May 10 2024 Anniversary of the Third Intifada of 2021, Now Ongoing In the Tenth Theatre of World War Three Which Contains and Supersedes the Gaza War

       Both visitors to the Holy Land seeking signs of the Invisible manifest in its Disneyland of conflicted faiths and those trapped within its nightmare of walls, checkpoints, razor wire, pervasive surveillance, universalized violence, identitarian politics, and the tyranny and terror of one of our world’s most horrific regimes of force and control are here become the ghosts of the Holocaust; Israel echoes with the silent screams of stolen voices and the devouring shadows of a history weaponized in service to power as narratives of victimization and security as power, a strategy designed to first break our solidarity with division and fascisms of blood, faith, and soil as falsification and then dehumanize and subjugate us as masters and slaves and as genocide and ethnic cleansing.

     Israel as a dream of refuge and of universal brotherhood and love has been betrayed and subverted by Israel as a xenophobic theocracy, military empire, and slave camp; here Auschwitz has been institutionalized on a national scale, its former prisoners now its guards.

     Why would anyone choose to recreate a hell they had escaped from, even as its masters rather than its slaves?

     I understand all too well the seduction of power as security in a world of hostile and chaotic forces, and how overwhelming and generalized fear can be shaped by authority to centralize power by offering us loaned power over Others as figures of existential threats; to be the arbiter of virtue through force and control. But security is an illusion, the state as embodied violence obeys Newton’s Third Law of Motion and creates its own Resistance, and our common pain unites us in ways which transcend the Wagnerian Ring of fear, power, and force, which only love can free us from.

     Love as solidarity in action can redeem the flaws of our humanity and the brokenness of the world, Tikkun Olam in Hebrew, and liberate us to live as guarantors of each other’s humanity.

      As I wrote on the first anniversary of the Third Intifada on this night two years ago; This must be the most written about, studied, debated, experimented with and fought over issue in global politics since the Second World War of which it is a result, this nation wherein one people are divided by history as Israelis and Palestinians, and a measure of our humanity, as the classic example of the double minority; what do you do with one city and one nation claimed by two historical communities, as a basis of identity as faith and nationality and the consequences and praxis of identity politics as violence?

     Here a nation and a people are riven by dissociative identity disorder, conflicted and locked in titanic struggle as with the fragmentation of identity, memory, and consciousness of multiple personalities, madness on a national and civilizational scale born of the legacies of history and life disruptive events, epigenetic trauma, grief, terror, guilt, and despair.

     In the duality of Israel and Palestine are made plain the origins of evil as violence and tyranny in the recursive and interdependent Wagnerian Ring of fear, power, and force, as overwhelming and generalized fear and existential threats are weaponized in service to power by authority, which forms carceral states of force and control as unequal power and embodied violence, through elite hierarchies and divisions of belonging and otherness and fascisms of blood, faith, and soil.

     Here fascism as a systemic evil operates as possession and theft of the soul. What can we do about it?  As Lenin asked in his essay of 1902; “What is to be done?” How free ourselves of the systemic forces of our subjugation to authority, elites, and those who would enslave us?

    We must first recognize and be cautious of those who claim to speak for us and act in our name, for this is a primary strategy of fascism. To free ourselves of the lies and illusions, falsification and rewritten histories, conspiracy theories and alternate realities through which we become dehumanized, we must be truthtellers engaged in the pursuit of truth as a sacred calling, and perform the Four Primary Duties of a Citizen; Question Authority, Expose Authority, Mock Authority, and Challenge Authority.

    We must second seize our self-ownership and autonomy in refusal to submit to authority, for the great secret of power is that it is empty and hollow, and is delegitimized through refusal to trust and believe authority, and of force that it is brittle and finds its limit at the point of disobedience. Simple acts, but also inherent powers of human being which cannot be taken from us; for who refuses to submit is free, and becomes Unconquerable.

     Always there remains the struggle between the masks that others make for us, and those we make for ourselves. This is the first revolution in which we all must fight; the struggle for self-ownership and for freedom of identity.

     There is no just authority.

      Tonight I sit at home among the vast darkness of my hills, a night which follows days of rain and filled with the songs of frogs and birds, a serenity disturbed only by the chiaroscuro of my memories of this night one year ago, in the defense of al Aqsa. Like flashes of lightning, the hand of the past can bring the Chaos and reach out to seize and shake us, destabilizing us and our constructions of normality with unpredictable and sudden disruptive events unmoored from their anchorages in time.

      But Chaos is also a measure of the adaptive range of a system, which brings both the terror of our nothingness and the joy of total freedom in our reimagination and transformative rebirth of ourselves and our limitless possibilities of becoming human.

      Guillermo del Toro, in his magnificent epic of migration and racial equality Carnival Row, has a scene in which two young successors to leadership of traditionally rival factions find themselves in love and in need of allies in a subplot which reimages Romeo and Juliet; the rebellious hellion Jonah Breakspear asks his Machiavellian lover Sophie Longerbane, “Who is chaos good for?” To which she replies, “Chaos is good for us. Chaos is the great hope of the powerless.”

     One may think of Bringing the Chaos in terms of the redemptive power of love, of solidarity, of our duty of care for others, of seizures of power as the restoration of balance, of Resistance and revolutionary struggle as placing our lives in the balance with those of the powerless and the dispossessed, the silenced and the erased, and as tikkun olam or healing the brokenness of the world.

     In Jerusalem and al Quds, we are betrayed by the normality of submission to authority and the divisions of unequal power, dehumanized by those who commit atrocities in our name, and made complicit in crimes against humanity through narratives of victimization which as Voltaire teaches us permit anything.

