10 ANARCHIST THESES ON PALESTINE SOLIDARITY INTHE, UNITED STATES yy Published by haters cafe Typeset in Garamond and TASA Orbiter Designed by post chicanx haters 10 ANARCHIST THESES ON PALESTINE SOLIDARITY IN THE UNITED STATES by anonymous cl alls degiol sls clnanicl oaZll glory to the martyrs, victory to the resistance, what is coming is greater “The strategy of solidarity reached its limits long ago. Solidarity today is an industry of conferences, lectures, book talks, and ritualistic protests—symbolic solidarity. The ‘war on Gaza has exposed the clear limits on solidarity movements in the United States. Palestine solidarity is an extreme case in point in a much larger development of solidarity activism and politics. “The lesson of George Floyd uprising and other anti police struggles over the past decade tells us two things: that the Black movement over the course of a decade de- veloped more militant forms of struggle based on the failures of reform. And second, new groups of people entered the fight against the police based on their immiscration and willingness to act. The twin dynamics of the evolving Black liberation struggle and capitalist immiseration created the conditions for the George Floyd uprising, Materialist solidarity occurred historically under unique circumstances where people in the United States were compelled to act in new ways. As bad as the con- ditions in Palestine have gotten, they have not affected conditions in ways that force broader segments of oppressed and exploited people here in the United States to act. We have no definite answers about what to do in this moment. But we believe that anarchists must be having honest and serious conversations about what this ‘moment means for us. In many ways, our theses seck to provoke questions among anarchists and our fellow travelers about how we intervene in broader socal struggles beyond parroting the dominant narrative and actions of the activist Left. “The theses below map the contours of the struggle today. Ifwe find ourselves in a valley, a least we know where we are, and begin a climb from the low point of sym- bolic solidarity. Perhaps some comrades will be insulted by what we have said, but our ‘guide isthe Palestinian resistance to Israel, We stand with them.. 1. The ongoing genocide in Palestine cannot be stopped by more parades, speeches and marches to nowhere. While people may feel empowered by chanting in the streets and making speeches, for many of us who understand these pro- tests to be useless ritual, itis just another ‘example of our weakness as revolution- aries in the United States as we witness another Nakba unfold. 2. The social conflict around Anti-Zion- ism seems to have been mostly contained to college campuses. It has not spread into a revolt against broader sociery. Un- like the George Floyd. uprising (which continues to be our main reference point as anarchists who desire social revolu- tion), most oppressed and exploited peo- ple continue to go about their day to day lives. When the protests spread to the streets, we do sce a broader composition ‘of people, families for example, But these are hardly revolts but the public show of frustration and symbolic support. Docs mean that American. proletarians care litle to fight against the genocide in Palestine? What are we to do then? 3. Black and Palestinian Liberation struggles are often held up as being in solidarity. This claim must be re-exam- ined for us to move forwards. Beyond, that moment in 2014 where Palestinians tweeted our support ro Ferguson protest cers, it docs not seem that solidarity ex- ists between these communities beyond individual activists from those back- ‘grounds (Black and Palestinian) know- ing one another. Rhetorical caims of sol- idarity during speeches or on Instagram Infographics is not material solidarity. It is dishonest to make such claims when a material solidarity does nor exist. An- archists who fight alongside the Black liberation struggle must be critical of the idea of solidarity based upon such dubi- ‘ous claims as we ourselves see solidarity 4s material actions you take. While we sce similarities between the Palestinian youth who fight the IOF in Gaza and the Black youth in American ghettos who fight the police, we are not sure if this is solidarity. 4, In.a more positive note, the non-vio~ lene direction actions by Jewish groups such as IfNotNow and Jewish Voices for Peace are a step ahead of the ritualistic protests, but also a ritual themselves. While it is inspiring to see Jewish com- rides stand up to the warmongers and Zionists, these actions do not meet the needed requirements to stop the war on Gara cither. 