Socialist Action /March 2001
A Statement from the Editor
Long-time readers of Socialist Action newspaper will notice that,
with this issue, the names of some of our regular contributors are missing
from our pages. These include Nat Weinstein and Sylvia Weinstein.
With profound regret, I am notifying readers that a grouping of 27 Socialist
Action members have resigned from our party. On Feb. 20, Nat Weinstein handed
me a "declaration" announcing their split. He told me that they
intend to set up a new political organization.
The Weinstein split from Socialist Action was entirely unwarranted.
While their declaration cited some alleged organizational grievances
to justify their leaving our party, it did not state any political positions
for their new group. In the past, however, the Weinstein minority has expressed
differences with the Socialist Action majority concerning the 1999 imperialist
war on Yugoslavia, in which both sides of our dispute unconditionally opposed
U.S./NATO intervention.
The Weinstein minority rejected taking a public position of support to
self-determination for the Albanians in Kosovo, who were nationally oppressed
by the Milosevic regime and the victims of attempted genocide.
This dispute was resolved by a full national convention in March 2000,
but the Weinstein minority continued to raise the issue within the party.
In addition, they began to raise a number of "new questions."
This included opposing Socialist Action's major role in building the mass
demonstration for Mumia Abu-Jamal that took place in Los Angeles last August
at the time of the Democratic Party Convention.
The Weinstein group claimed that because the demonstration coincided
with the Democratic convention, it had to be objectively a pro-Democratic
Party action, and therefore our participation was unprincipled. We rejected
this view as absurd. The demonstration was focused exclusively on defending
Mumia; no support was given to either of the two ruling-class parties. In
fact, the LA Mumia coalition that initiated the event explicitly rejected
any pro-Democratic Party stance.
A major difference between the Weinstein group and Socialist Action also
concerned our attitude to the Fourth International, the world party founded
by Leon Trotsky in 1938.
Weinstein told me on Feb. 20 that his new group will break off relations
with the Fourth International. (Reactionary U.S. legislation prohibits organizations
in this country with holding membership in the FI; therefore Socialist Action
maintains fraternal relations with it.)
Socialist Action voted at our last convention to maintain our fraternal
relations with the FI and its affiliated parties in Europe, Asia, Africa,
and elsewhere, while forthrightly stating our criticisms of the FI majority
leadership, on issues where we disagree.
The Weinstein minority also informed Socialist Action they had developed
differences with the U.S. Trotskyist movement's historic positions on Palestine,
but they never stated in writing what their new position might be.
Although Socialist Action had scheduled a national convention for May
2001, the Weinstein minority declined to participate in the three-month
discussion prior to the convention. They did not submit a single political
platform document to the national discussion bulletin.
The Weinstein group's declaration alleged a number of organizational
grievances in an effort to justify their split and to deflect attention
from the fact that members of their group held political views that were
not clearly stated-and which certainly did not warrant their leaving Socialist
Action.
But no disciplinary measures or threats had been made against any members.
The national leadership focused on clarifying the political issues in dispute
and on preparing a convention in which the full membership could democratically
express its will.
Socialist Action made every effort to prevent a split by the Weinstein
group, which now, unfortunately, has come to pass. Their action is a blow
to the cause of building a mass revolutionary socialist party in this country.
Nevertheless, we pledge to you, our readers, that Socialist Action will
continue with our revolutionary party-building work and our commitment to
the historic program of the world Trotskyist movement.
Socialist Action will continue its monthly schedule as a newspaper
published in the interests of the working class. And we will continue to
bring you top quality analysis from the standpoint of revolutionary Marxism
.
-MICHAEL SCHREIBER, Editor
Socialist Action /March 2001 |