Explanations have not made much difference, I'm afraid, and yet the mass pickets of the Post have been well supported by women - one estimate put the last picket at two-thirds female. I am now forced to the conclusion that the only way to get the point across is for women in the NUJ to refuse to support their struggle for re-instatement unless they support us.
That's what I mean by confrontation and independent action by women. I don't think anyone would suggest being as conciliatory as Liz does if it were racism we were talking about, rather than sexism. Fighting sexism in the working class means forcing men to relinquish the material gains they make from our oppression, saying 'this hurts us', not 'this doesn't benetit you Finally, can someone explain how the false consciousness embodied in sexist attitudes can have no material basis in Marxist terms? If there is where does it come from?
LUIC SUE LANDAU, London NW3 SO Dave Rosenberg has the right line on Zionism, and I assume on the Palestinians (Letters, 17 October).
the Zionist Alliance with Lebanese fascists; the Zionists' attemptsto smash the Lebanese economy; to Palestinians, and to make the latter refugees for the fourth time (this time with nowhere to go).
links with the mass murderers in Pretoria, and the deposed murderers of Iran and Nicaragua. logic. It's equivalent to saying that Zionism, and both are racist right!
From the point of view of socialists, the approach to take to Zionism is that of the classical European Jewry was based on the of 'Israel' since 1949 confirms that analysis:
I suppose that means he supports alienate the Lebanese people from the justice shall be done He must also approve the Zionist women's In his attack on the critics of Bob Dylan, Rosenberg employs a strange because Amin and Khomeini oppose murderers, therefore Zionism must be Marxist principle that the tragedy of survival of capitalism. The evolution If this campaign, which includes the demand for a full public inquiry into the events at Southall, is successful, it could have an important bearing on the cases of the 342 people currently being tried with some severity on charges arising out of the same police action at Southall.
We are therefore appealing to your readers to contribute as generously as possible to this fund, once again seriously in need of money. We are determined that ANGIE COULTHARD, MARTIN GERALD, JO LAING, AMANDA LEON, DAVID RANSOME, JOHN URE, KEN WORPOLE, For the Blair Peach Memorial Fund, c/o ANL, PO Box 151, London WC2. A voice in the movement IN HER article 'Do we need a communist women's movement today?' (25 October), Valerie Coultas correctly pointed out: "The women's movement is broad and heterogeneous and allows anyone who has a view to put it forward in a written and an oral form.' So broad and heterogeneous is the movement that an enormous void existed within it which Womens Voice is attempting to fill. Womens Voice is part of the women's movement, and its function is to put forward, within concerns of the women's movement before Womens Voice irrelevant to them as working women. It has introduced many women to revolutionary politics - many of them have sinced joined the SWP Most importantly, Womens Voice is committed to building the revoluționary party. As socialists and feminists this surely ought to be our primary task? Nowhere in her article does Coultas refer to this. Surely this is the area where discussion between us would be most fruitful.
Yes, socialist ideas are popular. They are discussed widely in drawing rooms, at dinner parties, in various journals, by many different people. However, one (or even one thousand) socialist teminist conference(s) doe: not a revolution make. What distinguishes us as revolutionary. socialists is our awareness that 'no women's liberation without revolution. norevolution withou women's liberation' is more than an empty slogan; and our understanding of the need to build the party if the slogan is to become a reality.
So, in answer to the question that Coultas poses and fails to answer — Yes, we do need a mass communist women's movement. We need to be organised to build it. Womens Voice has laid the foundations. Perhaps Valerie Coultas would care to help erect the scaffolding?
HAZELMACPHERSON, NW London SWP