There has, over the past year, been a vigorous debate in the pages of the Weekly Worker concerning its position on the question of Israel-Palestine. A number of people have contributed to this debate including Moshe Machover and myself. Much of this debate is inaccessible because of the hacking of the WW site but the most recent articles by Jack Conrad and myself are accessible.

I hesitate to sum up the arguments of Machover and Conrad for fear of misrepresentation but I think it is safe to say that both believe that the Israeli Jews are a nation which is entitled to self-determination. Machover believes that it is futile to discuss solutions within the ‘Palestinian box’ whereas Conrade espouses the CPGB’s solution of two democratic secular states in Palestine – Jewish and Arab.

My own view is that Israeli Jews are not a nation, or at least an oppressor nation and therefore the right of self-determination doesn’t arise. Likewise I do support the goal of a democratic, secular state. Given the size and therefore audience restrictions of the Lucas Arms, of which the Machover-CPGB-AWL debate last year was a good example, it will be best to get there early!

Tony Greenstein