Heres a question for the anti- vanguard, anti-statist, anti- authoritarians. Given the generalization that most anarchists support the palestinian people how would you view the palestinians just cause for statehood. Are they to start building regional collctives to defend. Oh wait they would be destroyed and massacred by the Isreali's. Would they walk out on strike in the factories oh wait there are no factories. Does any one see any hopes for the palestinain people takng up anarchist philosophy?

Anarchists have failed miserably in addressing one of the most pointed questions of the day... the struggle by the Palestinian People for Independence and yes (gulp), their own State.

Reading the history of the expulsion of the Palestinian People from their lands since 1948, one is struck by the universal desire of Palestinians to their own State. From the Peasant Farmer to the Professional, from the Student to the Shop Owner, Palestinians today have but one demand... "We want a Palestinian State." Young Children, Old People, Women, Men... all have united behind this single goal of achieving statehood. Many have died to achieve it.

A near total silence from Anarchists has been the response to the Palestinian's quest for Statehood. On occassion one hears from Anarchists a feeble "We support the Palestinians"... but it seems no real effort has gone into a well thought out position.

If the Palestinian People are determined to have a State, and the Anarchist position is to be against the formation of such a State... then it seems the Anarchists are more in line with Israel than with the Palestinians.

No one is asking anyone to take sides for or against a People. Both Israeli's and Palestinians deserve respect and the right to live in peace. But it's undeniable that Israel has it's State... and the Palestinians are Stateless. If Anarchists think the Palestinian position of Statelessness enviable, then they should try living in the Jenin Refugee camp for a few weeks.

If Anarchists think their politics represent the Human desire for freedom, liberty, and self reliance... then they should focus on the question of Palestine, do some soul searching, and reformulate their positions.

FREE PALESTINE - FREE OURSELVES - JEWS & ARABS TOGETHER

I could see a great possibility for the palestinaian people taking up an anarchist philosphy.

where else do you see europeans(jews)
taking the land of indigionous people
and cultures?well,africa,asia,america,so.america,
ect...so what is a palistinian state that
isnt basically resistence and survival?with
a langage and vocabullary that tells us what
it(the state) means, I think self determination,
liberation,humanitarianism,and a social
attitude are the basic stirrings of a trully democratic
(anarchist?!) society but also the same reasons
that they will be so violently oppressed as we notice
the forced centralization and formation of
a munipulitable form of government(by the isrealis,ect,)
in palestine,yet there is still hope for life
outside of the crush of imperialism.........

Not all iraeli jews are european.
Though I agree with the qyst of your comment, there are etheopian, arabic, and chinese jews living in israel as well.
No joke.

Regarding the question of the Palestinian state and such; this is really a deceptive red-herring. The problem that has faced the Palestinian people so far is the state terrorism of Israel. Therefore the first priority of the Palestinian people is ceasing that terror; breaking with the Israeli state and establishing a separate one is a possibility.

Where we anarchists and authoritarians split, however, is that anarchists do not view statehood as an end in and of itself, but a temporary station. In time, the state of Palestine shall go the way of all states and become repressive itself. That time is a long way off, because as yet the state of Palestine consists of a poorly armed police force, a leadership that is under siege, and .

A good comparison is to be found in France under their occupation. The anarchists there did not bury their heads underneath theory; they actively joined the resistance. When hostilities with Nazi Germany ended, the state of France resumed its oppression and anarchists resumed their resistance. It would have made little sense for the anarchists to have resisted a French government that wasn't even in place.

If you really do care you can read the piece:

An Anarchist Explains Why He Was Willing To (Almost) Die For the Palestinian National Liberation Struggle

http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2002/06/132529.php

I don't agree with the guy but it's one anarchist's view.

And to uncircled A who wrote:

"If the Palestinian People are determined to have a State, and the Anarchist position is to be against the formation of such a State... then it seems the Anarchists are more in line with Israel than with the Palestinians."

No, anarchists are against all states including the state of Israel.

"Not Mao, not ever" responded to my post, with:

>> And to uncircled A who wrote:

"If the Palestinian People are determined to have a State, and the Anarchist position is to be against the formation of such a State... then it seems the Anarchists are more in line with Israel than with the Palestinians."

