The brutal war between the Iranian oil bosses and Israel’s tech tycoons, as part of the showdown between U.S. and Chinese imperialists, ended, or at least was paused, in the middle of its second month. We must – as communists – take a hard look at the political forces at play in Israel. Contrary to state propaganda “Hasbarah,” which paints the Israeli nation as a monolithic entity in support of Benjamin Netanyahu’s murderous regime, in reality some Israelis oppose the recent wars and the government behind them.

Liberals will always bow to fascism

The most obvious observation we can make is that liberalism, here and everywhere, is thoroughly rotten and subservient to fascism. From Yair Lapid, the centrist liberal leader in Israel, to General Yair Golan, so-called leader of the “ Zionist Left,”, all liberals fawn and bow before open fascism. Not one liberal openly criticized the war in principle. Sure, they all criticize the details of war, the strategy and tactics – but not the war itself. General Golan’s “hard-line opposition to Netanyahu” facade conceals a great deal of militarism and the lack of a sufficient political spine to openly oppose this war.

Meanwhile, no matter how low the liberals bow before Bibi’s war machine, the fascists and religious fundamentalists still drool and openly call for violence against the “Left” (“respectable” liberals included!). Netanyahu’s thugs physically harass and openly attack well-known opposition figures and beat up anti-regime protesters on the streets. Netanyahu’s media hounds bare their teeth against any opposition, loyal as it may be, spreading libel and filth against all who oppose the government.

Liberalism, as an “opposition” tactic, always fails. This is mainly because most liberals would rather support fascism than working-class and communist forces. Faced with barbarous militarism and cruel state repression, liberals retreat, fawn, and bow their heads. Then, fascists crush them. Countless times in the past century and a half, all over the world, it always ends the same way: fascists opposed by liberals win, and in many cases many liberals join them.

The only political party in Israel openly and resolutely opposing the war, militarism, and fascism is Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), a multi-ethnic alliance of leftist movements led by the Communist Party of Israel (CPI). From day one, Hadash was open in its opposition for the war, without fawning in front of fascists and nationalists. This stands in stark contrast with the intentional weakness shown without exception by all liberals.

Hadash does not buy into the Israeli government’s claims that it wishes to topple the Iranian theocratic regime, nor does it fall into the trap of “defensive” military arguments. Instead, its members risk police and thug violence to openly protest the war in the streets. With a strong and uncompromising communist leadership, its members lead the remaining true-left opposition in struggle against Netanyahu and his billionaire backers.

Progressive Labor Party members, we recognize that despite the reformist nature of the movement’s leadership, its younger members fight hard for a communist future and are willing to take risks in the real war – the fight against fascism and militarism. Despite the movement’s electoralism and its intermittent compromises towards Palestinian nationalism, its actions as Israel’s active and uncompromising opposition show that communists, need to stand on the front lines against murderous reactionaries and their corporate bosses.