The WSWS and Socialist Equality Party (Australia) are holding public meetings in Sydney and Melbourne this month to oppose the US-backed Israeli war against Lebanon, to discuss the underlying geo-political factors driving this criminal aggression and to outline a socialist perspective against neo-colonialism and war.
Over the past four weeks, Israeli missiles and bombs have killed as yet unknown numbers of civilians, destroyed power plants, airports, hospitals, roads and bridges and made more than one million Lebanese—25 percent of the country’s population—homeless, without access to food, water, medicine and other vital supplies. Like the war crimes that preceded World War II—the bloody subjugation of Ethiopia by Mussolini’s fascist forces in 1933-34 and Nazi Germany’s carpet-bombing of Guernica in Spain in 1937—the assault on Lebanon is a political turning point in world affairs, foreshadowing even greater military conflagrations.
Israel has long planned the bombardment of Lebanon as preparation for a full-scale invasion of the country and the annexation of more territory. It is acting as a proxy for the US, which is seeking nothing less than the reorganisation of the entire Middle East in order to establish its unchallenged domination over the oil-rich region. Having invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, Washington is now preparing for war against Syria and Iran.
Britain and other major powers have endorsed the bloody onslaught in order to secure for themselves a share in the vast profits and resources potentially on offer from the region. Likewise, the Howard government and the entire Australian political establishment have extended their full support in exchange for Washington’s green light for Australia’s own neo-colonial adventures in East Timor and the South Pacific.
Millions of people around the world are deeply shocked and horrified by the military destruction of Lebanon, the wanton murder of its people, and the barrage of media lies and falsifications that has been poured out to justifying these crimes. But anger and revulsion alone are not sufficient.
The critical political and historical issues that lie behind these events must be thoroughly probed and understood. What are the origins of the Middle East conflicts? Why have the United Nations and the European Union refused to oppose Israel’s aggression? Why have all the major powers lined up behind the Bush administration and its opposition to an immediate ceasefire? Most importantly, what perspective is required to advance a unified global struggle, involving Arabs, Jews, and workers of all nationalities and backgrounds, against imperialist war?
These are some of the vital questions that will be raised and discussed at the Socialist Equality Party public meetings, where SEP national secretary Nick Beams will be the featured speaker. We invite all supporters and WSWS readers to make arrangements to attend.
Sydney
Tuesday 22 August, 7 p.m.
University of Technology, Sydney
UTS Tower, Building 2
Ground Floor,
Lecture Theatre 04.29
Melbourne
Thursday August 24, 7 p.m.
North Melbourne Library
66 Errol St
North Melbourne
Tickets: $4 & $2 concession
For further information contact the Socialist Equality Party:
Email: sep@sep.org.au
Telephone: 02 9790 3511
Fax: 02 9790 3501
Mail: PO Box 367, Bankstown, NSW 1885