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p We greet the International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties on behalf of the Communist Party of Israel. This Meeting is an important milestone in cementing the unity of the world communist movement. What we should specially like to stress is that it was prepared by collective effort on the basis of the broadest democracy.

p We consider it our duty to make special mention of the contribution to the preparation and organisation of this Meeting by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party. And for this we express to them our gratitude.

p The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Israel has discussed and approved the Main Document. Its four sections are interlinked and comprise an indivisible whole.

p One cannot define the tasks of the anti-imperialist struggle at this stage without analysing the international situation, the balance of forces of the two world systems, the socialist and the capitalist, the problems of the socialist world system in its development, the struggle of the working class in the capitalist countries, and the struggle of the national liberation, anti-imperialist movement in the present stage. How, indeed, to cement the unity of the Communist Parties without determining the norms of relations between them, without analysing, if only in general outline, the development of the world communist movement with all its historic achievements and its difficulties? Could the world communist movement consolidate the front of all the anti-imperialist forces without a common line and a clear idea of the ways to this aim ?

p The Document worked out collectively by the Preparatory Committee reflects those common elements which unite our communist movement. It will help our movement to intensify the anti-imperialist struggle and invigorate the united action of Communist Parties, of all the anti-imperialist forces, in the struggle for peace, democracy, the independence of the peoples, and socialism. It will help our movement to conduct jointly a political and ideological struggle against Right opportunism, which is drifting towards Social Democracy, as well as Leftist adventurism.

p Today, we hold, the main danger to the communist movement comes from 523 nationalism, manifested in a narrow and inept approach to the problem of national interest, with what are thought to be national interests given precedence over the interests of the communist, anti-imperialist movement. It is doubly dangerous when this tendency surfaces among Communists in a socialist country.

p Experience shows that nationalism may assume the form of either Right or Left revisionism. Both varieties inevitably merge when directed against the general line of the communist movement, against Communist Parties following that line and, particularly, against the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

p The Document of our Meeting elaborates on the basic propositions of the 1957 and 1960 documents, generalising the new phenomena of our time and defining the tactics and strategy of our movement accordingly. Like the documents of previous meetings, the present one refutes the dogmatic conceptions that it is impossible to avert a world war. Those conceptions have nothing in common with the creative application of Leninist principles to the new international situation.

p At the same time, the Document reveals the utter incompetence of the revisionist standpoint, which underrates the danger of war.

p Some revisionists discourse on imperialism having changed its character. Others regard certain changes in imperialist tactics as changes in strategy, implying thereby that imperialism has all but abandoned its essential aims.

p Matters came to a point where the very existence of imperialism’s global strategy is either totally denied or, at- least, called in question. In fact, however, the ever sharpening contradictions among the imperialist powers in no way prove the non-existence of imperialist global strategy, the essence of which lies in subverting the socialist world system, the international working-class movement and the national liberation movement of the peoples.

p Underrating imperialism’s global strategy inevitably dampens the desire to consolidate the communist movement and the socialist camp.

p Denying the existence of imperialist global strategy or underrating it leads all too often to unprincipled rejection of proletarian internationalism in practice, and to justifying national separatism and pragmatism in international relations.

p The Main Document of our Meeting warns against belittling the dangers of imperialism’s aggressive policy. And rightly so. An arms race unprecedented in scale is under way in the United States, West Germany, and other capitalist countries; the war in Vietnam continues and the Middle East situation remains dangerous, fraught with war. Aren’t the wars in Vietnam and the Middle East proof enough that imperialist global strategy is a hard fact of life?

p Even Israel’s ruling circles, who at first in effect tried to deny it, no longer make a secret of the role played in imperialist global strategy by the June war. They speak of it openly these days, demanding that the United States abide by its policy of all-out support for the course of continuing occupation pursued by the Israeli ruling circles.

p From the beginning, our Party declared that the June war was contrary to the rock-bottom interests of the Israeli people, that it was started in the interests of the imperialist powers, principally the United States. The expansionist 524 aspirations of the Israeli bourgeoisie and our country’s Zionist ruling circles coincided with the imperialist designs in our region.

p The heroic Vietnamese people is fighting in the front line of the antiimperialist struggle. The solidarity and support of all progressives is on its side. The victories of the Vietnamese in the battlefield, like their political victories—winning public opinion on all continents and isolating the US aggressors—are an immense contribution to our common anti-imperialist struggle for peace and progress.

p Our delegation accepts with great satisfaction the Meeting’s Address " Centenary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin". We believe preparations for the great anniversary to be a good opportunity for deepening and extending ideological work in each Party, and also for collective discussion by the whole movement of various ideological questions. Together with the CPSU, with all Communist Parties, with all progressive mankind, our Party will mark the Lenin centenary in a fitting manner.

p Comrades, the socialist world system is the main revolutionary force of our time. No international event can be appraised correctly in isolation from the class struggle between the two world systems, the socialist and the capitalist. The Soviet Union is the main force of the socialist world system, whereas the United States is the main force of the capitalist system.

