Anarchic update news all over the world - Part 1 - 18 February 2017

Today's Topics:

   
1.  Palestine-Israel, Celebrating a 12 years of persistent
      struggle in Bil'in and a small victory* (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  US, Black Rose Rochester, Genesee River Rebellion: FREEDOM
      AT SUNSET: ROJAVA'S REVOLUTION IN SYRIA 
     (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  France, Alternative Libertaire AL #268 - Politics:
      "Antisystems" at the service of the dominant and the capital (fr,
      it, pt) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1



Regional change and new Israeli war minister who is clearly against annexation of 
additional of parts of Palestine (and even for cutting parts annexed 1948) resulted in the 
diminishing of the suppression of the non armed popular struggle. For months the Israeli 
forces diminished the harassment of the Friday demos of villages activists and the Israeli 
anarchists against the wall. In bil'in they nearly stopped entirely any shooting of tear 
gas and bullets, seldom tried to stop us from approaching the separation wall... The 
participants of the big demo of the 12th year celebration could not see even one soldier 
till the end of the demo when kids forced open the gate of the wall and resulted in a 
mildest ever response. The failure of the big plan of US to subvert the countries of the 
region as it exported terror (Al Quida, Daesh and Shieh advances) forced it to compromises 
with Iran, Rojave, (and probably with Syrian Assad, Russia and the Palestinians).