     Gott mitt uns; it is an ancient terror. And this we must resist.

     Old myths, and old grievances, woven into the fabric of our psyche and our civilization. And like all history, memory, and authorized identity, mimetic forces from whose legacies we must emerge.

     In this moment I turn once again to the brilliant diagnosis of the illness of power as captured identity as written by Alon Ben-Meirin in Huffpost, though his prescription of a two state system is debatable and for myself must be superseded in time with a secular state with one law for all and no official divisions of tribe, language, or faith, in an article entitled In The Grip Of Powerful Illusions; “The deadlock in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process appears to be illogical and unsettling as a majority of Israelis and Palestinians realize that coexistence, whether under conditions of enmity or friendship, is a fact that neither side can change short of a catastrophe.

     The deadlock in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process appears to be illogical and unsettling as a majority of Israelis and Palestinians realize that coexistence, whether under conditions of enmity or friendship, is a fact that neither side can change short of a catastrophe. Both sides understand that the general parameters of a sustainable peace agreement must rest on a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with some land swaps. However, both sides choose to revel in illusions and live in defiance of time and circumstances. They seem to prefer continuing violent clashes and bloodshed over peaceful coexistence, while blaming each other for the unending destructive path that tragically both have chosen to travel.

     There are fundamental imperatives, coupled with long-term mutual security measures, which represent what was on the negotiating table in 2000 at Camp David and in 2010/2011 and 2013/2014 under the Obama administration’s auspices in Jerusalem and Ramallah. Each round, with various degrees of progress, aimed at finalizing an agreement and yet ultimately failed to do so. The question is: why?

     Biased and selective perceptions, reinforced by historical experiences, religion, and incompatible ideologies, have locked both sides into immobile positions. The factors that maintain and enhance these patterns include emotions such as fear, distrust, and insecurity. The psychological outcome is mutual denial of the narrative of the other and mutual delegitimization.

     Put together, the operative result is stagnation and polarization. What is therefore needed is a consensus-oriented dialogue at the leadership level by both officials and non-officials, and people-to-people interactions, to resolve the issue of perception – a tall order given the current environment that buttresses rather than ameliorates prejudiced perceptions.

     There are certain psychological concepts which are relevant to understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the concept of illusion is an essential one. In The Future of an Illusion, Freud offers the following definition: “…we call a belief an illusion when a wish-fulfillment is a prominent factor in its motivation, and in doing so we disregard its relations to reality, just as the illusion itself sets no store by verification.”

     What is characteristic of illusions is that: 1) they are derived from deep human wishes, and 2) the belief is held (or would be held) in the absence of any compelling evidence, or good rational grounds, on its behalf.

     It is impossible to deny that both Israelis and Palestinians are in the grip of very powerful illusions which only serve to prolong the conflict and prevent any mutual understanding. In particular, the belief shared by many Israelis that they have a biblical right to the land (including Judea and Samaria) and that God gave it to the Jews in perpetuity is undoubtedly an illusion of yesterday.

     This belief is not affirmed because there is real evidence that God deemed it to be (although two Jewish kingdoms did exist–the first in the tenth century BCE and the second beginning in 539 BCE–on the same land), but because it satisfies a deep-seated psychological need for a God-given Jewish homeland.

     The belief that by expanding the settlements Israel will augment its national security and maintain its hold on the entire land is an illusion of tomorrow, which generally ignores the presence of Muslims in the same land for more than 1,300 years.

     It is important to note how these illusions sustain and reinforce one another, and constitute a psychological barrier which is much more impervious to critical reflection. Israel’s illusions have served to create the logic for occupation.

     The Palestinians, for their part, are not without their own illusions. They also believe that God has reserved the land for them, and appeal to the fact that they had inhabited the land for centuries. From their perspective, the presence of the al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built in 705 AD in Jerusalem, attests to their historical and religious affinity to the Holy City.

     They also cling to the idea that they will someday return to the land of their forbearers, as they have and continue to insist on the right of return of the Palestinian refugees, even though this has become a virtual impossibility.

     The Palestinians hold fast to their illusions of yesterday and tomorrow just as blindly and desperately as the Israelis, which leads to resistance to and fear of change. As such, unless both sides change course and accept each other’s affinity to the same land, specifically because it is religiously-based, the situation is bound to lead to a catastrophe.

      This has contributed to making the Israeli-Palestinian conflict both chronic and intractable, as the various illusions are continuously and consciously nurtured by daily hostile and often violent encounters between the two sides.

     In seeking to bridge concepts that could link between the domains of psychology and politics in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it could be proposed that a collective mutual resistance to change (both conscious and deliberate, and inner unconscious) protects a vulnerable identity.

     Compared, for example, to the stable and mature political identities of the American, British, and French nations, the political identities of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples are, in a way, in their adolescence.

     Identities in this setting are more vulnerable, and the protagonists are naturally more defensive and resistant to change. By its very nature, the players must find it difficult (if not impossible) to articulate this publicly, as to do so is to admit to this vulnerability.

     The concept of psychological resistance to change may well affect the political setting in general and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular; it is closely connected to perceptions at many levels and provides protection for vulnerable identity formation.

     It is this mindset, strengthened by historical experiences, which transcends the more than seven decades since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began. Individuals and groups, Israelis and Palestinians alike, have and continue to interpret the nature of the discord between them as “you versus me” in a prejudiced and selective way.