p Defining the special place objectively occupied today by the socialist world system and the special place objectively occupied in the socialist world system by the Soviet Union, is essential for working out the strategy and tactics of the working-class movement, for appreciating the anti-imperialist struggle and for drawing the right conclusions about the ways of struggle in the specific conditions of each country.

p The special, central place occupied by the Soviet Union in the socialist world system and by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the world communist movement does not hinge on anyone’s arbitrary, subjective wish. This history-conditioned objective fact does not cease to exist just because someone refuses to acknowledge it.

p We firmly reject the nationalist, divisive, anti-Soviet policy of Mao Tse-tung and his followers against the whole communist movement, a policy which is doing enormous harm to the anti-imperialist struggle. The 9th Maoist Congress of the CPC voiced the monstrous contention that the Soviet Union, with the United States, heads the imperialist camp and has, therefore, to be "fought to the finish". That is a "big leap" indeed, a leap from Marxism-Leninism to disgraceful apostasy.

p The adventurism of the Chinese leaders, who have gone to the length of armed provocations against the Soviet Union, does tremendous harm to the Chinese people, to their socialist gains. We are sure the day will come when the Communist Party of China itself denounces the nationalism and anti-Sovietism of the present Chinese leadership and assumes a worthy place in our ranks.

p In the view of the Communist Party of Israel, anti-Sovietism is equivalent to anti-communism. The Soviet Union has been and remains the world bastion of peace, the independence of the peoples, democracy and socialism.

p Our Party thinks highly of the internationalist policy of the CPSU, the 525 internationalist spirit of the Soviet peoples. Soviet foreign policy is a principled one, and Leninist to the core. The Soviet Union shoulders the heavy burden of main defender of the socialist world system, main helper of all the peoples fighting for national independence, against imperialism.

p The speech at this Meeting of Comrade Brezhnev, General Secretary of the CC CPSU, contains a profound and exhaustive analysis of the international situation, the problems of the world communist movement and the socialist camp, the relation of forces and the problem of war and peace. It is saturated with genuine internationalism. One’s attention is attracted by that part of it which refers to the growth and perspectives of the Soviet Union. The one fact that industrial production in the Soviet Union has more than doubled in the eight years since the previous Meeting is for all of us a source of deep joy. The stronger the Soviet Union, the more solid the socialist cause in the world, the more hope there is that peace shall vanquish war, and the firmer the peoples’ confidence in the success of their struggle for social and national emancipation.

p We Communists fighting in the capitalist environment rejoice deeply over the fresh successes of the socialist countries, over their increasing contribution to the common struggle against imperialism, for the triumph of peace, the independence of the peoples, and socialism.

p Comrades, each Party charts its policy independently on the basis of MarxismLeninism to suit the specific national conditions of its country. Fraternal solidarity and co-ordination of action in the common struggle against the imperialist foe is the decisive principle governing relations among Communist Parties.

p While accentuating the independence of each Party in framing policy, we reject the opportunist and nationalist interpretation of independence by those who measure independence by the degree of dissociation from the CPSU. This so-called independence goes against the unity of the world communist movement, against proletarian internationalism.

p Far from contradicting each other, the international and national interests of each Party are, in effect, a single whole. There is no such thing as antagonistic contradictions between the requirements of proletarian internationalism and the true national interests of each people. But there is a contradiction of another kind. An antagonistic one. That contradiction is between proletarian internationalism and bourgeois nationalism.

p Comrades, in the Middle East bloodshed has continued for all of twc years. Both sides suffer casualties daily. The so-called six-day war has, in effect, been going on for more than 700 days. As in the Arab countries so in Israel, the number of widows and orphans, of wounded and of invalids, grows continuously.

p A far-flung offensive has been mounted as a consequence of the June war against the democratic freedoms and rights of the working people. Many leaders and activists of our Party and other public figures opposed to the war and territorial annexation, have been arrested and tortured. Many of our comrades have been deprived of the freedom of movement. Many have been dismissed from their jobs. The atmosphere of extreme chauvinism and war hysteria has impelled a shift to the Right in the working-class movement and in Israel’s socio-political life. For the first time, Israel has a government 526 uniting all the Zionist parties on a common platform of war and territorial expansion, The extreme reactionary elements have gained a firmer grip in and outside the government.

p At first, our Party was the only political force to be hit by reaction. The members of the Party and of the Communist Youth League of Israel withstood the ordeal with honour. At the beginning of this year the Party held its 16th Congress, which contributed considerably to consolidating our ranks ideologically, politically and organisationally, The Congress revealed that the Party’s Jejwish^Arab unity has grown stronger in the difficult conditions. The membership has grown by 15 per cent in the three years between congresses, while that of the Youth League has grown even more.

p We are certain that their own experience, coupled with the struggle of our Party and the course of events in our region and the rest of the world, will bring it home, to the people of Israel that by opposing the aggressive June war our Communist Party upheld the honour of the Israeli people and showed the world that Israel is no monolithic reactionary bloc of militarists and proimperialists, that Israel has forces who offer the Arab peoples sincere co- operation in the struggle for peace, against the common imperialist enemy.”

