Neve Gordon: Support Israeli Anarchists!
Neve Gordon, an Israeli activist/professor I met just before leaving Ben Gurion University last December, has written a fund-raising appeal for Israel’s Anarchists Against the Wall. Appearing in The Nation Online and elsewhere, Gordon’s appeal puts the anarchist effort in context. Some excerpts:
Over the past five years the Israeli peace camp has dwindled….
Among the most committed … are Israel’s Anarchists Against the Wall. Yet, over the past two years they have been under an ongoing attack, and it is becoming more and more difficult for them to continue their struggle….
…Day in and day out, they travel in small groups through the West Bank, supporting nonviolent direct action that helps Palestinian farmers gain access to their fields and crops, while opposing the construction of the separation barrier and the confiscation of occupied land.
One of the most remarkable qualities of these young Israelis is their subversive use of their own privilege, employing it not for self-interested social, economic or political gain–as most people do–but rather in order to stand up to power. The anarchists, in other words, exploit the privilege that comes with their Jewish identity and use it as a strategic asset against the brutal policies of the Jewish state. As Jewish activists they are well aware that the Israeli military behaves very differently when Israeli Jews are present during a protest in the West Bank and that the level of violence, while still severe, is much less intense. ….
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When the Israeli police began to realize that beating and detaining them would not stop their stubborn resistance, a different strategy was adopted. Scores of legal indictments were issued by the state prosecutor. ….Unlike the struggle inside the occupied territories, the legal battle to protect civil liberties requires financial resources, which the anarchists do not have. The state knows this is the anarchists’ Achilles’ heel and has been trying to undermine their peace-building activities by making them pay hefty legal fees. Although [their lawyer, Gaby] Lasky is working for little more than minimum wage, the anarchists’ struggle cannot be sustained without help from concerned individuals around the world.
I’ve mentioned Anarchists Against the Wall several times on this blog, in connection to the weekly Bil’in protests and other issues. I met several of the members in Tel Aviv as well as Bil’in. I’ll second Gordon’s call to send whatever support you can.