|
Recent articles by Ilan Shalif
Palestina-Israele, anno decisivo per la lotta unitaria Mar 22 15 Κουρδικό κίν ... Mar 14 15 Palestine-Israel, The joined struggle in a decisive year* Mar 09 15 Bil'in - 10 years of persistent joint struggle![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
The villagers of the Palestinian vilage of Bil'in have been struggling now for 10 years against the construction of the separation barrier and consequent expropriation of their lands. This struggle has been a non-violent one, carried out together with Jewish activists from Israel and international activists and has inspired dozens of other similar struggles in villages throughout the West Bank. Here, Israeli anarchist Ilan Shalif explains the significance of Bil'in and recounts his experiences there.The struggle in Bil'in is only one part of the fabric of struggle of more than 120 years between the indigenous people of Palestine and the Zionist settler colonialist and transfer project. The struggle in Bil'in is also the culmination of the joint popular struggle of Palestinians and young Jewish community members who "betray" their local Jewish community, which is harnessed to the Zionist project of settlement building and transfer. As partners second in importance only to the local activists, between us we have forged an unusual alliance, one that has hardly ever been seen during the half millennium of struggle between European colonialism and the other inhabitants of the world.[עברית] [Italiano]
Bil'in - 10 years of persistent joint struggleThe struggle in Bil'in is only one part of the fabric of struggle of more than 120 years between the indigenous people of Palestine and the Zionist settler colonialist and transfer project. The struggle in Bil'in is also the culmination of the joint popular struggle of Palestinians and young Jewish community members who "betray" their local Jewish community, which is harnessed to the Zionist project of settlement building and transfer. As partners second in importance only to the local activists, between us we have forged an unusual alliance, one that has hardly ever been seen during the half millennium of struggle between European colonialism and the other inhabitants of the world. Few know that the roots of the alliance in Bil'in are actually in Chiapas, Mexico. The second EZLN encounter in Spain 1997, in solidarity with the struggle in Chiapas, gave birth to the People's Global Action (PGA) initiative for global struggle against neo-liberal globalization. About a dozen Israeli activists from this initiative participated in Leiden, Netherlands, in 2002 in a conference of the European section of the PGA. At the conference there was a Palestinian-Israeli Workshop and the idea of a joint camp was contemplated. It took about half a year and the start of the struggle against the separation fence designed to annex territory in the West Bank occupied in 1967 - mainly intended to annex part of the lands of Palestinian villages along the 1948 borders - for the idea of a joint camp to materialize on the lands of the village of Mas'ha. It took a few more months for the common struggle to break the border of the mainstream media. It happened when, during an organized joint demonstration, activists cut a few dozen metres of the newly-built separation fence near the village of Zbuba. Not long afterwards, a participant in the initiative at a joint action at the village Mas'ha was shot in the leg with live ammunition, an act which flooded the media, causing a big scandal. The event was covered intensively in all the channels of the media and the scandal was of such an extent that the highest commander of the Israeli army was forced to came to the hospital where Gil N. was being treated for his wounds and apologize. The rules for opening fire at demonstrators in the occupied West Bank were changed - it became forbidden to fire live ammunition at protests where there was the possibility that there were (Jewish) Iraelis among the participants. Among the participants of the initiative - which used a different label for each action - were members of the social struggle anarchist organization, "One Struggle", unorganized anarchists and other direct action activists. The action at the Mas'ha demo that got so much publicity was labeled "Anarchists Against Fences/Walls" so the initiative adopted it as a permanent name... despite the fact that activists who considered themselves anarchists were sometimes a minority. After a while, the joint camp in Mas'ha was dismantled. Joint struggles against the separation fence occurred in various villages along the route, with half-hearted efforts by the radical left to participate (often blocked on the way to the designated activity). In no village did the struggle continue so consistently week after week, month after month and year after year as the struggle that started in Bil'in. The struggle in Bil'in began a year later - after the building of the separation fence had started on the lands of Bil'in. The participation of the Anarchists Against the Fence with the activists of the villages of the region in actions against the separation fence led to the participation of the AAtW in the first demonstration in Bil'in in late summer 2004 and to the demonstration on Friday, 20 February 2005 - the first in the neverending chain