In this longer text we look at the situation in Israel/Palestine sincethe Hamas attack two months ago. We also look in detail at the impact ofthe events on the situation in Germany and place the events in a broadercontext. We started this text some time ago, which is why we make lessreference to current events. Finally, we formulate our anarchistperspective for an end to oppression and violence in the region andexplain what practical steps we believe are necessary now. There arevarious reasons why it has taken so long until we are now in a positionto express ourselves in this way: We had wrongly avoided developing acommon position as a platform on the underlying processes. This was,among other things, because there are different positions and analyzesin our federation. Unfortunately, discussing these and developing ajoint statement from them always takes some time due to the structure ofour organization and the goal of creating a consensus. In the future wewant to continue the discussion that we have now started. In this sense,we also welcome solidarity, constructive criticism and feedback.On the morning of October 7th, over a thousand armed fighters, mostlyfrom the Islamist Hamas, but also some other militant Palestinianorganizations, broke through the Gaza Strip border fortifications andentered surrounding Israeli towns and kibbutzim. Even though someIsraeli military bases were hit in the course of this major attack, itwas undoubtedly and deliberately aimed primarily at Israeli civilians.Over a thousand of them - old people, parents, young adults, children -were brutally murdered by Hamas fighters. Not since the end of the Shoahhave so many Jews been killed in one day. In the course of the massacresthere were also cases of cruel, sexual violence; a testimony to theirpatriarchal character. Over a hundred Israeli civilians were alsokidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip. Even now, Hamas continues toindiscriminately fire rockets into Israeli territory almost every day.There is nothing in the world that could justify such atrocities asthose on October 7th. This was not an act of resistance, but a deeplyinhumane and anti-Semitic act. All hostages must be released immediatelyand unharmed and the attacks must stop. Our condolences go out to thecivilian victims and the families of all those killed. Our solidaritygoes out to the Israeli civilian population who are still coming toterms with the shock and helplessness caused by the attacks and whocontinue to face Hamas fire.The Israeli state's response was not long in coming: Inspired bydehumanizing rhetoric from the Israeli government, the Israeli Air Forcecontinues to carry out dozens of attacks on the Gaza Strip every day.Officially, they target Hamas officials and bases. However, Palestiniancivilians being killed are willingly accepted. What exactly happened isdifficult to say with certainty through the fog of war. What is certain,however, is that as things stand, Israel has already killed over 15,000Palestinians. The suffering of those who have survived this hell so faris endless. Faced with the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, manypeople have fled to the southern part of the tiny territory. But heretoo they are not safe from bombing. It is impossible to say withcertainty what exactly the Israeli state is aiming at by expelling thepopulation, whether they will be permanently ethnically displaced orwill at some point return to their largely bombed cities. What is clearis that the Israeli ground attack is increasing the misery of thecivilian population immeasurably. This ground offensive must be stopped.The Israeli bombings must also end immediately. Hamas' actions cannotjustify the mass killing and displacement of Palestinian civilians. Heretoo, our condolences go out to the civilian victims and the families ofall those killed. Our solidarity goes out to the Palestinian civilianpopulation, who are left powerless by displacement and daily attacks bythe Israeli army.Situation in GermanyThe German state's reaction to Israel's actions is now clear:unconditional solidarity with the Israeli state. Every means of warfareis now justified, criticism of the actions of the Israeli government ismisplaced, explains the German government. The opposition from the AfD,CDU and Left Party differs mainly in the choice of words, not in thecontent. In order to morally justify one's own complicity in the waragainst Gaza, German history is used. But in reality, the German statedoes not need the Shoah in order to remain loyal to the Israeli state.Because it is a close political, economic and military ally in theregion. The German state is becoming an accomplice in the war against Gaza.The German government's foreign policy agenda is being securedinternally with all its might. Social consent to the line of the rulersis deliberately created, and dissent is violently suppressed. Theparties, their youth organizations and the foreign missions of theIsraeli state are organizing rallies "in solidarity with Israel". Thevictims of the Hamas attack are to be remembered here. It isunderstandable that people who are moved by the attacks take part,partly because they themselves or friends are affected by them. Theshock and helplessness that these people experience is deeply shocking.At the same time, these rallies are also used to convey public supportfor the war against Gaza. They are being courted by the same Germanstate power that initially completely banned protests in solidarity withthe Palestinians or attacked them with brutal force and has continued tosubject them to repression in the last few days. Even wearing thekeffiyeh (the so-called "Palestinian scarf") is now persecuted in someplaces (e.g. schools). We are experiencing a massive, authoritarianattack on the rights we have fought for. Politicians from right to leftare using the situation to incite racism against - especially young -Muslims and Arabs. Anti-Semitism is presented as an "imported" problemthat can be removed by deportations out of the country and Germany, thecountry of the Shoah, is finally cleansed of its own anti-Semitism.Under the pretext of a "community of values", a supposedly left-liberalgovernment is tightening up a racist deportation regime, placing migrantcommunities under general suspicion and directing massive repressionagainst these already marginalized people. The AfD and other right-wingforces are trying to distract