No, anarchists are against all states including the state of Israel. <<

Yes... that is my point. No one can deny that the Palestinians, the overwhelming majority of them, WANT a State. You will not find a single thread of Anarchist thought in the Palestinian movement, they are simply not interested. The Palestinian national struggle has been single minded in it's pursuit of Statehood. Are they wrong? Who are YOU to say so?

If Palestinians have been struggling for a State for all these years... being beaten, imprisoned, tortured, deported, and murdered along the way, what right do Anarchists have to proclaim the Palestinians "misguided" in their pursuit of Statehood?

In answer to Uncircled A, I believe that a reality check is necessary. Anarchists oppose the idea of the state not on reflexive hatred of the state, but because of a pragmatic analysis of states as invariably oppressive. And again, I reiterate, that anarchists are not alone in finding fault in the state; almost all branches of Marxism believe that the state is an oppressive thing to be overcome, through this nebulous idea of a "dictatorship of the proletariat."

In an anarchist analysis of the situation with Israel-Palestine, the basis for Palestinians separating with Israel is not just a question of the state, but something deeper, a question of self-determination and a people's autonomy and very existence. The Israeli state has robbed the Palestinian people of not simply the right to have their own bureaucracy, military, and industry, but of their very right to live. Therefore, the Palestinians are to be supported in their effort to secure their autonomy and to determine their own destiny. Here, anarchists have been in complete accord; the Palestinians have the right to resist their oppression.

But again, where the authoritarians and we anarchists are in dispute is that the anarchists are not so sure that simply building a state will do much. What good is a Palestinian government if it is just as authoritarian as the Israelis who preceded them? Or if it is just as full of religious zealots? Here anarchists affirm the right of a people to resist the impositions of a violent state.

In response to certain allegations; if there is not yet an apparent thread of anarchism amongst Palestinians, it is because as yet there has had to be a certain unity amongst the Palestinian left. Moreover, Maoism has had more of an effect on the ideology of members of the PLO such as Fatah. But if and when the Palestinian state is established and becomes powerful enough to oppress its people, anarchism will most certainly become an alternative, as it was in the Ukraine and in Russia after the Bolshevik revolution.

In the end, I believe that MLM and Uncircled A are simply coming up with theoretical questions that have yet to even come into play to simply rubbish anarchism. A shame, since one would imagine that the Palestinians could use all the help they can get. This sort of sectarianism only serves factions who are at liberty to deny help to Palestinians, not the Palestinians themselves.

from another anarchist perspective i understand you point of view. i think it all lies within one word, solidarity. some anarchists have solidarity with the IRA and other national struggles, states are involved and religion too. solidarity is associating your struggle with the struggle of another, it doesnt mean that your ideas/feelings are identical by any means. its obvious the majority of palistinians want a state, as an anarchist i support their hope for "idependence", not so much their yearning for a state.
is the a decent explaination? i hope all you haters out there dont lump together anarchists and stereotype us as "not well thought" out or "unorganized". big ups to the LB infoshoppe.
-echo

"Yes... that is my point. No one can deny that the Palestinians, the overwhelming majority of them, WANT a State. You will not find a single thread of Anarchist thought in the Palestinian movement, they are simply not interested. The Palestinian national struggle has been single minded in it's pursuit of Statehood. Are they wrong? Who are YOU to say so?"

Part of the desire for a Palestinian nation is certainly due to the presence of the Palestinian Authority, a governance body create by the Israeli state to mediate between it and the Palestinian people.

This past year, we've also seen the rise of the "Northern Alliance" in Afghanistan. That's another "state government" empowered (by US bombs) to speak for the disparate people of Afghanistan.

These constructions exist, not as genuine democratic government, but to facilitate relations between established governements (the West, Israel, the US, etc.) and anarchy. (Anarchy, here, in the worst sense of the word.)

Next time I'm down in LB, I'll drop off a copy of "To Afghanistan and Back" by Ted Rall (the guy who writes for both TIME mag, and Maximum RNR).