p The main slogan of our Party is; "Not with imperialism against the Arab peoples, but with the Arab peoples against imperialism!”

p In the invaded Arab territories resistance to the occupation is mounting steadily. That is natural. The policy of oppression in the occupied lands, the policy of collective penalties, banishment, prison torture, demolition of dwellings, economic strangulation and other repressions—all these brutal measures of the occupation authorities only stimulate increasingly determined resistance, a resistance that is becoming wholesale, chiefly in the form of mass strikes and demonstrations,

p Our Party works for a political solution of the present Middle East crisis on the basis of the Security Council resolution of November 22,1967. A tremendous contribution is being made by the Soviet Union to the effort of preventing a new war in our region, ending the bloodshed, and eliminating the consequences of the June war. The Soviet stand, as presented in the speech of Comrade Brezhnev at our International Meeting, has evoked a strong interest among the Israeli public.

p Israel’s Communists and progressives received with satisfaction Comrade Brezhnev’s following statement (I quote): "We firmly demand full implementation of the provisions of the Security Council resolution of November 22,1967, Which opens the way for the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East"

p That is the spirit, too, of the Statement adopted by our. Meeting on June 7. That the delegation of the Communist Party of Israel backed this Statement caused an outbreak of anti-communist hysteria in our country. The extremists renewed their demand that the Communist Party should be banned, The advocates of territorial expansion were infuriated by the fact that Israeli and Arab Communists took a common stand with the Communists of the whole world, a stand that rejects the policy of aggression and annexation and demands complete fulfilment of the Security Council resolution.

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p It should be noted that the Israeli rulers are not alone in refusing to comply with the Security Council resolution. Extremist Arab groups, too, are against it. Alongside the fair demand that Israeli troops be withdrawn from all occupied Arab territories, and that the national rights of the Palestinian and Arab peoples be respected, they oppose the very existence of the Israeli state. We firmly reject this attitude. They forget the harm such chauvinist postures and declarations caused on the eye of the war. Those declarations only helped the Israeli rulers to mislead the popular masses in our country, to mislead a great many people throughput the world, helped to portray a war of aggression as a defensive war.

p Unlike, the Israeli government, the Arab states of Egypt and Jordan have officially declared their readiness to carry out the Security Council resolution to the letter, envisaging withdrawal of Israeli troops from all occupied territories, termination of the state of war, recognition of the right to sovereign existence of all states in the region, a fair solution of the Arab Palestinian refugee problem in conformance with the UN decisions, and freedom of navigation in international waters for all the states of the region.

p The refusal of Israel’s ruling circles, guided by their Zionist ideology, to fulfil the Security Council resolution is the main obstacle to a peaceful accommodation. And, obviously, this hard-headed posture is encouraged by the rulers of the United States, FRG and Britain.

p The Communists and all progressives of Israel will tirelessly combat the government’s policy because, as they see it, it goes radically against the interests of peace and the vital interests of the Israeli people.

p The war has increased Israel’s military, economic and political dependence on US imperialism. At the same time, Israel’s rulers are busily expanding their ties with West German imperialism. This is not accidental. There is a striking resemblance in the attitudes of the West German and Israeli governments, particularly as regards their refusal to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Deep concern is aroused by the recent announcement of the former Deputy Security Minister of Israel that "West Germany has supplied Israel with free arms worth $ 500 million”.

p The Communist Party of Israel works for a radical change of Israeli policy, for a policy independent of imperialist powers and foreign monopolies, a policy of peace.

p In our view, the most important and urgent task is to unite all forces in Israel that oppose the occupation and want peace, irrespective of political views and party allegiances. We are working for a united front of all those who realise that occupation and peace are incompatible and demand observance of the Security Council resolution.

p Another important and urgent task is to combat the attack on democratic freedoms! to combat the threat of a ban that hangs over our Party. For this, we are rallying all forces which realise that the repressions launched against Communists will finally spread to other strata of society.

p Our Party also considers it important and urgent to fight for the vital interests and rights of the working people, who bear the brunt of the war expenditures and are the main target of the government’s anti-labour policy. While the guns 528 roar, the workers and other working people continue to fight for their class interests. The workers in the ports of Haifa and Ashdod are battling for their rights this very day. Recently, the government invoked emergency laws introduced years ago by the British colonialists in order to foil a postal workers’ strike.

p Comrades, we are full of optimism despite the difficulties. We are confident that the forces of peace will triumph in Israel. The solidarity and support of all champions of peace, of all progressive mankind, is on their side.

p Our Meeting is a source of optimism and of faith in our forces, in the power of the international working class, the power of the anti-imperialist front.

So let us redouble our unity, comrades, and raise aloft the banner of proletarian internationalism, fulfilling our duty thereby to our own people and to the cause of peace and socialism!