of Friday demonstrations in Bil'in. Because of intense activity in A-Infos including managing our own server (and also reporting on the joint struggle), I could not regularly participate in the struggle of the AAtW against the separation fence or the struggle in Bil'in till the beginning of May 2005 (when the A-Infos server died). The first time I took part in the Bil'in Friday demonstration was in March 2005. In May, after being released from some of the responsibilities of A-Infos, I started to participate regularly in the activities of the AAtW in Bil'in and elsewhere. A photo of the struggle in Bil'inAfter failed attempts over many months to prevent the Israelis from attending the Friday demonstration, a kind of routine was developed. After we had evaded the the Israeli armed forces' efforts to block us on the way to Bil'in, and after the noon prayers at the mosque ended, we walked towards the route of the fence. Not far from there, Israeli armed forces were deployed, physically blocking our progress. Often, before the soldiers took more severe measures, a pushing confrontation would develop. One Friday, I suddenly realized that in Bil'in, Palestinians could push Israeli armed forces and all that happened was that they pushed back.Another thing that was repeated many times was the participation of delegations and activists from various regions of the West Bank in the Friday actions and demonstration in Bil'in. In some cases, it was "only" a solidarity visit, but at times, it was participation in a "lesson" that led to the start of the struggle in other villages. MeetingsIn the early years of the struggle in Bil'in, regular meetings were held during the week to plan the weekly "show". In these years, as part of the efforts to enhance the visibility of the struggle, it included creative performance - unique to every demonstration. The documentation of these performances - such as photos and recorded videos - found their way into the Israeli and foreign media.Media coverageOften, at the end of the demonstration photographers produced a short video clip that we brought on our way home to the offices of television company. It was not a rare thing for it to be partly aired the same evening or included in the weekend programs."All Quiet on the Western Front"In the early years, the public and commercial media covered the Friday demonstrations and often during the following hours too, and it became a weekly routine. The reports were frequently far from the truth, but as it is so often with media exposure, its contribution was regardless of the truth value. One Friday I could not believe the content of the news I heard: "This week, there were no confrontations during the weekly demonstration in Bil'in".The media coverage of Bil'in and thus its contribution to the struggle was a persistent work of the activists involved. Promoting the struggle involved a yearly international conference (the local Bil'in committee insisted that at each of them there would be a speaker from the AAtW). Individuals and delegations from all over the world came and saw, and told the stories when they returned home. The "PR" of Bil'in included tours by Bil'in activists and also by Anarchists Against the Wall to many countries of the world. The joint struggle of the AAtW with the village activists was also "rewarded" by a recognition. The Carl von Ossietzky Medal awarded was awarded by the International League for Human Rights in 2008 to AAtW and the Bil'in Popular Committee. Present pictureFor years now, Bil'in has no longer been the only place where Israelis participate in weekly activities. These regular activities are not restricted any more to the struggle against the separation fence or the struggles in which AAtW activists participate. Nor are they restricted to those that Israelis participate in. But, one of the main contributions of the Anarchists Against the Wall cannot be overlooked: the change in the rules of engagement with demonstrators in the occupied territories of West Bank. The regulation of shooting to kill leading activists in the demonstrations of Palestinians has been abolished. Even indemonstrations that Israelis are not involved in it is not implemented any more. Although over the years, several protesters have been shot dead (even in joint demonstrations), the routine of live fire to disperse demonstrators - with intentional killing - has not returned. SteadfastnessThe separation fence at the edge of the occupied territories has been completed. Tens of thousands of authorized Palestinians (mainly workers) and a similar number of illegals cross the separation fence. Even the various ways the tens of thousands of "illegal" Palestinian workers use to overcome the obstacle of the separation fence has become a routine and the ban on their crossing is not enforced. The number of Palestinian and Israeli activists participating regularly in the common struggle is diminishing. Activists of both types have either stopped completely or else channel their efforts elsewhere. But, there are also quite a few of us who have not let go. Some of the Palestinian activists suffering from restrictions or who have served terms of imprisonment and have suffered from physical violence are not deterred. Some Israeli activists cling to the joint struggle even when the glamour in the media and