from their own anti-Semitism by declaringtheir solidarity with Israel. This is undoubtedly done less out ofactual concern for Jews than out of their own motives, although thecurrent situation seems to be a more welcome reason for the progressiveauthoritarianization of the German state. Mourning for the victims ofthe Hamas attack is completely understandable and legitimate. However,we firmly oppose any support for the war against Gaza that is beingtaken to the streets here in Germany. This also includes simplyconcealing it or justifying it. We also oppose racist incitement andrepression against protests in solidarity with the Palestinianpopulation. The fact that these are taking place is legitimate and worthsupporting, even if we critically evaluate many of the contents and actors.The reactionary agitation of those in power finds its ready ambassadorin the bourgeois press. It has largely followed the government line andlegitimized the war against Gaza. The history of recent events is simplyignored in many media. Palestinian civilians killed are eitherjustified, ignored or declared tragic victims. The mass media alsocreates support in the German hinterland for the war against Gaza. Theyalso racistly incite against protests in solidarity with the Palestinianpopulation here in the Federal Republic of Germany and against Muslimsand Arabs in general. We stand against the propaganda of the bourgeoispress.In the wake of the war against Gaza, anti-Semitic attacks in Germany areincreasing rapidly. More and more cases are becoming known in which Jewsare insulted on the street, their homes are "marked" and Jewishinstitutions are attacked. Anti-Semitic incidents also occur again andagain at demonstrations for solidarity with people in Palestine. Wecondemn escalating anti-Semitism clearly and unequivocally. Protestingagainst the actions of the Israeli state is more than legitimate.However, where a protest against Israel turns into agitation or evenattacks against Jews, they are anti-Semitic and must be decisivelyrejected and combated.A minority of the German left, especially authoritarian-communistgroups, takes a wrong position in justifying the attacks on Israelicivilians and refers to a wrong understanding of anti-colonial struggle.Another minority justifies Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians fromthe false standpoint of solidarity with the Israeli state. We rejectboth positions as reactionary. However, due to the feeling of their ownpowerlessness and inability to act, a majority of the left in thiscountry has fallen into deep silence and does not comment at all or onlycomments on the situation in the Federal Republic of Germany. That isalso wrong. Only a small minority of the German left takes aninternationalist position against the Islamism and anti-Semitism ofHamas, against the Israeli state and its policies, for the liberation ofPalestinians from oppression and for equal coexistence for allpopulation groups in the region. This position must be defended.If we look at the international situation, we see that Western stateslike the Federal Republic of Germany are supporting their ally Israeland legitimizing the war. Elsewhere in Europe, protests in solidaritywith the Palestinian population are also being suppressed. At the sametime, anti-Semitism is also flaring up here. Internationally, too, manyleftists take an uncritical or even glorifying attitude towards Hamasfrom a false standpoint in the anti-colonial struggle and against thebackground of the history of anti-Semitic tendencies in socialistmovements. This new escalation reveals the parallels between Europeansocieties as well as recurring problems of the global left.Our perspective on the present and future in Israel/PalestineHas that said everything? No it's not. The events we have beenwitnessing since October 7th did not arise out of nothing. The waragainst Gaza that we are now experiencing was preceded by many otherwars between Israel and its Arab neighbors. A central consequence ofthese wars is the oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli state thathas been ongoing for decades. In large parts of the West Bank theyexperience daily harassment, violence and murder at the hands of theIsraeli military and militant settlers. This violence has continued inrecent weeks. The seven days following the Hamas attack were thedeadliest week for Palestinians in the West Bank since UN records beganin 2005. This situation is legally supported by the Israeli militaryjustice system. The military and judiciary function to protect Israelisettlements, which are occupying more and more land inhabited byPalestinians and driving them out of there. The political oppression ofPalestinians is accompanied by enormous economic precarity. Withinofficial Israeli territory, Palestinians also face structuraldiscrimination - even if they have Israeli citizenship, which isdifficult for them to obtain. In the Gaza Strip, the oppression ofPalestinians is more massive than anywhere else. Israel controls theelectricity and water supplies, the access of goods and people, and thesea. At the same time, Egypt is also keeping its border crossing closed.The politics of the occupation is also a patriarchal politics because itparticularly affects Palestinian women. They are repeatedly exposed tospecific forms of sexual violence by the Israeli military. Theoppression of Palestinians is not the result of the current extremeright-wing government. As an ideology, Israeli nationalism as a wholeaims at such an exclusionary state project.Hamas counters this with its own Islamist, anti-Semitic and deeplypatriarchal state project. It already exercises control in the GazaStrip - although it is heavily dependent on the actions of Israelipoliticians - and oppresses the population. Especially when, as we haveseen this year, the Palestinian people take to the streets against thecorrupt rule of Hamas. But also when it carries out death sentences orrestricts women's freedom of movement. Hamas is financed, among otherthings, by the Iranian regime. With it there can be no liberation fromthe oppression of the Israeli state, much less a truly liberated societyin the region. Hamas is deeply reactionary and, with its anti-Semiticpropaganda and attacks against Israeli civilians, makes it impossiblefor understanding between the various population groups. This also makesit extremely difficult to build a real liberation movement behind