Bil'in

Friday 18-11-16. The 660th weekly demonstration. 7 Israelis with the anarchists against 
the wall initiative and 3 international activists joined the village activist in a demo 
dedicated to the Ni'ilin activist Saleh Hawaghah of the coordination comity arrested few 
weeks ago with bogus accusations. This week the state forces blocked our way to the 
separation wall near the route of the dismantled separation fence. During the 
confrontation they threatened us with arrests and detained one photographer whom they 
released at the end of the demonstration.
https://www.facebook.com/rani.fatah/posts/10211056344667678
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1022238247885404
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/posts/10209829908037361
https://www.facebook.com/drrateb.aburahmah/posts/10211141940847344
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1064190183680313
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1064187487013916
25-11-16 Friday demonstration 25-11-16. 7 Israelis of the anarchists against the wall 
initiative, and 10 internationals, joined the village activists in the march to the gate 
of the separation wall. The Israeli state forces waited for us near the gate and demanded 
our immediate return to the village - threatening us with arrests. At a bargain they 
allowed us to protest there for 5 minutes and later extended it to another 15 minutes. 
After vain efforts of months the commander learned my name, came and held my arm 
complaining I stayed more than the allotted 20 minutes and then "urged" me to return to 
the village faster.
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1070450019720996
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/posts/10209890072421433
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1029448340497728
2-12-16 In the first rainy Friday of the winter, 5 Israelis and 4 international activists 
joined 6 Bil'iners and two other Palestinian activists in the never breaking chain of 
Friday demos of the nearly 12 years. When we arrived near the gate of the separation wall, 
the Israeli armed forces waited for us near to the gate. As usual, they declared the area 
as closed military zone forbidding us from staying there. As usual they threatened us with 
arrests. As usual we refused to go away and bargained for a short time demo. We staid near 
the gate for a while, then for a longer time a bit farther from the soldiers... till we 
yielded to the whether and returned to the village.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1035742616534967
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1035734976535731
https://www.facebook.com/drrateb.aburahmah/posts/10211275247659931
9-12-16  Bil'in my love... 9-12-16 Friday demonstration. 9 Israelis with the anarchists 
against the wall initiative Joined dozen and a half international activists and the 
Bil'iners in a demo against the separation wall, the settlers an occupation dedicated to 
the memory of the martyr ziad abu ein. The Israeli border police force blocked our way to 
the separation wall near the route of the dismantled separation fence at the memorial of 
the village martyr Bassem (Fil). After about half an hour of confronting the police we 
returned to the village.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1035742616534967
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/posts/10210027712662353
https://www.facebook.com/hamde.a.rahma/videos/1791205911149778/
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1088923011207030
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1042258712550024
16-12-16 Bil'in, 16-12-16 Friday demo. As usual lately small crowd and a surprising event. 
  5 Israelis of the anarchists against the wall initiative joined about 10 international 
activists and the village activists. The demo was dedicated to the martyr Ziad Abu Ein - 
killed  in a demo in other village. After converging at the oak orchard Abo Lamun near the 
separation wall we marched along it towards the gate in its north. When we approached 
there, a small unit of soldiers waited for us near the gate. We had a long but mild 
confrontation with the Israeli state forces. More than half an hour they threatened us 
with arrests - pacifically local and Israeli activists they call by the name...  but only 
detained for a while only one international activists. They even threw one tear gas 
grenade... and took our pictures... but during the confrontation one of the village 
activists was not feeling well so the commander ordered one of the soldiers to bring him a 
bottle of water. After nearly twelve years of Friday demonstrations surprises still.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1047908731985022
https://www.facebook.com/iyad.burnat/posts/1538528076161550
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1047909421984953
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1097377787028219
https://www.facebook.com/abdallah.aburahma.3/posts/1217396558346652
23-12-16 https://www.facebook.com/abdallah.aburahma.3/posts/1224255134327461
https://www.facebook.com/iyad.burnat/posts/1546610808686610
6-1-17 The ever strangest demonstration. 7 Israelis joined similar number of international 
and the village activists in the weekly demo. We converged at the Abu Lamun oak wood and 
marched along the separation wall to the gate in it with the usual chants. When we arrived 
there the Israeli state forces waited with armoured cars out of the gate and presented us 
with the closed military zone paper and ordered us to return to the village - as they did 
often last months. The surprise was that when we ignored it and continue waking to the 
gate - they did nothing. People became bold and climbed on the armoured cars... and still 
just mild protest of the state force commander.
After a while a group of youth started to confront the soldiers near the margin of the 
demo: they threw on them soldiers two tear gas grenade and lot of stones. In response, the 
state force retreated behind the wall and closed the gate, and later started to shoot tear 
gas canisters on the youngsters.
After a while, village activists succeeded to call the youngsters back and we all retuned 
to the village.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1118251641607500
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1118252414940756
https://www.facebook.com/iyad.burnat/posts/1572326979448326
https://www.facebook.com/drrateb.aburahmah/posts/10211650196753424
https://www.facebook.com/taki.bornat/posts/1317985974889959
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1118416731590991
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1063592303749998
13-1-17 Friday demo: 9 Israelis with the anarchists against the wail (including 3 members 
of the anarchist-communist Ahdut-Unity) joined 10 internationals and the village 
activists. The theme was as usual against occupation and the settlers with added 
mentioning of Al Kuds (Jerusalem).
The Israeli state forces kept very low profile - played as if they were not behind the 
gate and did not respond to any "invitation". After a long while we matched from the gate 
along the wall to a point near the Abu Lamun oak wood. There youngsters climbed on the 
wall - hanging Palestinian flags.
Only after a kid cut the surveillance electronic cable the soldiers showed their presence, 
shot us lot of tear gas grenades and even shot a bullet on the head of one of the kids and 
injured him. After first aid he was taken to the hospital.
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1123678464398151
https://www.facebook.com/Mohammed.Yasin.photography/posts/818920364913994
https://www.facebook.com/drrateb.aburahmah/posts/10211717927286645
https://www.facebook.com/rani.fatah/posts/10211649113686533
israelpnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEz29xxrQx4
20-1-17
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1074250889350806
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1074251939350701
https://www.facebook.com/drrateb.aburahmah/posts/10211785091925719
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1129577263808271
https://www.facebook.com/Mohammed.Yasin.photography/posts/822394744566556
https://www.facebook.com/rani.fatah/posts/10211718915231528 ***********
27-1-17 https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1081191355323426
3-2-17 Today we surfed on the waves of anger against the separation wall and the settlers 
- 9 Israelis, 9 in a delegation from Ramallah, 5 internationals and about dozen of the 
village activists. We marched along the wall up to the gate in it - chanting as usual. The 
Israeli armed forces showed themselves on the hill behind the separation fence and later 
on the wall itself but refrained from any communication. After a long while when activists 
expressed what we think on them, we returned to the village.
https://www.facebook.com/anat.matar/posts/1242941382450068
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1141933162572681
10-2-17 The 623 Friday demo - in a preparation to the next Friday celebration of 12 years 
of joint struggle against the occupation and the settlers robbers. 10 Israelis with the 
anarchists against the wall initiative with about ten internationals and a delegation of 
10 from Ramallah joined the village activists in a one sided demonstration the Israeli 
state forces refrained from participation. Only a passing armoured car on the road behind 
the wall remind us we are not alone... In preparation for the demo we converged at the Abu 
Lamun oak wood near the wall. We marched from there - with placards and chants, to the 
gate in the northern part of the wall. After a prolonged knocking on the gate of the wall 
that did not bring any response we marched along the wall to the south were we confronted 
some settlers who converged on the other side of the wall till the end of the demo 
wondering if the Israeli state force will be present at the next Friday celebrations.
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1093589307416964
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/1148251385274192
https://www.facebook.com/rani.fatah/posts/10211925681960567
Bil'in, Friday, 17-2-17, 12th anniversary of the joint struggle against the occupation and 
settlers. About 60 Israelis of the anarchists against the wall and the local villagers 
joined international activists, Palestinians from near and far cities and villages. At 
noon, we marched from the village centre with flags banners, and chants towards the 
separation wall that replaced the old separation fence. After converging for a while at 
the wall near the Abu Lamun oak orchard we marched along the wall to the gate in its 
northern side. There we converged for a bit longer... but the Israeli state forces just 
stayed behind the wall. Only at the end of the demo when youngster succeeded to force the 
gate open, the soldiers responded. They came with their armoured cars and attacked the 
youth - detained three of them for a while. Two injured youth were taken to the hospital 
for treatment.
  https://www.facebook.com/bmansour1/posts/10210965134197289
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210965045635075
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/posts/10210712989633849
https://www.facebook.com/rani.fatah/posts/10211993851864772