among the radical left is no longer there to see or hear. There are still new people who join us, and we still get moral support from former activists.Fish don't know they're in waterThe contribution of the joint struggle in Bil'in against the occupation and dispossession is not in doubt, but how much is it significant? Just less than half the land pillaged from the village of Bil'in was returned, but there is no chance of getting back any more. Even the spread of the struggle is very limited and does not show any signs of significant achievements other than slowing down the process of transfer in "hot" locations.But, the struggle in Bil'in is part of a firm global struggle. And even if we cannot put our fingers on it and quantify the gains, there are some glimmers of light. The number of links referring to Bil'in in the media have long since passed the million mark. Two documentaries on the struggle in Bil'in have won global coverage and one almost even won an Oscar. Also the disappointment that the popular struggle was not going to abolish the occupation has been replaced by the amazing contribution of the struggle to the worldwide Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (B.D.S.) campaign against the Israeli occupation. Many thousands of international activists who were with us (including anarchists from all over the world) for short time, have moved the battles around the world to the extent that real fear is holding the leaders of the Israel. ContributionThe story of the potential relationship between the moving wings of the butterfly at the foot of the Himalayas and a cyclone storm halfway around the world, just focuses our understanding that we are part of a global system and the ability of so-called marginal events to shake up the whole system. So the movement of the PGA is no more with us - in the world at large or in Israel. But the "relay race" has not stopped and the torch continues to be passed on. The spirit of Chiapas (on the outskirts of Mexico) is flourishing in Rojava - the centre of a titanic struggle in the region to the east of the Mediterranean. The Anarchists Against the Wall received the torch from the local groups of the PGA of Israel and globally it helped to ignite the many torches of theinternational struggle of B.D.S. In Israel, and even all over the world, when the media want to incite against activists or just defame them, they call them "anarchists", as "communists" are not significant any more. And the non-hierarchical manner of organizing social struggles has long since ceased to be the odd mode of Quakers and esoteric anarchists and is becoming common to all social struggles. Final thoughtsThe joint struggle of the Anarchists Against the Wall and the village popular struggle activists, helped to focus the opinion of anarchists all over the world to see in the struggle of indigenous people against settlers and other suppressive regimes not just a "national liberation" and "self-determination" of a capitalist ruling elite which wants the privilege to rule and exploit its own people, but one of the intersectional struggles that anarchists should join in order to contribute to the education of working people and increase the prestige of anarchism.Ilan Shalif http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com/ Anarchici Contro Il Muro http://www.awalls.org Ahdut (Unity): http://unityispa.wordpress.com/
|
Front pageThe party is haunting us again [Colombia] Declaración Constitutiva de Acción Libertaria Estudiantil Flora Tristán: precursora del feminismo y de la emancipación proletaria In solidarity with the NO TAV struggle Wave of arrests in Ireland as state tries to break water charges movement Não se intimidar, não desmobilizar! Toda nossa solidariedade ao companheiro Vicente! After the election of Syriza in Greece - Power is not in Parliament [Chile] Movimiento Estudiantil: ¿En dónde debemos enfocar nuestros esfuerzos? México en llamas: raíces y perspectivas de una lucha que avanza y la crisis de un sistema político No to Golden Dawn in Australia! Abusos y arbitrariedad - retención de JOSÉ A. GUTIÉRREZ, en el bajo Caguán, Caquetá Could a Revolution Happen in the US? An Anarchist Communist Reply to ‘Rojava: An Anarcho-Syndicalist Perspective’ In the Rubble of US Imperialism Elementos da Conjuntura Eleitoral 2014 The experiment of West Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan) has proved that people can make changes [Chile] EL FTEM promueve una serie de “jornadas de debate sindical” Ukraine: Interview with a Donetsk anarchist Prisões e mais criminalização marcam o final da Copa do Mundo no Brasil Mashriq / Arabia / Iraq | Community struggles | en Sat 04 Apr, 20:50
The minimal pressure of the imperial power on Israel to soften its pressures applied to the would be transfered Palestinians of the 1967 occupied areas have its results (more in the west bank than in the Gaza Ghetto). The about 100.000 Palestinians of the occupied territories are employed by Israelis. Most of the roadblocks were removed. The rebellion of the Palestinians in the west bank is channeled mostly through a small minority of activists in the joint and separate week end activities. People are like holding their breath to see if the culminated crisis in the international arena will yield a significant break throw. Mean time, the persistent week end struggles - though in a diminished intensity in Bil'in, Ma'asara, Ni'ilin, Nabi Saleh, Qaddum, South of Hebron Hills, Sheik Jarrah... with sporadic struggles in other locations. [Italiano]