     In turn, this has stifled any new information and enabled the continuing resistance to change, which could shed new light on the nature and substance of the conflict and help advance the peace process.

     The concept of unconscious resistance to change in this setting links well to the view of perceptions driving the polarization in the conflict. Historical experience, which formulates perceptions, serves among other things to enhance the sense of identity of “who we really are,” a formative collective assumption that sits at the bedrock of both key players and drives functional and dysfunctional behavior.

     In principle, such a mindset prevents either side from entertaining new ideas that might lead to compromises for a peaceful solution. The paradox here is that majorities on both sides do want and seek peace, knowing full well that this would require significant concessions, but are unable to reconcile the required concessions with imbedded perceptions that have precluded these compromises as a result of resistance to and fear of change.

     Therefore, any framework for peace must include provisions that would dramatically increase the odds in favor of a solution. First, both sides need to commit to reaching an agreement based on a two-state solution out of the conviction that change, which translates to coexistence, is inevitable. Therefore, they ought to adjust to each other’s requirements, which of necessity requires them to make significant concessions.

     Second, to facilitate that, they must undertake reconciliatory people-to-people social, economic, cultural, and security interactions to mitigate their resistance to change, which must begin, at a minimum, one year before the negotiations commence to create the psychological and political atmosphere to cultivate the trust necessary for substantive and successful peace negotiations.

     The resumption of peace talks will go nowhere unless Israelis and Palestinians change their prejudiced perception and resistance to and fear of change, and finally come to the realization that their fate is intertwined and neither can live in peace and security without the other.

     I feel compelled to conclude my last article for the year with a dire warning that both Israelis and Palestinians alike will do well to ponder upon as they approach the end of the seventh decade of their tragic conflict.

     Every Israeli extremist and Palestinian militant, those who want it all must stop and think where Israel and the Palestinians will be in ten years if the current situation persists?

     Your illusions of today will not become a reality of tomorrow, and what tomorrow will bring is nothing but more pain, tears, and agony.

     Your conflict is evolving ever faster into a religious war. A Muslim-Jewish Armageddon is in the making that will set the whole region on unfathomable fire.

     If you are true believers, dare not defy God’s will, for he has thrust you together to put you to the test–you must either live in peace and harmony, or you will be condemned to oblivion and despair.

     You possess the power to choose your own destiny. Will it be self-destruction or will it be the fulfilment of a glorious dream?

     Rise up and pass a legacy of hope to every Israeli and Palestinian child, for they have the God-given right to grow up and prosper and none should die for your illusions in vain.”

     As I wrote in my post of November 9 2023, A Mirror of Our Darkness: Kristallnact; Israel is commemorating this tragedy which opened a door to an even greater tragedy in the Holocaust by doing exactly the same thing to the Palestinians, one people divided by history and faith weaponized in service to power. And this too will open doors to greater state terror and tyranny, unless both peoples can unite against authorities who commit atrocities in their name as a strategy of subjugation and liberate each other from those who would enslave them.

     If you think of nations as children who are survivors of abuse, much becomes clear; for once they have seized power they are far more likely to become abusers themselves. This is how fear works, why it is the true basis of exchange, why politics is the Art of Fear, and why states are embodied violence. Both Israelis and Palestinians have been savaged by existential threats long before they began savaging, brutalizing, and dehumanizing each other.

     That predatory regimes on both sides have used division and identity politics to centralize power and legitimize authoritarian dominion is a predictable phase of liberation struggle, especially of anti-colonial revolution.

      The trick of becoming human, friends, is to embrace ones own darkness in struggle as well as one’s enemies, and emerge from the legacies of our history which shadow us like an invisible crocodile tail.

      There is a line spoken by the villain in the series The Magicians, a survivor of childhood abuse and tyrant known as The Beast for his horrific crimes, once the powerless and terrified boy Martin Chatwin and now a monstrous god; “You know, when I was a boy, a man who was meant to care for me bent me over his desk and had me over and over every time I was alone with him. It helps me understand a truth. You’re powerful or you’re weak. “

      Here is the original lie of the tyrant and the fascist in the apologetics, self-justification, and psychopathy of power; the lie that only power has meaning and is real, that there is no good or evil. How we use power is of equal importance as who holds it. Fear and force are a primary means of human exchange, but not the only means; love, membership, and belonging are as important.

      It’s a line which captures perfectly the inherent contradictions of the  Wagnerian Ring of fear, power, and force as an origin of evil; for the use of social force is subversive of its own values. Yet the imposed conditions of revolutionary struggle often require violence, and until the gods of law and order have been cast down from their thrones I must agree with the famous dictum of Sartre in his 1948 play Dirty Hands, quoted by Frantz Fanon in his 1960 speech Why We Use Violence, and made immortal by Malcolm X; “by any means necessary.”

     As written by Walter Rodney in The Groundings with my Brothers; “We were told that violence in itself is evil, and that, whatever the cause, it is unjustified morally. By what standard of morality can the violence used by a slave to break his chains be considered the same as the violence of a slave master? By what standards can we equate the violence of blacks who have been oppressed, suppressed, depressed and repressed for four centuries with the violence of white fascists. Violence aimed at the recovery of human dignity and at equality cannot be judged by the same yardstick as violence aimed at maintenance of discrimination and oppression.”

     And here is the passage he references from Leon Trotsky in Their Morals and Ours: The Class Foundations of Moral Practice; “A slave-owner who through cunning and violence shackles a slave in chains, and a slave who through cunning or violence breaks the chains – let not the contemptible eunuchs tell us that they are equals before a court of morality!”