Ni'ilin

Friday 18-11-16 In Solidarity with the prisoner rehabilitation khawaja its out weekly 
Na'alin march filed which Palestinian media images captured salah while occupying army 
participants faced a barrage of gas bombs led to suffocation. Many can't get enough of 
occupation that following the end of the parade of homes attacked the south side with a 
barrage of gas bombs.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1242672765805122
israelpnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YHpGMPUZg4
25-11-16 Friday
israelpnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNCx5p1cf70
09.12.2016 israelpnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mUddwzZOkQ
16/12/16 https://www.facebook.com/muhamed.ameera/posts/1287581274647604
24-12-16 israelpnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIP0Ozb1vxo
6-1-17 https://antinarrativeblog.com/2017/01/06/%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86-nilin-6-1-2017/
https://www.facebook.com/muhamed.ameera/posts/1319200648152333
13-1-17 https://www.facebook.com/muhamed.ameera/posts/1325480204191044
27-1-17 https://www.facebook.com/muhamed.ameera/posts/1342389562500108
https://www.facebook.com/LunaDitLulu/posts/1834185113502173
https://www.facebook.com/messages/t/100001872326801
https://antinarrativeblog.com/2017/01/28/%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86-nilin-27-1-2017/
3-2-17 https://www.facebook.com/LunaDitLulu/posts/183766642315404
israelpnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C1EZZsouZY
David Reeb https://youtu.be/xXT8xBIxNig
02/10/2017 Arbor day: israelpnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vBmZ8WXTZo


Evacuation of the new Palestinian "village" Yasser. III

We left with the several dozen Palestinians activists of the non-violent protest against 
the occupation. We set up a protest tent next to an Israeli settler outpost in the Jordan 
Valley. The protest was against a lot of things, but especially against the demolition of 
buildings in the Jordan valley area C (32 buildings have been demolished in recent months 
in the immediate area). The establishing of outposts by the settlers embittering the lives 
of Palestinian residents and others. Our protest was declared by police and soldiers an 
illegal demonstration.
After about four hours we were attacked with great violence: beatings with rifle butts, 
stun grenades, gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. Two Israelis were arrested, four 
Palestinians were evacuated to a hospital and several other injured were treated on the spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwMcTDJIhe8
https://www.facebook.com/mhmad.hmdan.77/videos/719690671527341/
English http://972mag.com/the-different-ways-israel-treats-jewis…/…/
Arabic http://www.alquds.com/pdf/1479450255423969200/1479450278000/
30-12-16 The last Friday demo of the year. 9 Israelis and about dozen international 
activists joined the Bil'iners in the demo dedicated to the memory of the Martyr Jawaher 
Abu Rahma Killed by tear gas in the 31-12-2010 demo. After converging at the Abu Lamun oak 
orchard we marched chanting along the separation wall to the gate in its north. This 
Friday the Israeli state forces remained behind the wall and just criticize us for the 
violation of the claim of non armed demo as few youngster threw stones near the demo at 
the gate.
After a long while we returned to the village.
https://www.facebook.com/rani.fatah/posts/10211519445124900
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/videos/10210246033200230/
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1058138987628663
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/posts/10210245672471212
https://www.facebook.com/Mohammed.Yasin.photography/posts/811141415691889
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/videos/10210246033200230/
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/1058138987628663
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/posts/10210245672471212
https://www.facebook.com/Mohammed.Yasin.photography/posts/811141415691889

Qaddum

12/27/2016  a dozen of masked terrorists armed with batons and weapons, hold hostage a six 
year old child as they place human traps, repeat, human traps during the weekly 
demonstration at Kufr Qaddum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPDo31qEnIY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPDo31qEnIY
30-12-16 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akpXgURVUXs
6-1-17 The villagers are trying to reject Israeli bulldozers.... that destroy their 
streets and invade the lands
https://www.facebook.com/AlMasira.KufurKaddom/photos/a.1448012401887475.1073742093.271405776214816/1448015658553816/?type=3
13-1-17 Clashes between Palestinian lions and Zionist forces broke out in Kafr Qaddum, 
during the weekly peaceful protest against the wall and the occupation
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1464764146878967.1073742095.271405776214816&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=369862993376166&id=100010574040732
https://antinarrativeblog.com/2017/01/13/%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86-nilin-13-1-2017/
2-2-17 
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1508835995805115.1073742099.271405776214816&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/Akhdut/posts/1556028184422361
https://www.facebook.com/pg/AlMasira.KufurKaddom/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1511022855586429
17_2_2017‎.https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1545506415471406.1073742102.271405776214816&type=3

-----------------------------------

Don't say we didn't know 526

The Israeli army continues to harass the Palestinians of Al Hama and Ras Al Ahmar in the 
north of the Palestinian Jordan Valley. The authorities aim to make the Palestinians 
desert their villages.

On Monday, November 7, 2016, Israeli soldiers came to the Palestinian hamlet of Al Hama, 
destroyed and confiscated all of the tents that had been put up after the previous demolition.

On Thursday, November 10, Israeli soldiers came to Ras Al Ahmar and issued eviction orders 
to all the inhabitants for two days (Sunday and Monday, the 11th and 13th of November). 
Apparently the Israeli army intends to hold manoeuvres at the site.


Don't say we did not know 528

The Palestinian inhabitants of 'Arab Abu Farda,  lived near Moshav Batzra in the Sharon 
area. In 1948 they became refugees and settled SE of Qalqilia. They bought the land in 1952.

On Thursday, November 17, 2016 the Israeli army blocked the entrance to the village from 
road 55. The other entrance is only for 4x4 vehicles. Now buses and trucks cannot enter or 
exit.