The approaching victory in the struggle to block the advance of the Zionist settler colonialist project and even to force it to retreat a bit do not make the real good people to like the enrolling of history. The approaching defeat make the Israeli elite take desperate steps and do its atrocities in the open. The efforts to transfer the Bedouins within 1948 borders and villagers in 1967 occupied territories escalate. The diminishing support of Israel by the imperial power due to changes in the dynamics of the region, world public opinions and economic losses it cause gradually change the power balance within the Israeli capitalist elite that may be expressed in the coming elections. On the ground, the joint struggle in Bil'in, Ni'lin, Ma'sara, Nebi Saleh, Sheikh Jarrah, Qaddum, and South Of Hebron Hills, is gradually expanding to other locations even without the "shield" of Israeli activists. [Italiano] The old world order, in which US interests in the region East of the Mediterranean let Israel - a bastion of the US - continue with its Zionist settler colonialist in the 1967 occupied Palestine, has ended. Europe has started to advance its own interests, which are not in accord with the Israeli bastion. The independent steps of Europe are enhanced by its public opinion against Israeli colonialism to which the joint struggle in the West Bank contributes a lot. It was the approach of the imminent crisis that forced the Israeli Prime minister to call for elections, to save himself from the normally-timed election when the crisis would be the main agenda. The murder of the Palestinian minister of the popular struggles has focused attention on the ferment and rising of the popular non-armed struggles of which Israel is contemplating suppression with systematic use of live ammunition. [Italiano] Israel was built mainly by the national socialists who owned 75% of the economy in 1949. Due to dependence on the imperial powers the so-called socialist elite invested a lot in building the Zionist-capitalist elite to which it lost power in 1977. Conflicts of interest within the Zionist-capitalist elite started to change the balance between the small tycoons section that supported the Zionist wish to transfer the Palestinians out and the capitalist section that integrated in the neo-liberal globalization who wish to exploit the Palestinians and the workers of neighboring countries. The restructuring of power relations in global capitalism after the last crisis had its Israeli expression in the near-bankruptcy of the tycoon elite and the present collapse of the government coalition. The economic damage which has already resulted from the B.D.S. campaign which is enhanced by the joint struggle seems to be hastening a shift in the balance of powers.
By Zaher Baher from Haringey Solidarity Group and Kurdistan Anarchists Forum
The popular unarmed struggle of Palestinian communities joined by the Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall and others is not a struggle for the "national liberation" or "self determination" of the Palestinian nation. It is the struggle of Palestinian people, of which the overwhelming majority are working people, against the threat of transfer and the suppression and exploitation by the Israeli Zionist settler colonialist project. None of those involved in the struggle who are not in the Palestinian elite have illusions about the Palestinian elite and the state they will rule and manage after the end of the occupation. None of those involved in the struggle believe that the end of the direct occupation will solve the 1948 Nakba and the refugee problems. However, they still prefer the end of the occupation and independence from Israel, over direct Israeli rule, as it will not be an agent of transfer or of such brutal suppression and exploitation. [Italiano]
The war on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip continues for the 13th day. Demonstrations against Israeli warmongering continue both in Israel and throughout the world. All that Israel wants in this war that it has initiated is to thwart a Palestinian unity government and curb the peace agreements it might speed up. The danger of Hamas' surrender to the Palestinian Authority in the heels of its economic crisis has resulted from the actions of the new Egyptian government, which seriously threatens the project of splitting the Palestinians, something that Israel has invested extraordinary efforts in. Only the total collapse of Hamas rule in Gaza scares Israel more than that. However, due to internal problems among the Israel political elite and public opinion, the government refrained from revealing the true nature of the war, which is to stabilize independent Hamas rule in Gaza and prevent the need for Hamas to surrender to the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank. So, instead the Israeli government has exaggerated the reports about attacks against Hamas and is hiding the real agenda - the obstruction of Palestinian unity. [Italiano]
