Moshé Machover speaks on Iran, Israel, and nuclear weapons

This video is from the recent Hands Off the People of Iran (HOPI) weekend school which took place in London over June 14 - 15.

As well as being a member of the HOPI steering committee, Moshé Machover is an Israeli socialist, a founding member (1962) of the Socialist Organization in Israel (Matzpen). In the 1970s and 80s, he was co-editor of Khamsin, Journal of revolutionary socialists of the Middle East. He is on the Editorial Board of Middle East Forum (formerly Iran Bulletin). He is author of many articles on the Middle East and socialist theory, as well as of several books, including Laws of Chaos: A probabilistic Approach to Political Economy (co-authored with Emmanuel Farjoun), Verso, 1983.

David Mather and Amir Javaheri Langaroudi speak on the working class movement in Iran

This video is of one of the sessions from the recent Hands Off the People of Iran weekend school. We will feature a number of other videos from this weekend school over the next couple of weeks, so please check back to see the latest updates.

Some recommended reading

Here are some interesting things to read from around the blogosphere:

Vicky Thompson of the Hands Off the People of Iran steering committee has recently set up her own blog, ‘Infantile and Disorderly,’ so check it out.

Over at ‘The Storm Breaking Upon the University‘ there is an interesting article on academic freedom and the case of Hicham Yezza by Alana Lentin.

Imperialist pose - report of Manchester HOPI meeting

Chris Strafford reports a Hopi success in Manchester:

Hands Off the People of Iran held a successful meeting in Manchester on June 24, titled ‘Can imperialism liberate women?’ The meeting discussed how imperialism cynically claims to support the rights of women and others to legitimate its own actions, including its military adventures.

The meeting was opened by Ruth Bergan from the Greens, who reasserted her party’s support for Hopi and spoke about the growing military threat to Iran and its use by the theocracy to attack the social movements. The driving force was not concern for democratic rights, but the pursuit of the west’s economic and political interests, she said. She spoke about the need for change in Iran to come from the Iranian people without the interference of the western powers, and slammed Britain’s hypocrisy in regard to nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.

Principled approach to anti-war work

Hopi’s two day school reflects its resonance in the working class. CS member Chris Strafford reports

Over the weekend of June 14-15 Hands Off the People of Iran held a successful school, with around 70 people attending some or all of the sessions. All the openings were recorded and will soon be available on the Hopi website.

Hopi chair Mark Fischer (CPGB) opened the event by explaining that Hopi’s message has found a “resonance” in the workers’ movement. Two important unions, PCS and Aslef, have recently affiliated, proving the majority of the Stop the War Coalition leadership wrong. At both conferences the delegates found Hopi’s principled stand - against imperialist war, against the theocratic regime - was not too complex, but blindingly obvious. Comrade Fischer reminded comrades of the growing threat of imperialist attacks on Iran, either directly from the USA or from its regional watchdog, Israel.