Don't Say We Didn't Know 529

The Israeli army persists in its efforts to expel Palestinians from the northern 
Palestinian Jordan Valley, and the Jewish settlers continue to invade the Palestinians' 
lands, unimpeded.
Earlier this week Israeli soldiers presented temporary evacuation orders to the 
inhabitants of Ras Al Ahmar. The army plans three days of manoeuvres in their area. They 
are supposed to evacuate their locality from Tuesday to Thursday (6-8.12) from 9 a.m. 
until 5 p.m every day.
On Tuesday, November 29, 2016 soldiers confiscate another tractor belonging to a 
Palestinian from Ras Al Ahmar.
On Monday. November 28, settlers apparently from Mekhola ploughed Palestinian lands. The 
owners showed soldiers present the documents proving a Supreme Court ruling.on their 
rightful claim to the land. The soldiers chased them away and did not prevent the 
settlers' invasion.
--- --- --- ---
On Wednesday, November 30, government agents escorted by police once more demolished the 
Bedouin village of Al Araqib in the Negev.


Don't Say We Didn't Know 530

On Tuesday, December 6, 2016, Israeli soldiers came to the Palestinian village of Fassail 
in the Palestinian Jordan Valley, and demolished three dwellings and two service units 
belonging to two families. For one of these families, this is already the fourth 
demolition this year. The other family remained with no shelter for the night.
On the same day the Israeli army confiscated two more tractors at Ras Al Ahmar, in the 
northern part of the Palestinian Jordan Valley.
---- ---- ---- ----
On Wednesday, December 7, government agents escorted by police arrived for a day of 
demolitions of Bedouin localities in the Negev. In Sa'wa, east of Hura, they demolished a 
dwelling. In wadi Gawain (Mulada) east of Hura, they demolished a water reservoir. At Al 
Ghara. west of the Nevatim airfield, a Bedouin man was forced to demolish his own home by 
himself, under police pressure.

Don't say we did not know531

On Monday, 12th December, 2016, two farmers from the Palestinian village Turmus 'Ayya 
discovered that 166 of their olive saplings had been either uprooted or destroyed on their 
land. The suspicion is that settlers from an outpost west of Adei Ad outpost carried out 
the crime.


Don’t Say We Didn’t Know 534

On Thursday, December 29, 2016 government agents escorted by police came to the Negev 
Bedouin villages for a day of demolitions. At Bir Hadaj, near kibbutz Revivim, they 
destroyed a dwelling. At A-Sir village, south of Beer Sheva, they destroyed a dwelling. At 
Al Ghara, near Hura township, they destroyed a dwelling. At Khirbet Al Batal, near Rahat, 
they destroyed a dwelling. At Abu Talul, south of the Segev Shalom township, they 
destroyed a dwelling. At Al Humra, near Darijat, they forced a man to demolish his own home.

On Thursday, January 5, 2017, at Al Ukbi near Hura, they demolished a hospitality tent 
(Sig). At Al Zarnug near Nevatim, they destroyed a sheep pen. At Al Fur’a, near Arad, they 
demolished two dwellings.



Don't Say We Didn't Know 535

On Tuesday' January 10, 2017. Israeli army troops came and cut a water pipe supplying 
water from Ras Al Ahmar to Al Hadidiya in the northern Palestinian Jordan Valley.

Important note! A settler in nearby Roi consumes 450 liters of water a day. A Hadidiya 
Palestinian - 20 liters a day.

    ----  ----  ----  ----

I have no idea what more could be written about the situation at Al Arakib. On Thursday. 
January 12, 2017, again government agents escorted by police confiscated three vehicles, a 
water tanker and a cart, and once again, demolished the village.



Don't Say We Didn't Know 536

Israeli army plans to pave a road to bypass the Palestinian village of Nabi Elias (east of 
the West Bank town of Qalqiliya) for the Jewish settlers in the area. For this purpose it 
has confiscated 104 dunams belonging to the villages of Nabi Elias, Izbat Tabib and Azoun.

On Saturday, January 7, 2017, the army prevented Israeli human rights activists from 
coming to the area to demonstrate in protest alongside the Palestinians.

On Monday, January 16, 2017, the Israeli army began uprooting 1000 olive trees belonging 
to the Palestinian farmers in this area. The soldiers arrested an Israeli activists and 
detained a Palestinian and another Israeli woman-activists.

  Don't Say We Didn't Know 537

The new outpost in the Umm Zuka area of the northern Palestinian Jordan Valley is being 
built right next to an Israeli army base. This does not deter settlers from Umm Zuka 
developing this outpost and like settlers from Al Hama outpost, chasing away Palestinian 
shepherds from their own lands.
On Wednesday, February 1, 2017,settlers from the outpost in Al Hama attacked shepherds 
from Samara. The next day those same shepherds were attacked by settlers from Umm Zuka 
riding a mini-tractor. On Saturday, February 4, settlers again tried to attack Palestinian 
shepherds from Samara, Ein Al Hilwa and Makhoul, but Israeli volunteers who accompanied 
them prevented the assault.

  Don't say we didn't know 538

I often have to choose what to distribute among all the items that come my way. This time 
I choose to share this deliberation with my readers.
As the week began I thought of writing about the expansion of Leshem settlement and the 
damages it has been causing the neighbouring Palestinian village of Deir Balut. But then I 
was informed of the confiscation of 326 dunams belonging to the villages of Jalud and 
Turmus Aya. Then came the news of home demolitions in Ras Al Ahmar and Kardala in the 
northern Palestinian Jordan Valley. And more demolitions in the Palestinian villages 
around Jerusalem that have been annexed by Israel, and about which is rarely write. After 
all they are more centrally located, and thus more visible.
As Wednesday, February 8 grew near, we feared a repeated demolition at Umm Al Hiran in the 
Negev. Which did not happen. Instead, Al Arakib was destroyed yet again. And a container 
was destroyed in Al Zarnouk,and a Bedouin resident was forced to demolish his own home in 
Wadi Al Na'am , also in the Negev.
So you tell me, what should I write about?

