Selected and Introduced by Jon Rothscild
Al Saqi Books, 1984, Distributed by Zed Press
The articles in this anthology were first published in the journal Khamsin 1976 – 1983.
There is hardly a problem of contemporary society and politics that does not possess a particularly severe form in the Middle East. Nevertheless, in all the various countries, there have always been people who have challenged the status quo with the vision of a future that, however distant and elusive, nonetheless contains some hope. The journal Khamsin was founded in 1975 by a small group of such people.
The state of Israel was built in struggle against the Orient; but once it had been built, about half its (Jewish) people were offspring of that same Orient. Neither the Zionist movement nor the state of Israel has ever been able to resolve that contradiction.
Articles about women in the Middle East inevitably touch on many facets of social, political, and economic life in the countries concerned, and will tell us as much about the nature of Zionism and the Arab societies as they do about women themselves.
The two articles in this section, written nearly seven years apart in time, share common concerns, seek to call attention to the Lebanese, as opposed to international or inter-Arab, components of the crisis and the war. Both refuse to endorse any of the warring sides, or to countenance their behaviour.
Khamsin 8 was entirely devoted to the 'Politics of Religion in the Middle East'. All the articles in this section are taken from that attempt to take up what the issue's editorial called 'the sadly neglected twin tasks of confrontation with Islam and Judaism'.
Whatever may be said about Hammami's political views on particular points, there is no denying the non-sectarianism of his attitude to the Israeli Jewish population: he recognizes that they constitute a nationality just as much as the Palestinian Arabs, and that they, too, are entitled to national right in Palestine. To hear a Palestinian spokesman say this was not necessarily congenial to fanatics on both sides.
Will the election of Amin Gemayel as president of 'all of Lebanon' finally put an end to the ghastly pageant of civil war in that country? Many Lebanese hope so, but their desires are as mangled and bewildering as were their heroes of yesterday – or their martyrs
The political allegiance of Israel’s Oriental Jews to the Likkud, and their rejection of Labour, are firmly rooted in the history and class structure of Israeli society.
A critique of Farjoun's Class divisions in Israeli society.
This article was written several years ago, as a discussion paper... I believe that some of what it contains may still serve as a starting point for further discussion and clarification.
On Edward Said's Orientalism, and Orientalism in reverse
In order to gain a critical understanding of the persistence of Islamic archaism and all its paraphernalia, one must approach it through the logic of its own history, as well as that of the Arabo-Muslim bourgeoisie of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
None of the expectations, predictions and prognoses of left circles, whether inside or outside Iran, have been confirmed by the passage of time. The speed with which a highly repressive and deeply reactionary regime has emerged, in the wake of colossal mass mobilisations involving millions, has left many in political shock and disillusionment.
The political contradiction between zionism and secularism is the basic reason for the power of religion and its influence on the minds of most Israeli Jews; it is also one reason why the Secular Movement cannot become a mass movement.
Khamsin is bereaved. Eli Lobel, editor and founder of our journal, has died tragically on Thursday, October 4th 1979. The life-story of this outstanding revolutionary socialist and great internationalist is, in more than one way, the story of a whole generation, the tragedies and noble struggles of a whole epoch.
The position of women and the nature of the sexual division of labour which exists in Israel cannot be discussed in isolation from the zionist characteristics of the society. The colonialisation process, its requirements, its constraints, its internal contradictions and the political conflicts to which it gave birth are reflected in every aspect of life of Israeli society ‒ including the position of women.
Introduction ‒ Palestinian Workers, A Reserve Army of Labour in the Israeli Economy, by Emmanuel Farajun, Tel Aviv, July 1979. Originally published in Hebrew May 1978.
Chapter-1: The Arab working class - Palestinian Workers, A Reserve Army of Labour in the Israeli Economy, by Emmanuel Farajun, Tel Aviv, July 1979. Originally published in Hebrew May 1978.
Chapter-2: The division of the Arab labour force between occupations and enterprises - Palestinian Workers, A Reserve Army of Labour in the Israeli Economy, by Emmanuel Farajun, Tel Aviv, July 1979. Originally published in Hebrew May 1978.