New Popular Front's program to simultaneously support Ukraine in its war for national defense and Palestine in its fight against apartheid is, and should be, the standard for the Left.
A lot of people making arguments from both directions but it should be acknowledged that the NFP program was consolidated via concessions from each faction. LFI is obviously weaker on Ukraine but conceded on it, PS et al are weaker on Palestine and yet conceded on it.
Liberals in the US should move closer to the increasingly clear global consensus on Palestine (ie that occupation and apartheid are bad) and leftists in the US should reaffirm, as leading socialists in Congress have, that Ukraine ought to win the struggle to repel the Russian invasion.
It won’t be because we have the dumbest Left in any western democracy. A title that French Left held proudly for many years until our dumb Left snatched it from them.
Yeah I was gonna say this is gonna be a tough sell. The "left" you'd get to sign on to this program would be even smaller than "the left" as it exists writ large. Literally ANYTHING that might plausibly be about American power is anathema to too many.
Is it comforting at all that this leftist coalition will absolutely fall apart for the absolutely dumbest reason? The only hope is that this fever breaks before the collapse happens, which it will.
I just wish Melenchon would kind of go away . The guy has allways had a Russia fetish and he's such a polarizing figure . He hurts the french left more than he helps imho.
Dude how much french media did you actually consume ? He was not the only leader of that coalition. He's taken a backseat in recent years to other people and it helped the movement.
I think this post obscures that these are not nearly the same kinds or levels of support. I don’t think the Palestinian resistance is getting shipped any French weaponry anytime soon.
Hm, true that there is an obvious discrepancy, but also the Palestinian struggle is yes a war but not the same one-to-one sort of war. The national liberation struggle for Palestine will involve a lot more economic and diplomatic maneuvering than pure parity in arms.
Yeah, if nothing else, I don't think Gaza or the West Bank have the infrastructure to support the type of weaponry that's being shipped to Ukraine. You have to meet the situation where it is.
idk "it's not the same kind of war" seems like a cop-out. It's taken for granted (in the West) that "support Ukraine" = weaponry while "support Palestine" stops at diplomacy. If a country with France's resources supported Ukraine the same way they propose to support Palestine, they wouldn't be
considered as *really* supporting Ukraine! Saying NFP's (brave and welcome) stance should be the standard is setting the sights too low. It also leaves room for "support of Palestine" to reject Palestinian armed resistance as Hamas And Terrorism (e.g. bsky.app/profile/sfac...).
Well, yeah, because the "Palestinian resistance" is Hamas. Supporting Palestinian liberation and supporting Hamas are not just different goals, but mutually exclusive ones.
Well, yeah, because the "Palestinian resistance" is Hamas. Supporting Palestinian liberation and supporting Hamas are not just different goals, but mutually exclusive ones.
New Popular Front's views (good) views on Israel/palestine (two state solution, condemnation of , release of hostages ) would never be accepted by the American left which even is why even in pitching it you are careful to use very vague terms. It is also impossible to separate NPF's 1/2
views on Ukraine / Russia from the fact that they are in Europe and have a much more concrete problem. In short you are positing an American left that doesn't exist here
Well if you're asking me to use specific terms I'd say that unilateral recognition of Palestine, an arms embargo on Israel, the suspension of trade agreements with Israel, and support for full membership of Palestine in the UN are all things American leftists would generally like. All NFP planks.
I do agree though that the American Left is much less coherent than the French Left, for a variety of reasons including that we don't have parties which are able to be used as the vehicles for that concretization.
I don't disagree that if you had a discrete left wing political party charged with vote getting you might have a different set of policy positions than with your current I dunno constellation of activists. But is is what it is.
You are pitching this as "the American left should be more like the NFB on Ukraine as they share the same views as the NFB on Israel/palestine " But the American left doesn't agree with the NFB on palestine!
Yes if list the things that they would like and leave out the things that they don't they think it's great! think that the American left would like anything that moves policy in a direction that they like but they would never accept letting Israel exist as a sovereign Jewish state
OK. I support the unilateral and unconditional release of the hostages and I think a great many Americans who consider themselves of the Left do too. Obviously some don't but that's not something I control sadly. Have a nice day 👍🏽
Who knows. I do know that the substantive position of NFB (which I support) of a two state solution in which a Jewish state of Israel survives is not one that the American left would ever support which is why in pitching their Ukraine position he described it in the most euphemistic terms.
We don't have a left wing party but Tliab, Omar, Bush have all called for the right of return and for all Gazans and west bank residents to be able to live in Israel proper.
And there is a huge difference between not rejecting a two state solution and having it as your platform. I'm sure that many left wing organizations would not "reject" a two state solution rightfully seeing it as a big improvement but they don't have it as their platform.
I think their advocacy of a single secular state (I don’t know if they even do this but I’ll take your word for it) does not signal opposition to a two state solution. I don’t think anyone serious on the left would say two states along the 67 borders was a nonstarter
