On the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

South African Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who died Sunday 26 December at the age of 90, was certainly an interesting and influential religious leader. 

He will be remembered for his active stance against the racist Apartheid, as well as for his reconciliatory role as the chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Nonetheless, despite his self-identification as a "socialist" and his criticism towards capitalism, the late Archbishop was a staunch anti-communist. In 1985 he stated that he hated Marxism-Leninism "with every fiber of his being", while he used to compare the socialist countries with far-right regimes, even Nazism! 

Shministiyot Letter — 80 Israeli teens refuse to serve in the army, denounce the policy of occupation and apartheid

Eighty Israeli teenagers in their final year of high school published an open letter on Tuesday morning, December 5, addressed to ministers in the far-right government, in which they declared their refusal to serve in the army to protest the state’s policies of occupation and apartheid. 

 

The new “Shministim Letter” reported on in Zo Haderech, the Hebrew-language website of the Communist Party of Israel, decries Israel’s military control of Palestinians in the occupied territories, referring to the regime in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem as an “apartheid system.”

Nelson Mandela — The international working class movement honors his legacy

Today, July 18, 2020 marks the 102nd anniversary since the birth of Nelson Mandela, the iconic South African leader and anti-apartheid revolutionary. Honoring his legacy, the World Federation of Trade Unions and the Trade Union International-Public Service & Allied (TUI-PS&A) issued the following statement:

Today, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)-Trade Union International-Public Service & Allied (TUI-PS&A) joins humanity in remembering the contributions and sacrifices of a man who dedicated his whole life to the course of building a more humane world, Comrade Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Nelson Mandela embodied more than just the spirit of narrow volunteerism and philanthropy: he was a revolutionary. 

Communist Party of Israel: The nation-state law is a fascist step towards Apartheid

CP of Israel: The nation-state law is a fascist step towards Apartheid.

The Communist Party of Israel considers the "Basic Law: Israel -the Nation State of the Jewish People", a serious fascist step aimed at undermining the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people, and at the elimination of the rights of the refugees. This law also expels the national and basic rights of the Palestinians citizens of Israel- as the nation-state law establishes a formal Apartheid system in Israel.

Israeli Apartheid: Communist and Left-wing forces condemn racist "nation-state" law

Joint List leader, MP Ayman Odeh, raises a black banner
during the discussion of the bill in Knesset.

Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, approved the controversial nationality bill Thursday declaring Israel a nation-state for the Jewish people and downgrading the status of Arabic from official language to “special status.” It must be noted that Arabs make up 21% of Israel’s population. 

The basic law, approved with 62 votes in favor and 55 against, recognizes the Jewish people in Israel “have an exclusive right to national self-determination." It also includes the declaration of a “united Jerusalem” as the capital of Israel, despite the fact that East Jerusalem is internationally recognized as being under Israeli occupation.