5. Multiple comrades who attended the pro-Palestine parades in American cit ies have talked about how many of the cars in the demonstrations were expen- sive, “This indicates something about the broader class character of the move- ment. As a comrade has said: Non-Black middle class Muslims are similar to the white middle class, absorbed in con- sumerism and carcers. They worship 2 ‘god: the U.S, Dollar. Their class contra- dictions prevent them from doing any- thing meaningful regarding Palestine. If the class character of the leaders of the Pro-Palestine movement in the United States is petty-bourgeois, what is the place of anarchists within i@ Should wwe even be involved? It is critical to un- derstand that historically anti-colonial struggles are not only the domain of the ‘working classes and anti-capitalist revo- Jutionaries. This seems to be the case in ‘our contemporary setting as well. Fanon. teaches us that often the national bour- sgxoisicorright wing clements of the petit bourgeois often take part in anti colonial scruggles while forsaking the class strug- ide. As anarchists, we may share repul- sion and outrage at the genocide in Gaza bu we probably share litle else with the leaders of these protests in terms of our view of the world, This is an uncomfort- domain of the POC Left in the United States. POC Leftists read Fanon, tweet about Haiti and wax poetics about armed struggle. Despite this, we have yet to see any militancy from these POC leftists Instead they live vicariously chrough the resistance of the Palestinians in Gaza people while lacking any of that bravery themselves. They chant intifada revolu- tion in the street on megaphones and then go home. Meanwhile, anarchist ‘comrades in Palestine train the youth in Black bloc tactics and fight the Israeli oc- ‘cupiers in the streets of East Jerusalem. 7. To anarchist militants with an interest in fighting alongside anti-colonial strug- idles, there is a question that has arisen for us witnessing and attending these demonstrations in American cities. The ‘question is about why these demonstra- tions have not been more conftontation- al with the American police. If we under- stand the reality that the IOF has trained. American police, shouldnit the American police be the immediate enemy for these demonstrations? ‘This is complicated by how there have been photos of Arab cops with Palestinian flags in chicago. Even more embarrassingly. aftr a Zionist pep- per sprayed a cop in Skokie, Palestinian solidarity activists helped him wash his ‘yes. The whole black liberation solidar- ity thetoric continues to ring hollow with these actions of support for police. However Encouragingly, in Bay Ridge Brooklyn, crowds clashed and taunted the NYPD for their connections to the IOF, However to our knowledge, this remains an outlier. Unsurprisingly, these demonstrations are also filled with many authoritarian leftist cowards who seck to recruit more young people to their cults. ‘When these protests are the only option to engage in an “action” for Palestine, it feels unfortunate for anarchists. Pechaps more reason for anarchists and other anti-colonial forces to organize autono- ously. 8, Ie is clear that Islamaphobia is on the rise again. The tragic murder of Wadea Al Fayoume by a zionist trump support- ing landlord is indicative of this. The far right continues to label anyone who supports Palestine as a terrorist. The at- tacks on various Black and Arab activists who have been Pro-Palestine speaks to this. What is the anarchist intervention against Islamophobia? At the same time the fight against antisemitism cannot be dropped cither. We have already seen fascists attack Zionists in a Palestine sol idarity demonstration in Raleigh. Our stand must ahvays be clear. weare against both antisemitism and Islamophobia. How we position ourselves in this con- text is difficult, but matters. Finally, we must prevent the polarization to become ‘one of Jews versus Muslims. This has no horizon of emancipation, 9. The ability of the AFAsqa Flood op- eration to overwhelm and overextend (if only for a moment) the Israeli State shows that the imperialist powers are not all powerful. ‘The breaking of the Gaza wall is reminiscent of the destruction of the 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis. The struggle in Palestine should be a con- stant inspiration for us here in the Unit- ced States. In the United States, the first step for Palestine Solidarity is to make its position clear on Black liberation. A rudimentary starting point is to chants ‘expressing support for Black liberation and Palestinian liberation as well as con- demnation of police to become com- monplace at demonstrations. ‘There are many other ways to do this but for us it begins with honesty about material soli- datity as opposed to rhetorical. This will ‘only be a firs step as plenty of Black peo- ple have good reasons to distrust Arabs and Muslims in the context of a white supremacist America. But this is where it all must begin. 10. Ultimately, our main task as revolu- tionaries in the United States remains to be the unmaking of the American em- pire. Anarchists are for solidarity with Palestine, But the solidarity of tweets, or a few activists, is pretty thin compared to the shared solidarity of struggling to- agsther in large numbers. We have not seen this in the United Stares. We are for solidarity, but cannot prop up false ‘or razor thin claims either. From this honest starting point we can ask why there is so litte material solidarity and ‘what can be done about it. We eannot let ‘our emotional attachments to a move- ment that has lead to no advancements in our struggle here let alone providing any relief or aid for Palestinians fighting settler-colonialism in Gaza and the West Bank to distract from the real mission. Freedom for Palestine means Death to America. 2, “rysisa4 ays 2, designed by posechicane anonymously submited to ater fe ‘pe available on haters life