     Yet in reflection I think of those great figures who have been both heroes of liberation and villains of tyranny; my teenage role model Napoleon, Washington who is central to our family history and coined the motto on our coat of arms in the passcode during the Battle of Trenton, Victory or Death, when the whole Revolution was wagered on a forlorn hope, of the tragic drama of fallen heroes like Robert Mugabe, the monstrous tyrants Stalin and Mao, the list is a near endless litany of woes and failures of vision wherein Brave New Worlds became hells and carceral states. In evidence I offer the American and Napoleonic Revolutions become Empires, the Soviet Union, the Chinese Communist Party, India where the glory of liberation come hand in hand with the tragedy of Partition and is now under the boot of Hindu Nationalism, nearly all anticolonial revolutions which with the first period of liberty as new nations became dreadful tyrannies, and above all the state of Israel, a dream of refuge forged in the terror of the Holocaust whose victims learned the wrong lessons from the Nazis and assumed their role in the Occupation of Palestine. The dangers of Idealism are very real; but so are the dangers of submission to authority and the complicity of silence in the face of evil.

     I am a hunter of fascists, and mine is a hunter’s morality. For me there is a simple test for the use of force; who holds power?

     A great many wise people have written beautifully of the horrors of fascisms of blood, faith, and soil and of hierarchies of elite belonging and exclusionary otherness, as does Paul Oestreicher in the article which follows; herein I wish only to signpost that the forces which lie both within us and without as social conditions and epigenetic trauma, of atavisms of barbarism and systems of oppression, are universal to human beings as imposed conditions of struggle and operate continually even when obscured from view, beyond the horror and abjection of points of fracture of the human soul like those of Kristallnacht and the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

     I write to you as one who has lived by the battle cry of Never Again! for over forty years now, and it is of deep and vital importance to apply this principle of action not only in Resistance to fascism as an intrusive enemy of all that is human in us, but also to ourselves and our own use of violence and social force toward others.

    In the end, all that matters is what we do with our fear, and how we use our power.

     No matter where you begin with divisions and hierarchies of elite belonging and exclusionary otherness, you always end up at the gates of Auschwitz.

    As Nietzsche teaches us in Beyond Good and Evil; “Those who hunt monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

     In the dark mirror of Gaza, with its monstrous reflections of Kristallnacht and of Auschwitz, do you like what you see, O Israel?

     As I wrote in my post of May 10 2021, The Defense of al Aqsa: Liberty versus Tyranny in Jerusalem;  We may have witnessed the advent of a Third Intifada this night, in the Defense of al Aqsa and the street fighting in Gaza which followed, ignited by the perfidy and imperial conquest of a xenophobic and fascist state of Israel which regards no one but their own tribe and faith as truly human, and which has perpetrated an unprovoked and deadly attack as an act of state terror and a crime against humanity on the peaceful worshippers at one of the most sacred mosques in the Islamic world, a demonstration of power and dominion which follows weeks of provocations, assaults, and acts of propagandistic dehumanization against the people of Palestine.

      Like the Second or al Aqsa Intifada which lasted four years from 28 September 2000 to 8 February 2005, unresolved issues of an Occupation now in its fifty fourth year since the June 7 1967 Conquest of Old Jerusalem by Israel, which the State of Israel celebrated according to the Hebrew calendar as Jerusalem Day today by attacking al Aqsa, and a Catastrophe ongoing now for seventy three years since Nakba Day May 15 1948, have coalesced around the symbolic value of al Aqsa, which has a contested dual identity as the Temple Mount in Judaism.

     Chances of de-escalation and averting a war depend now not on local factors but on the response of the international community, for history has here become a trap which collapses to ensnare us in its jaws, and outside forces must liberate us from the failures of our system’s internal contradictions.

     Will America disavow and renounce its colony of Israel, Queen of her imperial policy in the Middle East and control of the strategic resource of oil? Can international unity and the pressure of Boycott, Divestiture, and Sanction free us from the tyranny and terror of an Apartheid regime as it did in South Africa?

     Or is war the only reckoning humankind can offer, or will accept?

     As written by Ishaan Tharoor in The Washington Post; “On Monday night, militants in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli military exchanged rocket fire and airstrikes amid a deadly escalation of violence. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, armed groups based in blockaded Gaza, launched a barrage of rockets that landed near Jerusalem and in parts of southern Israel, injuring at least one person. Israeli airstrikes in retaliation killed at least 20 people in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, including nine children.

     Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “terrorist groups” in Gaza had “crossed a red line” with their rocket attacks. But the latest explosion of hostilities has a long tail, following numerous aggressive actions by both Israeli security forces and far-right Jewish supremacist groups in Jerusalem. Two weeks ago, bands of Jewish extremists, including some settlers from the West Bank, marched through Palestinian-populated areas of the holy city, chanting “Death to Arabs,” attacking bystanders and damaging Palestinian property and homes. Israeli attempts to evict a number of Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah — a microcosm of what Palestinians view as part of a long history of dispossession and erasure at the hands of the Israeli state — had stirred Palestinian solidarity protests in various parts of the occupied territories and Israel proper.

     It also raised tensions ahead of the commemoration of Jerusalem Day on Monday, an official Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of the city during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. A planned annual march by far-right ultranationalist Israelis was called off after authorities rerouted its path at the last minute.    Large numbers still made their way to the Western Wall and sang an extremist vengeance song against Palestinians.

