and Holocaust, was an important achievement of the international progressive struggle against the attempt to belittle and erase the decisive part played by the Soviet Union in the defeat of the Nazi beast. In Israel, the CPI stood for many years in the forefront of the commemoration of May 9th - Victory Day over Nazi Germany – even during times in which the Israeli establishment chose to completely ignore this decisive event in humanity's history.

As part of the world Communist and progressive movement, the CPI will continue to take an active part in commemorating the victory over Nazism, and Auschwitz's liberation by the Red Army, in the international arena as well.

Our participation in the parliamentary delegation is derived from our historical and strategic decision to take an active part in the Israeli parliamentary arena. This decision is, for our part, an inseparable part of our struggle to win over Israeli public opinion, in order to bring about a deep political transformation in this country. We are part of the Knesset. We don't boycott it, or its activities, but treat them as an arena of political struggle, in which we stand for our values and principles. A parliamentary delegation is not a government delegation. In a parliamentary delegation, each member expresses the views and values of his party.

For throughout the years, the CPI opposed, and still opposes, the dangerous and destructive policies of the Israeli governments. We struggle against them with all our power and in all political arenas. In this struggle, we reject the attempt to identify the government of Israel with the people in Israel. The government of Israel we wish to replace. The people in Israel we wish to convince.

Beyond the principal ideological importance of our participation in the visit to the Auschwitz camp, the CPI views it as an important act in the contemporary political struggle. In face of the danger posed by the extreme Right in Israel, the CPI and Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) posed as a principal political question, the question of who will isolate whom: will the Israeli Right succeed in isolating the Left and the Arab population, or will we succeed in isolating them? In the public discussion surrounding the visit of MK Barakeh to Auschwitz, we can see an excellent example on how we can, in practice, around a just cause, isolate the extreme Right, both in the Israeli public opinion and even in the Knesset, despite its problematic political composition.

The Political Bureau of the CPI congratulates MK Barakeh in his trip. We call on Party members and supporters, Hadash members and supporters, to take an active part in the public discussion around this matter, and see it as an opportunity to clarify and strengthen our principled positions.