Antisemitism and Anarchy (Dysophia 3)

Antisemitism and Anarchy: New publication now out

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is a key topic for many anarchists. Support for the Palestinians in the face of an occupying army is strong and we have seen many campaigns to lift the causes of their suffering. The charge of antisemitism is regularly made, but the accusation is a potent and politicised one that regularly ignites debates on mailing lists and online forums.

Dysophia has brought together a collection of articles to try and unpick some of these debates, to make sense of arguments around the meaning of Zionism, what constitutes antisemitism or how to make sense of divisive figures such as Gilad Atzmon.

It draws on the anarchist tradition to bring an anti-racist perspective to these difficult questions. While not providing definite answers, these articles have been selected to give anarchists a better overview of all perspectives so that as a movement we can produce more nuanced views that avoid the twin pitfalls of racism and liberalism.

In the words of one of the contributors, Uri Gordon, anarchist academic and activist with Anarchists Against the Wall:

“As Anarchists supporting the Palestinian popular struggle for freedom and justice, our most powerful asset is informed, compassionate and nuanced language. The alternative – rehearsed phrases, dehumanization, and black-and-white imagery – not only contradicts our uncompromising belief in human equality, but also plays directly into the hands of the Israeli government. It is therefore crucial to clarify and dispell the often insidious manifestations of antisemitism in today’s heated debates, and the present collection does so incisively.”

Including work from April Rosenblum, Austrian & Goldman, Lucy Michaels, Uri Gordon, Donal O’Driscoll and Mina Graur, Antisemitism and Anarchism is the latest in a series of pamphlets from Dysophia exploring issues around green anarchism in action. It seeks to present theoretical positions in a way that is accessible to all.

The publication comes as 92 page A4 pamphlet. It is available online in pdf format here.  (Note, because of software issues, the April Rosenblum zine The Past Didn’t Go Anywhere has not come out in final web pdf; we are trying to sort this, but in the meantime, it can be downloaded directly from her site at ThePast.info

Hard copies can be ordered from
Active Distribution – http://www.activedistribution.org
AK Press – http://www.akuk.com
News From Nowhere – http://www.newsfromnowhere.org.uk/

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Antisemitsm
2. The past did not go anywhere, April Rosenblum
3. Fear and Loathing, Lucy Michaels
4. How to strengthen the Palestinian Solidarity Movement by making friends with Jews, Austrian & Goldman

Anarchism in Israel
5. Anarchy in the Holy Land, Uri Gordon
6. Israeli anarchism: Statist dilemmas and the dynamics of joint struggle, Uri Gordon

Taking it forward
7. Antisemitism and the Challenge of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Donal O’Driscoll

Anarchist Statements
8. For peace and freedom in Palestine, Czech Anarchist Federation
9. No state solution in Gaza, AFED

Historical Perspectives
10. Anarcho Nationalism, Mina Graur
11. On Zionism, Emma Goldman

Radical Migrant Solidarity

A great new zine from friends of ours exploring practical and theoretical around organising for radical migrant solidarity with an anarchist perspective, based on the experiences of those actively engaged in the UK, Calais and elsewhere in Europe.

pdf available here.

Airbrushing in Just Transition

Notes From Below has just published an essay of ours discussing the politics of Just Transition.

The idea of a ‘Just Transition’ is an attempt to bridge differences between environmental and labour movements by seeking to address how workers can be protected as society tries to move away from ecologically destructive industries. As a concept it has been around for close to fifteen years. Despite having clear foundations, in that time the phrase ‘Just Transition’ has taken on a life of its own, in particular among those seeking to avoid antagonizing the labour movement. In this essay  Dónal O’Driscoll examines the origins of ‘Just Transition’ and asks whether it can fulfill those aspirations, or whether it is simply a ‘nice sounding’ phrase allowing campaigners to paper over divisive issues.

To read the article, visit Notes From Below.

Dysophia 2: Population & Migration

Now out, the second issue of Dysophia: ‘Population & Migration – anarchist analyses of privilege in a time of climate chaos‘. This collection of eight articles, including four new ones of them especially written for this publication, takes the controversial issues of population and migration as their starting point. Using the lens of anarchist theory & practice they examine these topics within those political spheres where capitalism, nationalism, border controls and climate change overlap. As well as arguing that all these issues are interconnected, the aim is to show how anarchism can negotiate the many dangers that these difficult issues throw at the grassroots activist – that is, the traps where in dealing with one issue we may end up supporting calls which lead to other inequalities and oppression, for example that green capitalism is not a solution to climate change, that border controls are not the appropriate answer to climate refugees. Written to be accessible to everyone interested in these topic without requiring much in the way of background knowledge.