     “The Hamas rocket attacks, which included the first strikes against Jerusalem in several years, came after running clashes among Israeli police, Palestinian protesters and far-right Jewish Israelis around the Old City,” my colleagues reported. “Among the hundreds injured were seven who were hospitalized in serious condition, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Video footage circulated on social media of Israeli police officers brutally beating a detained Palestinian man.”

      How can America support the state of Israel in tyranny and terror, conquest and plunder? It’s a question asked in tones of outrage, sorrow, and bafflement since the advent of the Nakba on May 15 1948, the Day of Catastrophe which began the Occupation of Palestine and the systematic enslavement and genocide of its people in the wake of the Israeli conquest of Jerusalem. How is this legitimized?

      A friend has recently reframed this question for me; “I loved and embraced the Jewish tradition, joining a synagogue and working alongside its Rabbi. When I witness the treatment of Palestinians by the Jewish government of Israel, I am overwhelmed by feelings of confusion and anger. Unable to reconcile this immorality, I question the very foundation of my faith. Where is the good and moral uprising of international Jewish voices condemning the government’s path? I’ve lost faith in being Jewish.”

     What is clear to me is that this crisis of faith is also an existential crisis of identity, a situation of utmost gravity and danger which also holds the potential for reimagination and transformative rebirth, a personal echo of a parallel civilizational crisis from which humankind and the global community of nations must find a way to emerge and free ourselves of the legacies of our history. Here is my reply:

     The state of Israel is not identical with the Jewish faith, though the fascist-imperialist faction which Netanyahu represents would like everyone to think so. 

    A nation based on the assignment of its citizens to a tribal identity, the sectarian weaponization of faith in service to power and an authorized national identity, a military society with universal compulsory service and a pervasive fetishization of myths of martial valor and its symbols including guns, and a reconstructed Hebrew language of national unity has used identity politics to subjugate its citizens to the centralized power of tyranny; Israel is a fascist state of blood, faith, and soil no less than that of the Nazis.

     Add to this toxic mix a kleptocratic regime which has propagandized narratives of historical victimization to legitimize massive theft and imperial conquest of other people’s nations and one thing is clear; Israel has learned the wrong lessons from the Nazis.

     You may know from my many references to the incident in my writing that I am an antifascist, sworn to the Oath of the Resistance by Jean Genet in 1982 in Beirut, during our fight against the Israeli invasion and siege. In the 39 years after, I have been a hunter of Nazis and a revolutionary of democracy engaged in struggle for the liberation of humankind against tyranny and authoritarian regimes of force and control.

      A Palestinian homeland, and justice for its people, has been among my goals since that summer so long ago. Like the goal of liberation of Ireland from British colonial rule, it remains to be achieved. In question is the idea of freedom and citizenship as the sovereignty and independence of peoples from foreign colonialism and authoritarian tyranny, and the primacy of a nonsectarian state free from divisions and hierarchies of faith, for who stands between each of us and the Infinite serves neither.

     I also support the idea of an Israeli homeland, and see no reason these two states, Palestine and Israeli, should be mutually exclusive or antagonistic. Some Israelis who would disagree with me on the question of Palestine and militarism in imperial conquest and regional dominion have been allies in the cause of hunting Nazis and fascists generally throughout the world, but are blind to their own complicity in this evil due to seeing themselves as victims rather than perpetrators of crimes against humanity. This is about fear, and the destructive cycle of abuse and violence.

     When faith is appropriated by authority for legitimation in identity politics, identity itself becomes confused and ambiguous. To become free, we must seize ownership of ourselves as self-created and autonomous beings.

     This is why the primary duties of a citizen are to question authority, expose authority, mock authority, and challenge authority.

     Always there remains the struggle between the masks others make for us and those we make for ourselves; this is the first revolution in which we all must fight.

     I think of the problem of human evil and its cycle of fear, power, and force in the case of states which become the tyrannies they fought to liberate themselves from, and this is true of anticolonial revolutionary states generally because of the historical legacies of victimization, in this way; victims often become abusers because their identity is organized around power as the only means of escape in a world wherein no one can be trusted.

     When trust has been abrogated and proven empty and without meaning, when the capacity to bond with and feel the pain of others in empathy has been broken and one is without pity or remorse, when fear is overwhelming and generalized and has been shaped by authority to the service of power, victims learn that only power has meaning and is real. We must not allow our abusers to become our teachers.

     While every such issue has its own unique origins and history, the problem itself is universal, and relates to what one fears, and how that fear is shaped by authority as identity. From our perspective as Americans interpreting events in the classic problem of the double minority typified by Israel and Palestine, how we perceive issues has much to do with how they are framed by our informing and motivating sources.

      In the end we are defined by what we do with our fear, and how we use our power.

      The first question to ask of any story, and the most important, is simple; whose story is this?

      We are lost in a Wilderness of Mirrors, of lies and illusions, falsifications of ourselves, distorted images and reflections, echoes and authorized identities which disfigure, disempower, and steal our souls.

      How shall we answer those who would enslave us? Our authenticity and autonomy is realized through seizure of power, and the reimagination and transformation of ourselves and humankind as a free society of equals.

      We Americans tend to see things in terms of white hats and black hats, as in the Western films which serve as origin myths and archetypes of our national character. Once victim status has been conferred, such groups and persons become white hats and good guys, incapable of evil and diametrically opposed to whomever must then be black hats. It’s a terrible way of choosing national policy.

