Yes, There Is Action Against the War

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important to keep this in mind when considering the later relations between the Shi'a Muslims and the Palestinians in the Beirut area. In addition to the economic migration, many southern Shia moved to the outskirts of Beirut because of • the constant Israeli attacks.

What are the political elements making up this Left or to give it its proper title, the Lebanese National Movement?

To begin with there were the nationalists, the Lebanese section of the Arab Nationalist Movement, the Nasserites. On the Lebanese level, it was more of a movement than a party.

After 1967 there was a big radicalisation in the Lebanese Left which ran paraliel to development of the CP. I say "ran parallel" because the CP kept its distance from the nationalist movement.

This radicalisation came into contact with Marxist intellectuals and a New Left grew up of which the present day Organisation of Communist Action is the only significant organised force, the rest being tiny grouplets. The OCA had a working class orientation but not much of a working class base.

While the CP failed to take up many of the big Murabitun. After the death of Nasser and after the '67 war, the Nasserite movement in Lebanon as Bein Jamul Beaufort "Castle Litani River Qlaia • Matulla • Burj Al-Shemati Taibe, • Qiryat Shemona Israeli-Haddad Area ISRAEL elements. After several splits the present organisation and Murabitun emerged. They are mainly based LEBANON "Nerjuyum; WAR fever has united most of the Jewish population behind Begin. But, as a militant from the Workers League of Palestine visiting Britain told us, opposition exists.

"On June 5, in the first days of the war, there was a demonstration of 2,000 in Tel Aviv. 2,000 is big for a left wing demonstration.

• 'The demonstration had originally been called in protest against the Zionist occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, but was turned into an anti-war protest.

"It was organised by the bir Let University n:- П-:1 TT..: d.. Solidarity Committee, which is supported by the Israeli Communist Party, Matzpen sister organisa. tion Workers League and some university intellectuals, non-aligned people and anarchists.

''This Committee was formed after the Zionists shut down Bir Zeit University in the West Bank. The university has now been reopened, but the Committee has also been active in solidarity with the strike in the Golan Heights.

•The Druze Arab population in four villages in the Golan Heights has been on strike since February, refusing to accept Israeli identity cards and demanding UN identity cards instead. Despite repression - invading houses in the middle of the night, shooting people including children, and arrests the Zionists have been unable to break the strike.

•"I'here have been other smaller demonstrations against the war. In Jerusalem the Bir Zeit UniverCommittee sily sondanty commitee organised three demonstrations of 50 or 100 people - one at Begin's house and two at the Hebrew University which were smashed by the police and fascists. They also organised a demonstration of 500 together with the feminist movement.

'In Tel Aviv there have been two further small anti-war demonstrations -one organised by the committee, and one by left-wingers in Hashomer Hatzair.

"At the haoinnino of tha ALE VI VIO war there was a lot of euphoria. But now a lot of Jewish workers are not happy about the war. I've had Jewish workers who are not at all left-wingers saying to me that it's not right to see children fighting against tanks - tht it's like the Warsaw rising (against Nazi occupying troops in 1944).

•'The Arab population in Israel feel defeated. Almost all of them have families in Lebanon, and almost_all of them support the PLO. But the more politically active people see the treachery of the Arab states.

•'The war has been able to stop strikes. In El Al -the Israeli airline - there was a political strike against the moves by religious parties and the government to stop Saturday working. But that has ended. Some strikes had started, and others were planned, over the new two-yearly wage agreement due from April. But since the war started, the Histadrut - the Zionist 'trade union' movement, though it isn't really a trade nroanisation • - hac signed IGUnDU ALAN an agreement.

•'The agreement grants a 10% immediate increase and cost-of-living increases of about 80% over a year -while inflation is about 100 to 120% per year. That's much less than workers were demanding. And just in case the last week there have been price rises averaging 22% on petrol, electricity, milk, bread, etc.. and a 3% increase in VAT.

'What we say is that Israel is not really a nation-state. It was created by imperialism, not for the Jews to lve in peace - we have had not peace but continual wars - but as a state like an aircraft carrier, to help maintain imperialist interests in the Middle East.

•'The Arab nation also has been artificially divided by borders imposed by British and French imperialism.

'We say that the solution is one democratic and secular state in Palestine. This can only be achieved through revolution throughout the. Middle East.

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