For further information: amosg@shefayim.org.il


=================================
* From my blog at: http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com
See at the blog previous reports about the joint struggles the Anarchists Against the Wall 
take part in.
See also: Stories from the year 2100 - 50 years after the revolution
  http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses.html
http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses-it.html
http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses-heb.html

Ahdut (Unity) blog: http://unityispa.wordpress.com/
Ahdut (Unity) Position paper about the Palestinian struggle
English - http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27019
Arabic - http://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=430180

------------------------------

Message: 2



You've probably never heard of a place called Rojava . It's in northern Syria, and its 
name means both ‘West' and ‘Sunset' in Kurdish. If you don't know who the Kurds are, 
they're a people whose homeland is divided by the national borders of Syria, Iran, Iraq, 
and Turkey. ---- You may have seen Syria on the news. A brutal civil war now in it's 5th 
year, a flood of desperate refugees fleeing Syria, and the emergence of ISIS from the 
ashes of the Iraq War. What you may not have known is that there is an actual revolution 
going on in the midst of all the horror. Millions of people are building a new kind of 
society, calling it the Rojava Revolution. ---- "We support this movement in Rojava and 
the rest of Kurdistan as one of the strongest mass advances towards feminism, libertarian 
socialism and a directly democratic society that the world has seen in recent decades." - 
Rojava Solidarity Commission, Black Rose Anarchist Federation

There are many factions at war in Syria, and a complicated web of shifting alliances and 
interests. Assad, the Syrian dictator, still controls much of Western Syria. His forces, 
with the aid of Russia and Iran, carry on a brutal war against the Free Syrian Army, a 
collection of largely jihadist militias supported by the United States.

Most of Syria's land remains under ISIS control. Rojava is made up of three administrative 
regions in northern Syria, along the Turkish border. Rojava is defended by the People's 
Protection Units (YPG) and the Women's Protection Units (YPJ). Turkey recently invaded 
Syria in order to prevent YPG forces from geographically connecting their Efrin region to 
the rest of Rojava.

Rojava's Revolution is a daring experiment in secular, multi-ethnic direct democracy. It's 
a society based on feminism, ecology, and decentralization of power that has based much of 
its philosophy on the ideas the late American anarchist Murray Bookchin. This Revolution 
deserves our solidarity and support.

Back in 2014, ISIS seemed unstoppable. Having seized much of Syria and Iraq, ISIS 
attempted to overrun Kobane, Rojava's central region. A few hundred thousand Kurds were 
displaced and fled to Turkey. Things didn't look good for Rojava.

When ISIS got to the city of Kobane itself, they encountered stiffer resistance. The 
Battle for Kobane lasted 5 months. Finally the YPG/YPJ, along with detachments of the Free 
Syrian Army and Iraqi Kurdish reinforcements, drove ISIS from what remained of the city. 
The US also coordinated air strikes with the Kurdish forces on the ground. While 
undoubtedly helpful in defeating ISIS, a few of the bombings did mistakenly kill anti-ISIS 
fighters.

Kobane got some media coverage in the US for a few months. US officials and administration 
spokespeople made it clear they were doing everything possible, short of sending ground 
troops, to help defend Kobane from ISIS. Almost two years later, Kobane is still being 
rebuilt.

Some of the other images a few of us may have seen from Rojava are the women guerrillas of 
the YPJ. These women, some as young as 16, most in their early 20s, not only prove their 
heroism on the battlefield, but also bring a unique tactical advantage to the fight 
against ISIS.

In ISIS's horrific theology, a fighter getting killed by a woman is so shamed that he 
cannot get the heavenly rewards of martyrdom (72 virgins, etc). According to several 
reports, Kurdish forces discovered that when the flag of the YPJ was seen approaching ISIS 
positions, ISIS had a tendency to run the fuck away. Not only is this an awesome way for 
patriarchy to backfire, turning hyper-masculinity to cowardice, but it has also allowed 
relatively small detachments of the YPJ to push ISIS back with fewer casualties. For the 
women of the YPJ, feminism isn't a slogan - it's a weapon of war.

Last year, ISIS decided to massacre the Yazidis, an ethnic and religious minority in Iraq. 
Men and boys were getting killed, women and girls were getting sold. When Iraqi forces 
failed to intervene, the YPJ crossed into Iraq and rescued about 10,000 survivors. In 
addition to fighting for women's liberation and building a revolutionary society, Kurdish 
women put their lives on the line to stop a genocide.

"We formed the basis of today's movement in Rojava when we went there without arms and 
money[in 1979]. We managed this by advancing step by step. The gains attained in Rojava 
today are the outcome of the project we unearthed there years ago. Rojava has an armed 
force of 50,000 fighters today." - Abdullah Ocalan, Kurdistan Workers' Party

Rojava's Revolution is based on an ideology called Democratic Confederalism. It's not 
exactly anarchism, but it's damn close.