     Sadly, we humans can be good and evil at once, the flaws of our humanity echo and reflect the brokenness of the world. It is a truth proven once again tonight in al Quds or Jerusalem depending on to whom one is speaking and in what language, as Gaza burns from the onslaught of an Israeli Defense Forces run amok much the same as the night almost four decades ago in Beirut when they tried to burn Genet and I alive in our café, as a dozen human beings from whom everything but hope has been stolen swear vows to each other to hold a position covering the escape of the women and children trapped by the Israeli attack until all are safe, in a final defense not of al Aqsa Mosque, magnificent and beautiful and filled with significance, monument to the human impulse to reach beyond ourselves and to the limitless possibilities of becoming human, a stage fit for the glorious deaths of heroes, but of the disembodied screams of strangers among the nameless warrens of a derelict antiquity.

     Against the chasms of emptiness and nihilistic barbarism of a world of darkness and fire, of fear and force, I have only words to offer, and I write to you what I have said to my comrades who have chosen to stand with me; I’ve lost count of Last Stands, but I’ve risked everything against impossible odds and survived more times than I can remember, and all that matters is that we abandon neither ourselves nor one another, that we refuse to submit, for this is the moment of our freedom, and it can never be taken from us.

      From this night, Palestine is free, for we can be killed, but we cannot be conquered.

 On the Origins of Evil and Our Monstrosity: a portrait of Hitler and Netanyahu in the character of Martin Chatwin in The Magicians

 Violence: Six Sideways Reflections, by Slavoj Žižek

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2638701-violence

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/11/shireen-abu-akleh-friends-and-family-call-for-justice-on-anniversary-of-killing?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/09/discord-in-israel-threatens-benjamin-netanyahus-hold-on-power?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/27/netanyahu-national-guard-deal-with-ben-gvir-raises-fears-of-violence?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/10/militants-in-gaza-fire-60-rockets-following-israeli-airstrikes-palestine?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/09/israel-bombs-gaza-strip-killing-three-islamic-jihad-leaders?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/in-the-grip-of-powerful-i_b_8818032

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/03/israel-strikes-gaza-as-unrest-continues-after-death-of-hunger-striker-khader-adnan?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/10/jerusalem-seethes-as-the-rockets-begin-on-day-of-rising-tension

https://www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-east/what-is-happening-in-sheikh-jarrah-of-east-jerusalem-past-and-present

https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/al-aqsa-violence-why-palestinians-jews-have-often-clashed-at-this-holy-site-in-jerusalem/655579/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/10/world-reacts-after-israeli-forces-wound-hundreds-in-al-aqsa-raid

Arabic

10 مايو 2024 ذكرى الانتفاضة الثالثة لعام 2021، الجارية الآن في المسرح العاشر للحرب العالمية الثالثة التي تحتوي وتحل محل حرب غزة

        يسعى كل من زوار الأرض المقدسة إلى ظهور علامات غير مرئية في ديزني لاند التي تضم أديانًا متضاربة وأولئك المحاصرين داخل كابوس الجدران ونقاط التفتيش والأسلاك الشائكة والمراقبة المنتشرة والعنف العالمي وسياسات الهوية والطغيان والإرهاب في أحد بلداننا. إن أفظع أنظمة القوة والسيطرة في العالم أصبحت هنا أشباح الهولوكوست؛ تردد صدى إسرائيل مع الصرخات الصامتة للأصوات المسروقة والظلال المفترسة لتاريخ تم تسليحه في خدمة السلطة كسرديات عن الإيذاء والأمن كقوة، وهي استراتيجية مصممة أولاً لكسر تضامننا مع الانقسام وفاشية الدم والعقيدة والتربة كما التزوير ومن ثم تجريدنا من إنسانيتنا وإخضاعنا كأسياد وعبيد وإبادة جماعية وتطهير عرقي.

      لقد تعرضت إسرائيل، باعتبارها حلم اللجوء والأخوة والمحبة العالمية، للخيانة والتخريب من قبل إسرائيل باعتبارها دولة دينية كارهة للأجانب، وإمبراطورية عسكرية، ومعسكرًا للعبيد؛ وهنا تم إضفاء الطابع المؤسسي على أوشفيتز على نطاق وطني، وأصبح سجناؤه السابقون الآن حراسه.

      لماذا يختار أي شخص إعادة خلق الجحيم الذي هرب منه، حتى لو كان أسياده وليس عبيده؟

      إنني أفهم جيدًا إغراء القوة كأمن في عالم مليء بالقوى المعادية والفوضوية، وكيف يمكن تشكيل الخوف الساحق والمعمم من خلال السلطة لمركزية السلطة من خلال منحنا سلطة معارة على الآخرين كرموز للتهديدات الوجودية؛ ليكون حكم الفضيلة من خلال القوة والسيطرة. لكن الأمن وهم، والدولة كعنف متجسد تطيع قانون نيوتن الثالث للحركة وتخلق مقاومتها الخاصة، وألمنا المشترك يوحدنا بطرق تتجاوز حلقة فاغنر من الخوف والقوة والقوة، والتي لا يمكن أن يحررنا إلا الحب. من.

      الحب كتضامن في العمل يمكن أن يخلص عيوب إنسانيتنا وانكسارات العالم، تيكون أولام بالعبرية، ويحررنا لنعيش كضامنين لإنسانية بعضنا البعض.

