Tonight will be held in Haifa the opening event of the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) 26th Congress. The discussions will take place this weekend in Nazareth (March 16-17th). Hundreds delegates from all over Israel, Jews and Arabs, will take part in the Congress and foreign delegations from various countries: Palestine (Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian People’s Party), Germany (Left Party – Die Linke and German Communist Party – DKP), Spain (Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain), Belgium (Worker’s Party), Italy (Party of Italian Communists), Britain (Communist Party of Britain), Denmark (Red-Green Alliance), Greece (Communist Party of Greece – KKE), Portugal (Communist Party of Portugal) and Cyprus (Progressive Party of Working People – AKEL)
The Congress will be held in a period of turbulent developments in the Middle East, with popular movements protesting for democracy and social justice, and the forces of Imperialism maneuvering to take advantage of the events for their interests. Benjamin Netanyahu’s Right-extremist government, which enjoys the backing of US Imperialism, is continuously threatening with a new war of aggression, this time against the people of Iran. Such an aggression would have grave consequences for the peoples of the region, with especially disastrous results for the people in Israel.
Netanyahu’s government is pursuing a rejectionist policy towards the Palestinian leadership, willing to hold negotiations provided that the key issue is left off the table: Ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital; Dismantling all settlements and the Separation Wall, and solving the problem of Palestinian refugees, according to UN resolutions.
Within Israel, we are emerging from a period of acute social protest, which swept the country in the recent summer, bringing hundreds of thousands to the streets in protest of the rising cost of living, the lack of affordable housing, and the government’s policies of widening social gaps.
The recent period of mass social protest, opened up great possibilities for the creation of a progressive pole in Israeli society, which could take up the cause of blocking the government’s neo-liberal reforms and defending workers rights. Yet at the same time, ours is also a period of a reactionary wave of racist and anti-democratic legislation, intensification of attacks against the Arab minority within Israel, and growing danger of fascism.
These challenges oblige the CPI to prepare for them, while emphasizing our political and ideological foundations. Thereby stems the importance of our 26th Congress. Among the subjects that will be on the agenda for discussion in the upcoming CPI Congress: (1) The world capitalist crisis and the changes in Israeli capitalism; (2) Developments in the Arab world, following the popular uprisings; (3) The working class in Israel and the CPI’s activity among its ranks; (4) Achieving a just and lasting peace; Defending democracy and stopping fascism; (5) The struggle for complete equality for the Arab minority within Israel; (6) Struggling against Zionism; (7) Socialism in the 21st Century.
Related:
Communist Party of Israel, Resumé of the Report of the Central Committee to the 26th Congress
The Communist Party of Israel: Urgent tasks
The 26th Congress of the Communist Party of Israel will be held on March
