In solidarity with the palestinian struggle
A statement like this might feel redundant, too symbolic of a gesture.Normally we don’t care too much about writing such statements but with the current situation in Gaza and the silence coming from most of the anarchists in Germany we feel compelled to at least do this. With it we hope to take part in a bigger dialogue and find ways to position ourselves in anti colonial struggles.
We also feel that the struggle of the Palestinian people didn’t just start the last months but has been ongoing for at least 70 years, as they have been fighting against their erasure, for their land, history and their very existence.
The state of Israel is a settler colonial state, portrayed by the global West as a “beacon of light” or the “only democracy in the middle east” it has based its existence and expansion on displacement and genocide. As any settler colonial state it finds its foundations in systems of power perpetuated by the settlers that repress the indigenous peoples rights and culture, as well as the theft and exploitation of their land. All this is necessary to achieve the complete destruction and replacement of the indigenous people in order to establish itself.
We see this clearly through various Israeli – and foreign- politicians asking for the complete annihilation of Gaza and the creation of settler colonies in its place.
The occupation of Palestine is military. It is based as much in military occupation as in a modern day Apartheid system, even by the standards of the so called “democratic” world. Vast parts of the population exist as “second class citizens” and are subjected to a radically different legal system than the Israeli Jewish population. For example not having the same voting “rights” or being held without a trial for uncertain amounts of time under administrative detention.None of this would be possible without the constant and increasing dehumanization of the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world, that the West happily takes part in as well. It is once again the old tale of the “good and civilized” people against “the cruel barbarians” we have told so often. Speech about “human animals”, “less than human” and “12 year old terrorists” that is actively being reproduced through the mouths of various politicians both Israeli and not, serves exactly the creation and perpetuation of this narrative, that is so useful to the West.
In addition the constant accusations of antisemitism levied toward any who critique the israeli state are an insidious sleight of hand that places Israel in a category of perpetual righteous victimhood.Anti-zionism and antisemitism are not synonymous. The invasion has been accompanied by heightened repression against anti-zionist, anticolonial and anarchists Jews themselves, especially in Israel and Germany. The city of Gaza has been under siege for 16 years, with its 2 million residents living in what is described as the worlds biggest prison. The German media wants us to focus solely in the attack on the 7th of October led by Hamas and the remaining hostages. Little is being said about the past but also the present situation.
Since October 7th at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, people are faced with a man-made famine that is aided by the blockading of humanitarian aid by settler groups, at least half of the population of Gaza has lost their homes and infrastructure strategic to their survival is being targeted in the forms of hospitals, aid workers, press and telecommunications networks. Mass graves are being discovered like in the case of Al-Shifa hospital and horrowing details are emerging about the detainee camps from Israeli wistleblowers. How could we understand building a wall and keeping a city under siege, while blocking access to food and water, other than genocide. How many bodys trapped under rubble we have witness until calling this what it is?
For all of this the Israeli state can of course count on the complicity of the military industrial complex of its siblings the self declared West.Germany for example happily delivers weapons and ammunition for the ongoing killings in Gaza. In 2023 Germany exported military equipment worth over 300 million euros to Israel including bombs and ammunition of various kinds as they are the second biggest supplier after the US. For the German government and war industry the drive is for sure profit but not only that. Like the german war minister said they want to get the german war industry ready for war. What could be more helpful for this task than supplying other nations with weapons in their war efforts.They are so desperate for this to even subsidizing some of the Israeli weapon sales themselves. At the same time German politicians try to spread the narrative of “moral” wars like they did in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
To all the people that consider themselves anarchists in so called Germany, standing still while this war machine is rolling, is not an option. We consider remaining silent as a statement in it self. We cannot ignore what is happening around us just in order to keep everybody comfortable and avoid conflict or because we don´t have all the perfect answers.
This human eating war machine is fueled by German money and German weapons, so we can actually do a lot to bring it to a stop and while a few anarchists join the struggle others let those fighting alone when repression hits.
And two more things, as anarchists we don’t support any state but supporting the attempt to break free from the biggest prison in the world or opposing a genocide, should come without question.
Secondly the exchange of tech and the developments in the Israeli intelligence industry affect all of us and our struggles and should be stopped Do you remember for example “pegasus”?
Some anarchists from the squatted Hambacher forest