       وكما كتبت في الذكرى الأولى للانتفاضة الثالثة في مثل هذه الليلة قبل عامين؛ يجب أن تكون هذه هي القضية الأكثر كتابةً ودراسةً ومناقشةً وتجريبًا وخوضًا حولها في السياسة العالمية منذ الحرب العالمية الثانية التي كانت نتيجة لها، هذه الأمة التي يقسم فيها التاريخ شعبًا واحدًا إلى إسرائيليين وفلسطينيين، ومقياسًا إنسانيتنا، كمثال كلاسيكي للأقلية المزدوجة؛ ماذا تفعل بمدينة واحدة وأمة واحدة يطالب بها مجتمعان تاريخيان، كأساس للهوية كإيمان وجنسية وعواقب وممارسة سياسات الهوية كعنف؟

      هنا أمة وشعب يمزقهما اضطراب الهوية الانفصامية، متضاربان ومنغلقان في صراع هائل كما هو الحال مع تجزئة الهوية والذاكرة والوعي لشخصيات متعددة، والجنون على المستوى الوطني والحضاري المولود من تراث التاريخ ومعطل الحياة الأحداث، والصدمة اللاجينية، والحزن، والرعب، والشعور بالذنب، واليأس.

      في ازدواجية إسرائيل وفلسطين، تتضح أصول الشر كالعنف والطغيان في حلقة فاغنري المتكررة والمترابطة من الخوف والقوة والقوة، حيث يتم استخدام الخوف الساحق والمعمم والتهديدات الوجودية كسلاح في خدمة السلطة عن طريق السلطة. والتي تشكل حالات القوة والسيطرة الجسيمية كقوة غير متكافئة وعنف متجسد، من خلال التسلسلات الهرمية النخبوية وتقسيمات الانتماء والغيرية وفاشية الدم والإيمان والتربة.

      هنا الفاشية كشر نظامي تعمل كحيازة وسرقة للروح. مالذي يمكننا فعله حيال هذا؟ وكما سأل لينين في مقالته عام 1902؛ “ما الذي يجب عمله؟” كيف نحرر أنفسنا من القوى النظامية لخضوعنا للسلطة والنخب وأولئك الذين يريدون استعبادنا؟

     يجب علينا أولاً أن ندرك ونحذر من أولئك الذين يدعون أنهم يتحدثون باسمنا ويتصرفون باسمنا، فهذه هي الإستراتيجية الأساسية للفاشية. لتحرير أنفسنا من الأكاذيب والأوهام، والتزييف وإعادة كتابة التاريخ، ونظريات المؤامرة والحقائق البديلة التي من خلالها نصبح مجردين من إنسانيتنا، يجب أن نكون رواة للحقيقة ونشارك في السعي وراء الحقيقة باعتبارها دعوة مقدسة، ونؤدي الواجبات الأساسية الأربعة للمواطن؛ سلطة السؤال، وسلطة الكشف، وسلطة المحاكاة، وسلطة التحدي.

     يجب علينا ثانيًا أن نستغل ملكيتنا الذاتية واستقلالنا في رفض الخضوع للسلطة، لأن السر الأعظم للسلطة هو أنها فارغة وجوفاء، ويتم فقدان شرعيتها من خلال رفض الثقة في السلطة والتصديق بها، والقوة هي هشة وهشة. ويجد حدوده عند نقطة العصيان. أفعال بسيطة، ولكنها أيضًا قوى متأصلة في الإنسان لا يمكن أن تؤخذ منا؛ لأن من يرفض الخضوع فهو حر، ولا يُقهر.

      دائمًا يبقى الصراع بين الأقنعة التي يصنعها الآخرون لنا، وتلك التي نصنعها لأنفسنا. هذه هي الثورة الأولى التي نحن جميعا فيها

جب أن يقاتل؛ النضال من أجل الملكية الذاتية وحرية الهوية.

      لا توجد سلطة عادلة.

       الليلة أجلس في منزلي وسط الظلام الدامس لتلالي، ليلة تتبع أيامًا من المطر ومليئة بأغاني الضفادع والطيور، هدوء لا يزعجه إلا ضوء الضوء في ذكرياتي عن هذه الليلة قبل عام، في الدفاع. الأقصى. مثل ومضات البرق، يمكن ليد الماضي أن تجلب الفوضى وتمتد لتسيطر علينا وتهزنا، وزعزعة استقرارنا واستقرارنا وبنياتنا الطبيعية من خلال أحداث مدمرة مفاجئة وغير متوقعة غير مربوطة بمرتكزاتها في الوقت المناسب.

       لكن الفوضى هي أيضًا مقياس للمدى التكيفي للنظام، الذي يجلب كلاً من الرعب من عدمنا ومتعة الحرية الكاملة في إعادة تصورنا وإعادة ميلادنا التحويلي لأنفسنا وإمكانياتنا اللامحدودة في أن نصبح بشرًا.

       لدى غييرمو ديل تورو، في ملحمته الرائعة عن الهجرة والمساواة العرقية كرنفال رو، مشهد يجد فيه شابان خلفاء لقيادة الفصائل المتنافسة تقليديًا نفسيهما في حالة حب وبحاجة إلى حلفاء في حبكة فرعية تعيد تصوير روميو وجولييت؛ يسأل الجحيم المتمرد جونا بريكسبير عشيقته المكيافيلية صوفي لونجيربان: “لمن تصلح الفوضى؟” فأجابت: “الفوضى جيدة لنا. الفوضى هي الأمل العظيم للضعفاء.”

      قد يفكر المرء في جلب الفوضى من حيث القوة الخلاصية للحب، والتضامن، وواجبنا في رعاية الآخرين، والاستيلاء على السلطة كاستعادة للتوازن، والمقاومة والنضال الثوري كوضع حياتنا في التوازن مع أولئك الذين لا حول لهم ولا قوة والمحرومين، والمُسكتين والممحيين، وtikkun olam أو شفاء انكسار العالم.