Years ago, imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan started writing back and forth with 
Vermont anarchist Murray Bookchin. Their correspondence prompted Ocalan to abandon his 
orthodox Marxism in favor of new ideas. His conversion, in turn, converted Kurdish 
political parties throughout Turkey and Syria. These new ideas included many elements of 
Bookchin's anarchism: a central emphasis on women's liberation, an urgent sense of 
ecological responsibility, and an insistence on participatory democracy.

The beating heart of the Rojava Revolution is the Movement for a Democratic Society, or 
Tev-Dem. These are the civilian organizers who build Democratic Confederalism by 
establishing local assemblies, women's organizations, economic cooperatives, and free schools.

In Rojava's cities, people attend directly democratic neighborhood assemblies that 
federate upward through district, city, and regional councils. At all levels, women must 
make up at least 40% of the councils and half their leadership. These councils are a model 
of secular democracy, embracing all the regions' many faiths and ethnicities.

Ever since Rojava's successful offensives against ISIS resulted in Kurdish control over 
some non-Kurdish territory, the Tev-Dem have expanded their efforts to organize autonomous 
administrations in newly-freed Syrian villages and cities. Most armies conquer, but 
Rojava's armies liberate.

Most businesses in Rojava are democratic worker cooperatives making needed supplies. It 
must be said upfront, that the biggest point of difference between anarchism and the 
Rojava project lies in a few economic ambiguities. As a mainly agrarian society, Rojava 
has yet to grapple with the question of its own landlord class. Such questions cannot be 
effectively addressed under the current conditions of war and embargo. Yet it is 
impossible to deny that Democratic Confederalist economics pose a fundamental alternative 
to capitalism.

"The semi-independent economy accepts markets and trade but does not allow the economy to 
achieve profit for the accumulation of capital."  - Movement for a Democratic Society 
(Tev-Dem)

Ecological sustainability is a cornerstone of Rojava's economy. The embargo by hostile 
powers makes it difficult for Rojava to build green economy in their territory, but their 
efforts continue. In the United States, we keep pumping more carbon and methane into the 
atmosphere. Energy corporations prevent any significant government action on climate 
change. We're racing toward an ecological cliff at full speed.

Neither of the American national candidates has anything resembling an adequate plan. One 
denies reality, the other hopes that you forget she loves Halliburton almost as much as 
she loves Wal-Mart. Even the Bernie Sanders carbon-tax wouldn't have actually gotten the 
job done. The Syrian conflict itself can be at least partially attributed to unusually 
harsh drought conditions in 2011. Between precipitating climate instability and invading 
Iraq, the rise of ISIS is as American as apple pie.

On what almost seems like a daily basis now, we see on camera that police in America are 
brutal, racist, paramilitary gangs. In the land of the free, we've witnessed the police 
murdering children with impunity. India Cummings, a young black woman from Rochester, was 
murdered while in Buffalo police custody. Police departments and so-called police unions 
continue to resist any and all attempts at reform or accountability, hoping we won't 
believe our own eyes.

Rojava's internal security force, known as Asayish, is actively decentralizing. By 
providing widespread security training to the civilian population of Rojava, they are 
working toward the day when a specific police force will no longer be necessary and the 
Asayish itself can be dissolved. At a time in the US when the Black Lives Matter movement 
is beginning to embrace the idea of disbanding or abolishing the police, Rojava shows us 
exactly how such a thing can actually be done.

Despite cooperating with Rojava against ISIS, the US State Department still considers 
Rojava's major political and military organizations to be terrorist groups due to their 
affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey. Because of this, it is 
illegal for Americans to aid or support them directly. Americans who believe in the Rojava 
Revolution might be risking terrorism charges if they want to donate money, send needed 
supplies, or travel to volunteer for the YPG's International Freedom Battalion.

Fortunately, there a number of non-aligned NGOs like the Kobane Reconstruction Board. 
Donating to these groups is perfectly legal and urgently needed. Unfortunately, these 
efforts aren't as effective as they could be without the embargo that Rojava now faces 
from Turkey. The US continues to insist that they're the Kurds' ally, yet the Obama 
administration has done nothing to restrain Turkey's aggression or to lift the embargo 
against Rojava.

There have been rumors in the international press recently that the US is considering 
directly arming the YPG for the first time. Hillary Clinton even mentioned it in the 
second presidential debate. Doing so would certainly help in the fight against ISIS and 
send Turkey a clear message about which side the US is on. We can only hope that these are 
more than rumors.

The most meaningful thing we could do to help Rojava, however, is to get the State 
Department to remove the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from the official list of 
terrorist groups. This would allow people around the world to support Rojava directly. The 
people of Rojava understand that the American Empire is not really their friend. Right now 
the US needs them to defeat ISIS, but they know that in the long-term, their only real 
allies are progressive and revolutionary movements around the world.

When the first International Freedom Battalion volunteers crossed into Rojava to join the 
YPG, they flew a Spanish flag. Rojava reminded them of the Spanish Revolution in 1936, 
when thousands of volunteers from around the world went to Spain to fight fascism. Rojava 
has also been compared to the Paris Commune of 1871, the Nicaraguan Revolution in the 
1980s, and the Zapatistas in Mexico since 1994. Others compared Kobane with the Battle of 
Stalingrad in World War II. Rojava is the latest in a long line of heroic revolutions 
aspiring to freedom.

