WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE ITALY - news journal UPDATE - (en) Italy, FDCA, Cantiere #30 - From Kurdistan to Palestine: the alternative of democratic confederalism part I. (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

"During the dramatic days of Israel's attack on Lebanon, we met a
Kurdish and a Palestinian comrade to talk about democratic
confederalism. A possible solution for the conflict in the Middle East
and for the peaceful coexistence of peoples, under the banner of mutual
recognition, minority rights and social justice. A political proposal
that goes beyond the nation-state and that can be combined with the
hypothesis of "One land, two peoples, no state" proposed by libertarians.
We preface the interviews conducted with these two comrades, which we
will publish in the next issues of the magazine, with a piece by the
researcher and libertarian activist Yavor Tarinski and a declaration by
the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), which identify democratic
confederalism as an alternative to Zionism, jihadism and imperialist
colonial war. "

Voices for an Israel-Palestine Confederation - Yavor Tarinski

The bombings and the invasion of Gaza continue at full speed, bringing
death and destruction to countless civilians. These attacks must stop
immediately, the occupation of Gaza must be lifted, and apartheid in the
West Bank must be dismantled. All of this, as well as any jihadist
project and, of course, any form of anti-Semitism, must be actively
rejected and replaced by a real guarantee of peace, as revolutionary
voices have been saying for years, by reorganizing the region along
federal or confederal principles.
Already in the past there have been voices within the Jewish and
Palestinian peoples who have opposed the creation of nation-states,
proposing instead the formation of an Israeli-Palestinian confederation.
Movements such as the Jewish Labor Bund and Arab-Palestinian
intellectuals such as Al-Khalidi proposed a cantonal structure for the
region that would allow both peoples to coexist peacefully. Later,
starting in the 1960s, this secular and democratic vision was further
developed by the socialist council organization Matzpen, which advocated
a form of regional union consisting of cantons that would allow for the
self-determination of each ethnic group, rather than one or two
homogeneous nation-states.
Although these positions are increasingly marginalized today by
jihadists and far-right Zionists, the voices of those who advocate a
resolution of the conflict based on coexistence are still heard.
A more recent case is the anarchist Ahdut/Wihda Federation (Unity),
consisting of anti-authoritarian activists from Israel and occupied
Palestine, which has called on both peoples to fight together towards a
future in which, instead of one or two nation states, a new form of
society that transcends national identities, based on freedom, equality
and solidarity, is defined and further spread in the Middle East.
Another recent voice moving in this direction is the author Abraham
Weizfeld, who in his book The Federation of Palestinian and Hebrew
Nations (2018) suggests that the notion of the nation-state should be
overcome in favor of a stateless solution, an expression of parallel
civil societies constituted in an organic social construct with a
federal constitution.[...]
Hannah Arendt, born in Germany to a Jewish family, also advocated an
Arab-Jewish confederation as part of a larger Middle Eastern federation.
She opposed both the "one-state" and "two-state" solutions because they
retained the nation-state's logic of assimilation and exclusion, which
made it impossible to solve the so-called minority problem on an
egalitarian basis. Instead, Arendt recognized the popular councils and
the kibbutz movement, despite some of the latter's weaknesses, as the
only creative force ideologically predisposed to establish a
confederation of the two peoples.
This stemmed from her belief that such a prospect required subjects
capable of federating. If a democratic confederation is desired, the
entities that constitute it must themselves be democratic, and therefore
a democratic movement is needed on both sides. Ultimately, Arendt's
vision implies that the Arab-Palestinian and Jewish peoples are not just
simple bearers of equal rights, but active and direct protagonists of
the decision-making processes that determine the development of their
societies.
Finally, we must not forget the social ecology theorist Murray Bookchin,
also of Russian-Jewish origin, who hoped that Israel and Palestine could
evolve into a Swiss-like confederation of Jews and Arabs, a
confederation in which both peoples could live peacefully with each
other and develop their cultures creatively and harmoniously. Such a
perspective would imply equality and self-determination for all ethnic
and cultural groups involved, while at the same time promoting a power
closer to the social base. This position of his stemmed from the belief
that the Israeli and Palestinian people have more interests in common
than differences. The conception of radical federalism/confederalism as
an instrument of peace thus has a long history within revolutionary
thought.[...]
All these proposals, to varying degrees, are close to the model
developed by the people of Rojava. For years, they have been carrying
out a revolution that aims to overcome statism through the creation of
regional networks of self-managed confederated communities, which they
have called democratic confederalism. It is in this revolutionary spirit
that the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) has issued a statement[which
we report at the end of this article, Editor's note]stating that "The
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rooted in the logic of the nation-state
and can only be resolved by overcoming it".
These proposals may seem too utopian in the current framework of
regional realpolitik, but at the same time they seem to be the only ones
that take seriously a context of mixed populations, without giving in to
the barbarity of expelling one or the other people. On the other hand,
what many politicians and centers of power promote as the only viable
and "realistic" option, that is, remaining on the path of the
nation-state, seems so far to continue to aggravate the conflict, as it
has for decades, fueling hatred and far-right sentiments on both sides.
Yavor Tarinski, Voices for an Israel-Palestine Confederation,
https://www.aftoleksi.gr/2023/11/04/voices-for-an-israel-palestine-confederation/

