YCL of Israel Congress

The 19^th congress of the Young Communist League of Israel (YCL) opened with a large ceremony in I'biliin last Friday (April 5^th), with hundreds of Arab and Jews activists from all over the country. The congress took place with the slogan "Think revolutionary, create real change."  There were several speakers and musical performances through out the evening, including speeches from the secretary general of the Communist Party of Israel, Muhammad Nafa' and YCL secretary general Amj'ad Shbeita, traditional debka dancing, and poetry readings.

Discussions and voting took place the next day, including around 140 young delegates, for many their first time participating in such a congress. In attendance was the vice president of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, Dalfino Guila of Mozambique, bearing the greetings of the Federation and a youth delegation of the Palestinian People's Party.

Over the course of the discussion the congress voted to accept the following decision:

Against the occupation, for peace, against the right-wing bourgeois government and the settlers, preserving democracy and stopping racist discrimination, stopping government plans against Arab youth, standing with youth who are threatened by imperialism, against growing violence in Arab towns, for the release of the conscientious and occupation objectors from prison, for the success of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) in the nearly local elections, against attacks on the housing rights of Arab citizens, to recruit in large numbers for the March of Return (in remembrance of the Naqba) and for May Day, the International Workers Day, rallies; and to mark the 90^th anniversary of the YCL next year.