"In order to stop Syrian bloodshed... we must crown the Syrian Revolution with victory and 
rebuild a free democratic Syria.... We need to develop a road map to solve the Syrian 
crisis on the basis of consensual democracy, justice, equality, and positive 
discrimination between the genders[because]the freedom of women is the guarantee of all 
freedoms.... There are no ready and complete recipes for ending the Syrian crisis.... But 
we also recognize and believe that the good efforts of the people of this country, and its 
friends, will be able to save what is left of Syria." - Project for a Democratic Syria, 2015

We owe it to ourselves to care about the people of Rojava. Not just because they're ‘good 
guys.' And not just because they've got the only sane peace plan for Syria. We should care 
about the Rojava Revolution because it represents a new birth of freedom for the entire 
middle-east, and perhaps for the world.

For decades, the people of the region have often been stuck choosing between US-backed 
dictators, Russia-backed dictators, or various jihadist forces. Now there is a genuine 
alternative. Another World is Possible!

"Freedom is like the morning. Some sleep and wait for it to come, others stay awake and 
walk all night to reach it." - Subcomandante Marcos, EZLN

http://riverrebellion.org/2017/01/04/freedom-at-sunset-rojavas-revolution-in-syria/

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Message: 3



Most often of extreme right, but also sometimes liberal, even of the left, the politicians 
claiming "antisystem" multiply in recent years. Using similar rhetoric, underpinned by 
various political orientations, they thrive on an ideological vacuum far removed from the 
radical critique of liberal democracy and capitalism. ---- Trump in the United States, Le 
Pen or Soral in France, Orbán in Hungary, Grillo in Italy, Ukip in the United Kingdom, AfD 
in Germany, PiS in Poland ... the extreme right multiplies all over the world by calling 
itself antisystem . The anti-systemic epidemic also affects the right (fire Sarkozy, 
Fillon and Macron in their own way ...) and even to the left (Mélenchon, Podemos in 
Spain). The concept has had some success, as Trump's election showed.

Verbal play

Recipe? Capitalize on widespread detestation in the "elite" or "caste" population, and 
point the corruption of leaders. These views can be shared, but this (superficial) 
critique of the political system is often accompanied by nauseating messages about 
immigrants, Muslims and Muslims, civil servants and intellectuals, private employees. Es 
of employment or the RSA, all considered as parasites. It is also a matter of "kicking the 
anthill", "breaking taboos", fighting "politically correct" and "single thought": elements 
of language overused to convey a reactionary program.

Of course, to proclaim itself an antisystem is, in the case of the individuals mentioned, 
only a verbal game. When those who rely on them are not politicians dragging in the 
corridors of the assemblies for decades, like Fillon (see also page 4) or Mélenchon, we 
are faced with businessmen with fortune acquired doubtfully, Like Trump. The businessman 
and president elect of the United States, who takes office on January 20, would in fact, 
according to Forbes, the head of a fortune of $ 3.7 billion, which would make it the 324th 
Fortune. He nevertheless succeeded in gleaning votes in the white American popular 
classes, thanks to a rhetoric that promised to put down the establishment, but also by 
means of racist and sexist prominences. And it must be admitted that the unfortunate 
candidate, Hillary Clinton, is part of the seraglio, and that she rightly appeared as the 
candidate of Wall Street.

Yet Donald Trump has already prepared a cabinet full of big business or republican fakes. 
He announced that the next secretary to the Treasury would be Steven Mnuchin, a financier 
very connected to Wall Street and former Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs, this bank bailed 
out by the Federal Reserve after the subprime crisis? The archetype of collusion between a 
corrupt political power and a voled financial system? Yes, yes. Another example is Wilbur 
Ross, who is the Minister of Commerce. Dubbed the "king of bankruptcy" because his 
business was to "rescue" firms in difficulty, it has earned a fortune of $ 2.3 billion 
according to the magazine Forbes ... He especially helped when Donald Trump Its Atlantic 
City casinos beat the wing in the 1980s, which was well worth a lift back. We do better 
for an antisystem, but whatever, the important thing is not what we do once in power but 
what we say, because that's what makes it possible to be elected.

Le Pen's double speech

The Le Pen also testify. Nothing in their program questions the heritage of the owners, of 
which they are a part. Hence an ambiguous discourse on a large number of subjects 
(retreats, secu, labor law) in order to satisfy the various fringes of their electorate, 
from the conservative Catholic old right to a more popular, probably racist and 
homophobic, electorate Does not welcome the measures intended to enrich those who already 
have much.

Marine Le Pen was able to declare that "Francois Fillon has the worst social destruction 
program that never existed" and that "no candidate is never gone so far in submission to 
ultraliberal requirements of the European Union" . To this she replies "Navy patriot 
proposed Le Pen, with economic patriotism, national priority to protect our businesses 
from unfair international competition." His conclusion: "And the project with Mr. Fillon 
removing Social Security, the abolition of the statutory working hours, the total 
deregulation. The French will choose. "

We see, facing a Fillon very right to which it could be opposed to the second turn, it 
must "warp" his speech. Yet the FN does not promise exactly a socialist paradise: "We are 
authentic liberal national and protectionist reasoned out, was able to declare Bernard 
Monot, host of the committee responsible for drafting the economic program of the FN , 
quoted by Le Monde. The e FN is the friend of all businesses, from the smallest to the CAC 
40, provided they hire, invest and pay taxes in France. " Marine Le Pen is also not on 
another line: during his closing speech Estivales in Fréjus (Var) on September 17, she was 
able to declare that " we need both that s' Alleviate within them fiscal constraints and 
injustice ... and that the principle of preference for self and primacy of the nation are 
strengthened externally ". In short, the FN, the incarnation of the anti-system, 
anti-party, neither left nor right, tries above all to play on two tables: social on one 
side, pro-business on the other, all coated with economic patriotism.

