I was one of the founding members of the Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign. Here is a presentation I made about our group's past, present and future. It includes the method I believe we must use. Below the video is a written version of what I said. It is my view, not what was decided upon by the group.
The Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign, which was formed in March of 2022, arose out of discussions of three long time socialists. We were trying to understand why so much of the socialist left was apologizing for Putin's invasion of Ukraine. We noted that they repeated Putin's original excuse – that he was "denazifying" Ukraine. Then, when that fell flat, they repeated the following excuse – that the invasion was a reaction to the spread of NATO.
We have seen a similar reaction to the counterrevolution in Syria. In that case, much of the socialist left simply drew the false analogy that this was the same as the US invasion of Iraq. And not only was it the socialist left – also some serious journalists like John Pilger said the same. A subtheme of their arguments was their dismissal of every fact that didn't fit their narrative. It was "fake news" and the mainstream media always lies. Also, just as they are doing with regard to Ukrainians, this wing of the socialist left completely ignored what Syrians themselves had to say.
As the one who originally proposed our name, I would like to explain why I propsoed including "Socialist" in it:
I have long felt that the socialist movement here in the United States is largely isolated from the US working class. And if one is isolated from the working class at home, that certainly will be true internationally, including in Syria and Ukraine. This long term isolation has meant a general degeneration of the socialist movement and a new socialist movement must be born out of the ashes of the old. There should be no illusions that a tiny group like the Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign can be the force to rebuild a socialist movement. That must come from changes in the objective situation. But that doesn't mean we don't struggle to help the process along.
Socialists have to start not from what they want, but from a struggle to understand the objective situation, meaning an understanding of the different forces at work, how they will interact and how they may develop. In the long term, after all, we are socialists not because socialism is nicer or prettier, but because it is both possible and necessary; it is the only possible outcome that can resolve the global crisis (which is not the same as saying it is inevitable).
Our first task was to try to figure out what happened with the socialist movement and why. With that in mind, we had a series of discussions, starting with a two part series on how right wing and even fascist ideas had taken root in the left. We discussed the history that created the soil that made it possible and also the specific links with far right organizations and individuals who also have a base in the left. We were also one of the first groups to discuss the role of Roy Singham, and since then we have had a series of ciscussions, including on Syria and Ukraine, the oil industry and Ukraine, India (with Kavita Krishnan) and several forums featuring speakers from Ukraine.
We recognize that we cannot truly contribute to an understanding of what is happening if we don't participate in the struggles online and in the streets. And where possible we try to get involved and try to communicate with and listen to a wider layer of workers and youth.
Through these activities we sharpen our understanding, including how to phrase things and what to emphasize.
October 7
October 7 sent shock waves throughout the world. Hamas's terrorist attack and Israel's following genocidal war have brought a new movement into existence. But what sort of movement is developing? And also, based on our understanding of that movement, how do we relate to it? In one sense, it is very similar to previous ones in that it is centrally controlled by some of the left sects and the NGOs. But this is far from universal. For example, at a recent protest in San Francisco there was a group of Chinese students carrying signs linking up the oppression of Palestinians with the oppression of the Uighurs in Xinjiang. I also found that quite a few people were interested in my sign, which made the connection between Ukraine and Gaza, and people were willing to talk about that. That makes it all the more important to raise the issue of Ukraine in the pro-Palestine protests. After all, a huge issue we should raise is that of international working class solidarity. And how can we raise that isssue if we ignore the question of Ukraine?
Another important issue is how the movement relates to the Democratic Party. This is almost entirely ignored in this movement. They attack "Genocide Joe", of course, but it never goes beyond that. In fact, by centering on "ceasefire now", they simply take up the program of the "progressive" wing of the Party. That is completely in line with the NGO's who play a major role in organizing the demonstrations and other events. Then there is the left sects like ANSWER. They too tend to ignore the issue. As the 2024 elections approach, they will probably be supporting Jill Stein and/or Cornel West. No real supporters of international working class solidarity can support these apologists for Putin.
In general, at the rallies we hear all sorts of fiery denunciations of Israel and of Biden, and not a whole lot more. I think we should riase the following points:
- Regarding the call for a ceasefire now: It is fine, but it is inadequate because it ignores the fact that once it is over, Israel will go right back onto the attack. This call also ignores the occupation and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. If we oppose Israel's occupation of the West Bank (and also the Golan Heights), then we must oppose all occupations, including Russia's occupation of Ukraine.
- This new movement must be organized democratically. It should have open and democratic organizing committees to plan for the events. Those committees should provide a platform for speakers from all pro-Palestine points of view. That includes those who call for genuine, full international working class solidarity, which means linking solidarity with the Palestine with solidarity with Ukraine.
- Regarding the Democratic Party: In my opinion we should start raising the need for indepenent working class candidates to run at the local level. These would be candidates who expressly state that their campaign is meant to build a new, working class party.
One last point: There has been some discussion and disagreement in the Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign about some of us having voted for Biden in 2020. Whatever the view is regarding 2024, we must not ignore the very serious threat that Trump represents, a threat that is being largely ignored by the left today. We should take very seriously Trump's further turn towards the right. That includes:
- His criticism of the Heritage Foundation for being too establishment, to linked with the "deep state".
- His stated intent to use the Insurrection Act to put US army troops in the streets.
- His use of actual Nazi rhetoric, such as calling the left "vermin" that must be rooted out.
- His call to put all undocumented workers in concentration camps as a step to mass deportation.
He has not spoken very much about Israel/Palestine, but Lindsay Graham and others in the Republican Party have in effect called for going to war with Iran. Also, we should not forget the Muslim ban that Trump enacted when he first came into office, nor the fact that he doesn't support the two state "solution" because he supports Netanyahu's open drive for mass ethnic cleansing.
How we relate to this dynamic of Biden's support for Israeli genocide and Trump's support for far worse is something that will have to be discussed further, in part as it is played out over the coming months.
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