When the European pressure on Israel to compromise with the Palestinian elite collected momentum - already diminishing exports, Israel tried to take advanced of the kidnapped three settlers youth applying "plans from the drawer" trying to ignite armed Intifada. Nearly three weeks of propaganda based on lies (as if they are searching for the already known to them to be dead three youth) was all over the media. When lastly the bodies were "found", lies were exposed, and the harassments failed to ignite Intifada. The mounted hate crimes of the Israeli extreme right and murder of a Palestinian youth of the annexed East Jerusalem ignited an extreme response there and within the Palestinian regions within the 1948 borders. Vicious harassment of US-Palestinian youth - cousin of the murdered youth which was video typed became together with the video of the kidnapped cousin became viral all over the world and ignited solidarity demos all over the world. [Italiano] Many objections were raised about the participation of Israelis in the non-armed struggle in the areas of Palestine occupied in the 1967 war. Some, mostly Palestinians, regarded it as a contribution to so called "normalization". Others claimed that Israeli activists should do their struggle within the Israeli population of the 1948 borders. Many anarchists raised reservations as the Palestinian popular struggle is a kind of capitalist "national independence struggle" for the self-determination of the Palestinian capitalist elite to monopolize the option for the exploitation of the Palestinian working masses - they just ignore the fact that most Palestinians wish for a bi-national democratic whole Palestine and not for a national Palestinian State. Others just do not take upon themselves the obligation to serve as a life-saving shield, as Israeli policy officially forbids the state forces to shoot to kill when Israelis are supposed to be among the demonstrators. Indigenous people struggle against settler colonialist transfer and marginalization is NOT the same as a national Bourgeoisie for "national independence" or "national self-determination". [Italiano]
Week after week, on weekend and in the week-days to anarchists and other activists insist of leaning our Shoulders on the wheels of history that revolve too slow and push them as much as we can. There is not much of energy in the masses and many activists lost the urge to participate, but still many of us persist and join the meager efforts of the Palestinians who resist the advancing transfer efforts of the Israeli Zionist project and its state forces. The international solidarity activists who join us bring with them the echoes of world wide expanding support and the message that our struggle contribute a lot to it. The frustrated Israeli state forces continue their murderous efforts to extinguish the popular struggle adding live ammunition from time to time like the last week at the demo in Bitunia (near the Ofer concentration camp) but retreat under mounting international pressure. [Italiano] more >>
The Kobane resistance that has passed its 45th day as of now has caused the attention of revolutionaries all over the world to turn to Rojava. As a result of the work carried out by Revolutionary Anarchist Action (DAF), anarchist comrades from many parts of the world have sent messages of solidarity to the Kobane resistance.(1) This internationalist stance without a doubt carries great importance for the people resisting in Kobane. However if we do not analyze what is happening in all its truth and if we romanticize instead, our dreams will turn to disappointment in short order.
The main features of the Syrian revolution are its youthful, spontaneous aspect, and the fact that it was created on the streets and is linked directly to the people. It is a revolution without centralized control, led by insurgent individuals. Consequently, no-one can claim to govern it or lead and the reason is simple: the young insurgents rose up spontaneously and there are no signs of participation by religious elements, whose ideas are extremely reactionary, or indeed by any other tendency. [العربية ]
Greetings to proletarians in struggle in Syria, Egypt, Tunisia... and all over the world!
From 5-15 April 2009, a member of Anarchists Against the Wall, Haggai Matar (well-known also for his anti-militarist work, since he was one of the first of the new wave of political objectors to military service), will be in Italy for a speaking tour with the dual aim of providing updates on the current situation in the struggle against the wall and the occupation, and of collecting funds for the activities of AAtW. If you can, please come to one of the events below. If you are unable to attend but you want to contribute to the work of AAtW, please log on to http://awalls.org/donations for details on how to do so. [Italian]
Anarchists Against the Wall and the Bil'in Popular Committee exemplify the nonviolent resistance to the Israeli-built "Separation Wall" on Palestinian land, as well as steadfastness in the diverse grass-root campaigns against the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Ahmad Husam Yousef Mousa, 10 years old, was murdered yesterday as he demonstrated together with his friends against the separation wall which is being constructed on the lands of his village Ni'ilin. When Ahmad and his friends reached the construction site the soldiers shot rubber bullets at them and they began to |