Peter Buch
American Trotskyist activist and writer, former Zionist turned leading defender of the Palestinian revolution
| Peter Buch | |
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| Born | Brooklyn, New York |
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| Occupation | Political activist, writer |
| Known for | Critique of Zionism; defense of the Palestinian revolution |
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Peter Buch is an American Trotskyist activist and writer best known for his outspoken defense of the Palestinian revolution and his critique of Zionism as a colonial-settler project. A former member of the socialist-Zionist youth organisation Hashomer Hatzair, Buch spent six months in Israel in 1951 working on a kibbutz before breaking with Zionism and joining the Young Socialist Alliance and the Socialist Workers Party (SWP).
Buch’s political evolution from committed Zionist to anti-Zionist Marxist is documented in his writings and public interventions of the 1960s and 1970s. He argued that Israel was not a progressive or socialist state but an artificially sustained capitalist outpost allied with imperialism, whose creation required the displacement of the Palestinian Arab population.
Early life and Zionist period
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Buch joined Hashomer Hatzair, a left-Zionist youth group, as a young man. In 1951 he spent six months in Israel, working on a kibbutz and attending a leadership training school. He later described this period as his “original sin”:
Break with Zionism and turn to Trotskyism
By the mid-1960s Buch had rejected Zionism and embraced Marxism. In his 1967 pamphlet Zionism and the Arab Revolution: The Myth of Progressive Israel, he systematically dismantled the claim that Israel represented a progressive or socialist society. He wrote:
Buch detailed Israel’s dependence on imperialist aid, its capitalist economy, discrimination against Arab citizens and Oriental Jews, and its repeated alignment with Western powers against Arab national liberation movements.
Palestine defense activism
Following the 1970 Jordanian civil war, Buch undertook an extensive speaking tour across the United States and Canada in October 1970, addressing approximately 75–100 campuses in defence of the Palestinian revolution. He reported a marked shift in American student opinion:
Buch emphasised the united-front tactic, defence of Arab student rights on campus, and opposition to U.S. military intervention in the Middle East. He stressed the importance of supporting the entire Palestinian liberation movement without becoming entangled in factional disputes.
Introduction to Rodinson’s Israel: A Colonial-Settler State?
In 1973 Buch wrote the introduction to the English edition of [[Maxime Rodinson’s seminal work Israel: A Colonial-Settler State?. He summarised the core thesis:
Legacy
Buch’s writings and speaking tours played a significant role in winning sections of the American radical left — particularly among Arab students and Jewish youth — to an anti-Zionist position grounded in Trotskyist internationalism. His work remains influential in discussions of the Palestinian question within the Marxist tradition.
External links
- PALESTINE DEFENSE PANEL 1971 SWP Convention at Marxists Internet Archive
- The Myth of Progressive Israel at Marxists Internet Archive
- Socialist Viewpoint article on Buch
- Citizens of the Whole World (Medium article discussing Buch and the Jewish left)