whichmany different people can unite and fight together.Even a secular Palestinian state cannot bring social liberation andwould most likely end up privileging certain population groups andexcluding others. However, a progressive perspective must include theprotection and equal rights of all people in the region. We thereforeoppose all the state projects, whether secular Palestinian, Islamist orIsraeli, with our internationalist anarchist perspective for a freefuture of the region: It is obvious that without an end to thesystematic oppression of the Palestinians there can be no peace and noliberated society can exist in the region. Contrary to what politiciansand the media claim, the Israeli state cannot guarantee lasting, realprotection for Jews from global anti-Semitism. This representation notonly makes all class differences as well as exploitation and oppressionin the bourgeois Israeli state - for example the curtailment of thephysical self-determination of FLINTA*s, racism against black Jews orpolice violence - invisible. It also forgets that what the Israeli stateoffers as security can only be maintained internally and externallythrough violence against Palestinians. This violence is terrible enoughin itself, but it also creates fertile ground for the radicalization ofdesperate and hopeless Palestinian youth. Understanding how suchterrible events can occur should not be confused with assigning blame.On the contrary: if we want this horror to end, efforts must be made tounderstand the situation that gives rise to Islamist terror and toaddress the circumstances that give rise to such atrocities. The Israelistate project must give way to a common society in which Muslims,Christians, Jews and all other people of different and non-beliefs canlive together peacefully, equally and freely. Instead of one or twonation states, our perspective is the no-state solution. This societywould open up the possibility of the return of those whose ancestorswere expelled from Palestine and neighboring states. It is clear thatabolishing Israel as a single state would not solve the problem andwould instead result in more bloodshed. Anyone who solely calls for anend to Israel is either seriously mistaken or has anti-Semitic thoughts.Instead, overcoming exploitation and oppression must involveoverthrowing the competing imperialist powers in the region (US, Turkey,Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia) as well as overthrowing the Arab statesaround them.This is the perspective of a free and solidarity-basedsociety in the region that we are fighting for.In order to achieve this, we believe it is important to supportprogressive forces in the region who also pursue such a perspective.These include Palestinians who organize themselves independently of thedominant reactionary forces Hamas and Fatah. They both take a clearstand against existing reactionary tendencies in Palestinian society andfight against the oppression of the Israeli state. In addition tonon-violent protest actions such as strikes, we also consider violentand armed resistance to be morally justified. However, the legitimatetarget of resistance can only be the Israeli state, its military and itspolice and never Israeli civilians. If the latter are targeted, they ofcourse have the right to defend themselves against it - even armed.Ultimately, however, it is clear that the Palestinians' armed strugglecannot be successful in isolation. They need the solidarity of wageearners in neighboring countries, but above all the solidarity ofIsraeli wage earners. We believe it is important to support thosepolitical forces in Israel that are fighting for Israeli wage earners tobreak away from their own state, to organize independently and againsttheir own government, its military operations and in solidarity with thePalestinian struggle: rebel within. It is important to keep an eye onand support such united struggles of Palestinian and Israeli wageearners, which have developed and continue to develop around commoninterests, where the different population groups live together. Israelimilitary soldiers must lay down their weapons and refuse to go to waragainst Palestinians in Gaza or anywhere else. We believe it isimportant to support the political forces in Israel that are alreadyorganizing solidarity with conscientious objectors. The globalwage-earning class must show international solidarity with the struggleof the progressive sections of the Israeli and Palestinian wage-earningclasses. This solidarity can be reflected in demonstrations, politicalstrikes or blockades of Israeli arms deliveries. The influence of Hamasand other reactionary forces in Palestinian communities abroad must bepushed back through progressive social organizing. In times like these,when a protest movement is taking to the streets in solidarity with thePalestinian civilian population, we believe it is important to activelygo out there, support and strengthen existing progressive forces andperspectives and push back on reactionary positions. These are the meanswe see fit to wage the fight.In Germany we could imagine the following forms of action:Struggle for an internationalist anarchist position on the left, forexample by disseminating these viewpoints in texts or holding discussionevents.Exchange with people in our neighborhood or in our company about thesituation and spreading our position.Support the protection of synagogues and other Jewish institutions (inconsultation with them).Support anti-racist struggles, for example against the Europeanisolation policy or against right-wing parties.Support protests in solidarity with the Palestinian population andspread an internationalist anarchist position there (with banners, flagsand flyers) and put it up for discussion. Together with otherinternationalist anti-fascist forces, identify and oppose possibleanti-Semitic expressions and forces.Support protests against anti-Palestinian repression.Disseminate progressive positions from local and affected comrades viaall available channels.Progressive forces on site who share our perspective, search, establishcontact, exchange ideas and offer support.Down with oppression, violence and war! Fight for a free future foreveryone!https://www.dieplattform.org/2023/12/06/erklaerung-der-plattform-zur-aktuellen-lage-in-israel-palaestina/#more-2784_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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