Copies available online, or can be purchased from Active Distribution, AKPress UK or Altnerative Bookshop Online.

Dreaming Illich

An open letter asking awkward question on whether a transformation to a bicycle based economy is practical, possible or even sustainable. Download the pdf here.

Dysophia 1: Anarchism & Polyamory now out.

Exploring open relationships and non-monogamy from the perspective of green anarchism, Anarchism & Polyamory is a collection of essays and articles, many new (but a few oldies), designed to be accessible to those new to both anarchism and polyamory. It is examines personal and sexual relationships through the prism of anarchism, including considering some common pitfalls and how society’s hierarchies are reinforced in personal relationships.

The authors are wide ranging, mixing both past and present from Europe and the US, many talking from their own experience.

The collection will be available at UK bookfairs and other events in hard copy for £1.50, but can be downloaded as free pdf here. We are are looking at doing faciliating some discussions later in the year for groups wanting to explore some of the issues raised.

Given the amount of interest and reaction already received from preview copies, we are planning a follow-up publication. So, we are interested in responses, whether challenging some of the positions taken in the articles or covering topics that the authors have missed out. We are particularly interested in material which deals with the problems of being non-monogamous in modern society, of communication with in open relations, challenging hierarchies in relationships and how all this is informed by anarchism.

Dysophia is a relatively new imprint producing collections of writings covering topics of interest relating to theory and practice within the green anarchist movement. All material is available free on our website.

Climate Camp Reader

Dysophia and Shift Magazine have joined forces to put together a Climate Camp Reader, “Criticism without Critique”, published in January 2010. To download it follow this link:

https://dysophia.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/cca_reader.pdf

Editorial

In January & February 2010, the Camp for Climate Action will go through a period of introspection as it works out where it shall go next.  While in some ways the Camp has been a success, it has also come under a barrage of criticism from some quarters within the radical movements that spawned it.

To help this debate we have put together a set of resources and relevant articles to inform and spark discussion relating to this criticism.  Our bias is obvious, though the opinions expressed are those of the authors alone.  Whether you agree with them or not, we believe they are worth taking on board. We hope at least that you feel confident answering their challenges, rather than just dismissing them.

Now is the time for the Camp to examine its politics in more depth, to work out just what it stands for.  This is a cross-roads in its development, to continue down a path of ever increasing liberal, reformist approach, or to be the noisy radical, pointing out all the white elephants in the climate change debate. The future of the movement around the camp is being shaped here.  The decisions being made now will have profound impacts on who is and who is not involved in the future.

The Camp for Climate Action grew out of the radical anarchist and environmental movements, a synthesis of the organisational skills developed at the Anti-G8 protest camp at Stirling, and the ecological direct action movements such as Earth First! The perception that emerges from these criticisms is this has been lost along the way.

We accept that this booklet makes challenging reading and that we offer little in the way of solutions. These, we believe, must come from within the camp itself. However, it is apparent that there is a need for two things. Firstly, a greater visibility for the anarchist roots within the day to day life of the CCA process and proposals. Secondly, and just as important, a more open and explicit critique of capitalism and how it is the root cause of climate change.

If we do neither out of fear of a mainstream media backlash, then we are reduced to being another NGO.   Yet, the power of the Camp has always been the promise of a genuine alternative action in the face of prevarication and obstruction from governments and corporations – now is the time to spell that critique out and use it to build real alternatives, not legitimising the system we complain of. It was the strength of the Camp’s founding critiques that gave it the boldness its subsequent successes have rested on.

Ultimately, the message of the Camp is a very radical one – that radical social change is needed, especially if we are to tackle of the root causes of climate change. The answer is not to water down our actions and our messages, but to be bolder than ever. That is the excitement and power that gives the Camp its life.

New Uploads

Dysophia 0 and Crisis of Crises, Pt 1: the Financial Crisis are now uploaded. Just follow the above links. Enjoy and feedback.