Slippery slope of xenophobia

All the antisystems do not proclaim themselves for the same reasons, and they are not all 
to be put in the same bag. It is not a question of sending Le Pen and Mélenchon back to 
back on the pretext that they use certain similar rhetorical features, for the associated 
content is different.

Nevertheless, even left antisystems sometimes walk on the slippery slope of xenophobia. 
Mélenchon is positioned for example on a patriot line on the left. It denies, of course, 
that it is contradictory to internationalism. Yet there has been talk in July, the 
European Parliament, "posted worker who steals bread to a worker who is on site." He also 
successfully defended in an interview at the World  August 25, selective immigration: 
"I've never been to the freedom of settlement and I will not start now. If there were 
10,000 doctors to settle in France, would that be a chance? Yes. " How to explain these 
positions, which are not likely to win over a significant part of the electorate to the 
left? No doubt he tries to seduce voters of the FN, whom he considers a potential 
electorate, in a fantasized vision of the popular classes as mistrusting immigrants. It is 
certain that, in the absence of a true class analysis, the left-wing anti-system 
candidates are orienting themselves towards a sovereignist and protectionist policy, 
making the "people" the basis of their political project, set back from a materialist 
analysis Of class. And this can lead to positions flirting with those of right-wing, 
xenophobic and anti-immigrant sovereignists.

In reality, anti-system rhetoric is first of all a demagogic rhetoric, designed to please 
as widely as possible, including people who do not agree with each other. Obviously, 
rejecting "the system" is very common, but not everyone relies on the same ideological 
orientations, so it is preferable for candidates not to undeceive the potential voter. 
Clarifying the nature of the envisaged revolution (liberal, conservative, national, 
socialist, ...). Everyone being against the "system", but not necessarily the same thing 
underneath, it is better not to define anything.

The result is a rather formless ideological mud, which shows itself, for example, in the 
reports, quite shared among the self-proclaimed antisystems on all sides, with Putin and 
the positioning on the Syrian question. Thus, Trump, Le Pen, Fillon or Mélenchon, of 
different political tendencies, nevertheless share a manifest fascination for the despot 
of the Kremlin. It is only natural for Le Pen, whose political affinity with Putin is 
evident, and who also receives funds from it. It is stranger to Trump, given the 
historical rivalry of his country with Russia, or for Fillon, at a time when the French 
right is rather Atlanticist. And it is downright unnatural for Mélenchon to support a 
far-right leader even in his intervention alongside Assad in the massacre of the 
population of Aleppo. But this type of postures ensures at least costs a rebellious 
appearance, in this case against US imperialism, even if it is in fact to support 
positions equally imperialist, and otherwise frankly extreme right, On the Russian or 
Syrian side.

Ideological Blurring

We see the ideological vagueness that surrounds the rhetoric of antisystems. It can be 
interpreted as the refusal, most often interested, to lead the "system" a radical critique.

Antisystems thus criticize many established politicians, including when they are 
themselves politicians, but never subject this system to substantive criticism. And for 
good reason: they generally aim to seize this power, perhaps by further accentuating the 
anti-democratic side of it by an increased personalization. They defend the idea that bad 
people are in power, not that institutions are in their undemocratic foundations, doomed 
to generate corruption and put the elect in a state of weightlessness compared to the 
popular classes. They suggest that if they were elected, everything would work for the 
better, possibly with a facelift of the political regime (passage to the Sixth Republic 
for example).

Similarly, on the economic side, antisystems never point to the real cause of the crisis 
and poverty: capitalism. Some will pretend to promote the redistribution of wealth, 
criticize the most liberal aspects of capitalism, others will pretend to push these 
aspects to their paroxysm in a resolutely individualist and antitatetic approach, but none 
(not even those of the left) Does not put forward class antagonisms in society and the 
need to expropriate the possessors.

These radical criticisms are today only carried out by the extreme left, especially 
libertarian. It is more than urgent that we give ourselves the means to ensure that the 
anger of the greatest number finds an outlet in the social movements and not in the vote 
for autocratic demagogues.

Vincent (AL Paris South)

You said "populism"?

Self-proclaimed antisystems are often labeled "populist" by their political opponents or 
the media. By means of a term referring to the people, the latter seek to disqualify from 
the outset certain political propositions, as if all that came from the popular classes 
was necessarily deadly. They thus come to accredit precisely what the antisystems pretend 
to call into question: the break between political, economic and media elites and the rest 
of the population. On the other hand, it should be noted that what the opponents of the 
"populism" complain of are often things that they themselves have largely promoted. The 
hatred of immigrants has its roots very much in the treatment that some media and some 
politicians in or outside governments have imposed, before realizing that this nourished 
the extreme right. The same can be said about civil servants where private employees are 
employed.

http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Politique-Les-antisystemes-au

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