On the intervention of the General Secretary the NEC has backed away from taking a position on Motion 54, which calls for sanctions against Israel.
There are some concerns about the way in which this motion has been covered in the press – it strikes me that we are being unnecessarily timid about our policy of support for the Palestinian people.
The NEC is deferring its position on this motion for the time being.
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Jon, there are many other states in the world which are "based on" religion or ethnicity. To take one rather obvious example, the Church of England is an established church. There are far more repressive and violent examples. Yet only Israel is singled out for the 'boycott' proposals. Doesn't that tell you something about the logic of motion 54? It is a political mistake, driven by an understandable desire to "do something" in solidarity with the Palestinians, but which in the end would be counter-productive.
Israel is simply not an apartheid regime. Describing it thus, or hinting that it is, does a dis-service to Palestinians, Israeli refusniks and peace campaigners, and also to South Africans who fought apartheid. Yes, both regimes are bad, but that doesn't mean they are the same.
And, yes, as you know, I do consider myself "on the left", and I thought you considered me there, too.
Nick
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