On September 12th, 13th, and 14th of 2014, South Side Chicago ARA will be hosting the 1st Annual Torch Network Conference. Torch is a North American antifascist Network that evolved out of the Anti-Racist Action network. This conference has 2 parts; A private portion reserved for vouched antifascist chapters within the network (get vouched in now!) and a public portion for any and all antifascists interested in either the network or simply meeting other antifascists and having a good time. There will be workshops, tables, and more. 

If you have any questions or want to become a vouched chapter before the conference, email us a southsidechicagoara@hushmail.com

We will post a detailed schedule in the coming months!

The TORCH network is proud to announce that we are adding a chapter to our ranks. A very active chapter at that. Welcome to the team, Philly Antifa!

http://phillyantifa.wordpress.com:

“Philly Antifa are anti-authoritarians. We do not work with the state or any groups/individuals who seek to “reign us in” or otherwise control us. We do seek meaningful partnerships and alliances with groups and individuals we feel are working towards similar aims.”

We can be reached at PhillyAntifascists@gmail.com

It is with both great excitement and some sadness that we introduce TORCH, an anti-fa network. Out of the old Anti-Racist Action Network rises a new, militant anti-fascist network. This isn’t a fracture or schism coming from internal strife but the result of the realization that the blueprint laid out in a time before the internet no longer serves as a sufficient model for combating fascism. We acknowledge that many of our comrades have lost much, some their lives, under the banner of ARA. Their sacrifices will not be forgotten and their fight is still our fight. Because of changes in the current political climate as well as our own political development, our understanding of what fascism is and how it relates to other political entities such as the working class, capital, and the state has evolved. We wanted to build a new network that fit our needs and politics. One that is more relevant and appealing to a new generation of anti-fascists.

We are still on the prowl. We will still continue to expose, confront, and act. Fascist beware… we are TORCH. 

TORCH Points of Unity:

1. We disrupt fascist and far right organizing and activity.

2. We don’t rely on the cops or courts to do our work for us. This
doesn’t mean we never go to court, but the cops uphold white supremacy
and the status quo. They attack us and everyone who resists oppression.
We must rely on ourselves to protect ourselves and stop the fascists.

3. We oppose all forms of oppression and exploitation. We intend to do
the hard work necessary to build a broad, strong movement of oppressed
people centered on the working class against racism, sexism, nativism,
anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination
against the disabled, the oldest, the youngest, and the most oppressed
people. We support abortion rights and reproductive freedom. We want a
classless, free society. We intend to win!

4. We hold ourselves accountable personally and collectively to live up to our ideals and values.

5. We not only support each other within the network, but we also
support people outside the network who we believe have similar aims or
principles. An attack against one is an attack against all.

torchantifa.org

After posting our initial call to action for a phone jam, It gives us great pleasure to announce that David Irving was once again shut down in Chicago by antifascists. After receiving the email attached below and calling Dine restaurant it has been confirmed that the venue has decided to cancel his speech. Thank you to all who participated in the phone jam, thank you to Dine for shutting this event down, and shout out to those who sent us this…Sent from an email:

In the wee hours of December 7th 2013, antifascists smashed the windows of Dine restaurant, the hosting space for David Irvings Chicago stop on his tour, successfully bringing the event to an end!

From David Irving:

Saturday, 7 December 2013 11:28AM

Unhappy news: I must postpone this evening’s dinner function at Chicago’s Dine, the restaurant we had chosen, out of concern for the safety of my guests. This morning the establishment came under attack from the traditional enemies of free speech, and the management notified me at ten a.m. today that they cancel the booking. (I have phoned our many guests coming from out of state to avoid their making an unnecessary journey before they get this email.) They will not have to look far to wonder why Jews are so unpopular.

See: http://southsideantifa.blogspot.com/2013/12/phone-jam-holocaust-denier-david-irving.html

for why the restaurant cancelled the booking. There is an unsavory element of hired thugs in Chicago, who seem not to have learned the lesson from what happened to their friends, the Edelweiss and Tinley Park thugs, who are now languishing in federal prison in consequence.

Unless you can suggest an alternative secure location, I do not think it will be possible to reorganise it securely in time today. The personal comfort of my bona fide guests is my prime concern.

I shall postpone the dinner to my forthcoming 2014 tour in a few weeks’ time. Your payment will be good for that function, and I will closely review the list of invited guests first. See:

http://southsideantifa.blogspot.com/2013/12/phone-jam-holocaust-denier-david-irving.html

for the reason why.

If you were a bona fide attendee, I will refund your payment if you wish, as that is our policy.

David Irving
on the road in Indiana, USA
Saturday, 7 December 2013