On the weird slur ‘campism’ in the face of Israel’s genocide

It is inexcusable for a leftist to bemoan “campism” while failing to mention Canada’s backing for US/Israeli violence.

On Monday Canadian Dimension published “The Iranian people are confronted by enemies within and enemies without” by former leftist Quebec national assembly member Amir Khadir. The article complained about “campists”, which is not defined but is supposed to be those who believe the world is divided into competing political groups of countries (camps). But Khadir failed to mention the most important “camp” for its audience: Canada. At the time of publication, Prime Minister Mark Carney had already (twice) justified Donald Trump dropping 14 bunker buster bombs and dozens of missiles on Iran.

Amidst a warmongering media sphere uniformly hostile to the large, diverse, country of 90 million, Canadian leftists shouldn’t contribute to demonizing Iran. They should focus on denouncing Carney’s open support for Trump’s aggression. Or criticize Ottawa’s support for Israel’s war on Iran and the likely involvement of Canadian forces in the US/Israeli aggression. Or criticize Canada’s complicity in Israel’s violence in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.

If you feel the need to denounce “enemies from within” then maybe highlight Canada’s support for the cult-like MEK Iran opposition. With ever more Canadian politicians attending events put on by a group formerly listed as a terror organization, MEK has long assisted Mossad/CIA violence in Iran and probably participated in Israel’s recent attacks.

To further explore the “enemies from within” angle, why not discuss Canadian Zionist organizations and politicians boosting Reza Pahlavi? Son of the former Shah, Canada supported his father until his ouster and backed the 1953 US/UK coup.

Also, a leftist could’ve talked about Canada’s isolation and demonization of Iran that enabled Israel’s war. Or Canada’s illegal sanctions on Iran and Ottawa listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as a terrorist organization, but not the Israeli military.

Another angle for leftists could have been to highlight the hypocrisy of Carney and other Canadians talking about Iran’s non-existent nuclear arms program while ignoring the nukes of the two countries that attacked Iran. They could also highlight Ottawa failing to support a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone or the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Amidst a highly volatile situation, why would a left publication echo much of the official line when internal politics have little to do with the US/Israeli aggression?

Yes, the Iranian government enables far too much inequality and ecological destruction. But not as much as Canada’s. The Iranian government is more repressive than Canada’s but we don’t have to deal with Mossad’s infiltration and assassinations, which greatly undermine Iranian civil liberties. It’s also more patriarchal than Canada’s government but it’s more complicated than the simplistic portrayal in our media. The Islamic regime imposes odious conditions on women, but it has also nearly eradicated female illiteracy and boosted women’s educational attainment.

But none of these matters have much to do with the Ottawa-backed aggression against Iran. That is easy to demonstrate just by looking at Canadian policy towards Saudi Arabia, which is far more repressive and patriarchal than Iran. Canada treats Iran so differently from the large neighbouring kingdom because of its support for what Khadir disparagingly labels the “campist” promoters of the “resistant front”.

And its assistance to the forces directly confronting Israel’s mass slaughter should be applauded by those opposed to genocide. I’m an atheist, feminist, anti-militarist who believes in libertarian socialist ideals. But if you want to stop the livestreamed holocaust and Zionist violence across the region, how can you not back the resistance front?

“Campism” is largely a red herring. While it may be a problem at the fringe, it is mostly just a slur against those opposing their country’s international belligerence. And we need far more Canadians challenging the “camp” that matters most for them: Ottawa’s support for US/Israeli aggression and a holocaust.

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