Yavor Tarinski (Sofia, 1988) is a writer, activist and independent
researcher. He is a co-founder of the Greek libertarian magazine 
«Aftoleksi», a member of the Transnational Institute of Social Ecology
and the Cornelius Castoriadis Agora International. His studies focus on
direct democracy, common goods and the right to the city.
He runs the blog https://towardsautonomyblog.wordpress.com/

Solving the Palestinian Question in the Spirit of Democratic Confederalism
The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) has declared that the attacks that
have caused the loss of thousands of lives in Israel and Palestine must
stop immediately and that just as Hamas' methods are wrong, the attitude
of the Israeli state is also unacceptable.
What is happening between Palestine and Israel reveals how important the
democratic approach theorized by the leader of the Kurdish people 
Abdullah Öcalan is for the solution of the problems in the Middle East.
Thousands of victims have been killed as a result of Hamas attacks and
subsequent Israeli bombings, especially in the Gaza Strip.
As the Kurdish Freedom Movement, we would like to express our
condolences     to both the Palestinian Arab people and the Jewish
people of Israel. Not only what has happened so far, but also the
scenarios that are being talked about for the future are extremely
worrying. These are extremely wrong actions that aggravate the situation
and lead to the     massacre of peoples. Just as the methods of Hamas
are wrong, the attitude of the Israeli state is also unacceptable. The
Israeli state must put an end to the attacks and blockade against Gaza
and must not resort to violence in any way.
This situation can only be resolved by the     recognition of the
rights     of the Palestinian people. The bitter picture that has
emerged is the result of years and years of inconclusiveness, where the
choice was made not to want to find a solution and above all to want to
discuss the Palestinian question     without involving the parties
directly concerned.
The climate that has developed between Palestine and Israel strongly
demonstrates the need for a different approach to solving the problems
in the Middle East.
As Abdullah Öcalan teaches, the     statist mentality is the root of the
problems of society and humanity.
Historically, there are several evidences of how the development of this
mentality has only increased conflicts, especially in the Middle East
following the establishment of the nation-state developed by capitalist
modernity.
All the problems of this vast region, especially the Kurdish question
and the Palestinian question, can only be solved by overcoming the
nation-state mentality and if there is to be real change, this can only
be achieved by developing the system of "democratic nation" proposed by
Öcalan, based on coexistence, equality and common life of peoples.
Nothing is solved by creating more states, as is often said. On the
contrary, problems can only be solved by strengthening society,
developing democracy and developing a life according to the "democratic
nation", based on free, fair and democratic self-government and the will
of the people.
Jerusalem, considered sacred by three religions, and the ancient
Palestinian and Israeli geographies can best be experienced in freedom
and peace with this model, unlike the nation-state models that as
already widely demonstrated lead to nothing but conflict, war and mutual
destruction.
The cause of the Palestinian people is legitimate and nothing can deny
it and as a Kurdish Freedom Movement we have always supported it, there
are also points in common with our history and addressing both the
Kurdish and Palestinian issues leads to a process of democratization in
the Middle East.
The solution to the Palestinian issue is a fundamental condition for all
Middle Eastern peoples, especially the Jewish people, to live in
freedom, security and peace. On the other hand, a correct and respectful
approach to the historical tragedies and genocides experienced by the
Jewish people absolutely requires it. Without a solution to the
Palestinian issue, the Jewish people cannot feel comfortable in their
conscience and cannot condemn and eradicate the treatment they have been
subjected to and as one of the ancient peoples of the Middle East they
have a very important role in the formation of Middle Eastern culture
and sociality. Just like the Kurdish, Arab, Persian, Turkish, Aramaic
peoples, etc., the Jewish people also have the right to live in the
Middle East, in the ancient geography in which they have historically lived.
The Turkish state and the AKP-MHP government do not address the
Palestinian issue with sincerity and honesty, but exploit it in their
favor using it as a bargaining chip to carry out genocidal policies. If
Erdogan were truly consistent he would not act like this, showing
solidarity in Palestine but carrying out a war along its borders.
Just as one cannot be right in Israel without seeing and recognizing the
rights of the Palestinian people, in the same way in Turkey one cannot
make the Kurdish reality invisible, without recognizing their rights and
without supporting their struggle.
It is important to underline that conflicts cannot be resolved without
involving all the parties involved, if you exclude some elements from
the equation then you are telling a hypocritical lie.
In his speech, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the one hand condemns the attacks
of the State of Israel but on the other speaks with hatred of how he
wants to completely eradicate the Kurdish experience. How can one talk
about what is happening in Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian
people when what is being done to Rojava shows no sign of stopping? In
the latest air strikes by the Turkish State against Rojava, dams, power
plants, oil wells, supply depots and many other structures have been
hit. Dozens of people have lost their lives.
Faced with such inconsistency, one cannot expect those who do this to
the Kurdish people to be sincere towards the Palestinian people and
their cause.
Source:
https://www.globalproject.info/it/mondi/risolvere-la-questione-palestinese/24671
The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) is the umbrella organization that
includes all political forces, self-defense and civil society
associations linked to the revolutionary liberation movement of
Kurdistan, active in the four Kurdish-majority regions of     Turkey, 
Syria,     Iran     and     Iraq. Its aim is the creation of the Kurdish
nation, a "stateless nation", and the implementation of democratic
confederalism, an alternative political system to the state system,
based on popular democratic assemblies, radical environmentalism,
feminism and direct democracy.

http://alternativalibertaria.fdca.it/wpAL/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Il-Cantiere-30-novembre-2024.pdf
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