      في القدس والقدس، نتعرض للخيانة بسبب طبيعة الخضوع للسلطة والانقسامات غير المتكافئة للسلطة، ويتم تجريدنا من إنسانيتنا من قبل أولئك الذين يرتكبون الفظائع باسمنا، ويصبحون متواطئين في جرائم ضد الإنسانية من خلال روايات الإيذاء التي يسمح بها كما يعلمنا فولتير. أي شئ.

      حصلت على قفاز غيرنا. إنه إرهاب قديم. وهذا يجب أن نقاومه.

      الأساطير القديمة، والمظالم القديمة، منسوجة في نسيج نفسيتنا وحضارتنا. ومثل كل التاريخ والذاكرة والهوية المعتمدة، تحاكي القوى التي يجب أن نخرج من تراثها.

      في هذه اللحظة، أعود مرة أخرى إلى التشخيص الرائع لمرض السلطة باعتبارها هوية مستولى عليها، كما كتب ألون بن ميرين في هافبوست، على الرغم من أن وصفه لنظام الدولتين مثير للنقاش، وبالنسبة لي يجب استبداله بمرور الوقت بنظام علماني. دولة بقانون واحد للجميع وبدون تقسيمات رسمية للقبيلة أو اللغة أو العقيدة، في مقال بعنوان “في قبضة الأوهام القوية”؛ “يبدو أن الطريق المسدود الذي وصلت إليه عملية السلام الإسرائيلية الفلسطينية غير منطقي ومثير للقلق، حيث أن غالبية الإسرائيليين والفلسطينيين يدركون أن التعايش، سواء في ظل ظروف العداء أو الصداقة، هو حقيقة لا يمكن لأي من الطرفين تغييرها إلا بحدوث كارثة.

      يبدو أن الطريق المسدود الذي وصلت إليه عملية السلام الإسرائيلية الفلسطينية غير منطقي ومثير للقلق، حيث أن أغلبية من الإسرائيليين والفلسطينيين يدركون أن التعايش، سواء في ظل ظروف من العداء أو الصداقة، يشكل حقيقة لا يستطيع أي من الطرفين أن يغيرها إلا بالكارثة. ويدرك الجانبان أن المعايير العامة لاتفاق سلام مستدام يجب أن ترتكز على حل الدولتين على أساس حدود 1967 مع بعض تبادل الأراضي. لكن كلا الطرفين اختار الاستمتاع بالأوهام والعيش في تحدي الزمن والظروف. ويبدو أنهما يفضلان استمرار الاشتباكات العنيفة وإراقة الدماء على التعايش السلمي، في حين يلقي كل منهما اللوم على الآخر في المسار المدمر الذي لا ينتهي والذي اختار كل منهما أن يسلكه بشكل مأساوي.

      هناك ضرورات أساسية، مقرونة بتدابير أمنية متبادلة طويلة الأمد، تمثل ما كان على طاولة المفاوضات في عام 2000 في كامب ديفيد وفي 2010/2011 و2013/2014 تحت رعاية إدارة أوباما في القدس ورام الله. وكانت كل جولة، بدرجات متفاوتة من التقدم، تهدف إلى وضع اللمسات النهائية على الاتفاق، لكنها فشلت في نهاية المطاف في القيام بذلك. السؤال هو: لماذا؟

      وكانت التصورات المتحيزة والانتقائية، والتي عززتها التجارب التاريخية، والدين، والإيديولوجيات غير المتوافقة، سبباً في حبس كلا الجانبين في مواقف جامدة. وتشمل العوامل التي تحافظ على هذه الأنماط وتعززها المشاعر مثل الخوف وعدم الثقة وانعدام الأمن. والنتيجة النفسية هي الإنكار المتبادل لسردية الآخر ونزع الشرعية المتبادلة.

      والنتيجة العملية مجتمعة هي الركود والاستقطاب. ولذلك فإن ما نحتاج إليه هو حوار موجه نحو الإجماع على مستوى القيادة بين المسؤولين وغير المسؤولين، والتفاعلات بين الناس، لحل مسألة التصور – وهي مهمة صعبة نظراً للبيئة الحالية التي تدعم التحيز بدلاً من تحسينه. التصورات.

      هناك بعض المفاهيم النفسية ذات الصلة بفهم العلاقة الإسرائيلية الفلسطينية

فلكت؛ مفهوم الوهم هو مفهوم أساسي. في كتابه مستقبل الوهم، يقدم فرويد التعريف التالي: “… نحن نسمي الاعتقاد وهمًا عندما يكون تحقيق الرغبة عاملاً بارزًا في دوافعه، وبذلك نتجاهل علاقاته بالواقع، تمامًا كما الوهم في حد ذاته لا يشكل أي أهمية للتحقق.”

      ما يميز الأوهام هو: 1) أنها مستمدة من رغبات إنسانية عميقة، و2) الاعتقاد قائم (أو سيتم الاعتقاد به) في غياب أي دليل مقنع، أو أسس عقلانية جيدة، لصالحه.

      من المستحيل إنكار أن كلا من الإسرائيليين والفلسطينيين يقعون في قبضة أوهام قوية للغاية لا تؤدي إلا إلى إطالة أمد الصراع ومنع أي تفاهم متبادل. وعلى وجه الخصوص، فإن الاعتقاد الذي يتقاسمه العديد من الإسرائيليين بأن لديهم حق كتابي في الأرض (بما في ذلك يهودا والسامرة)، وأن الله أعطاها لليهود إلى الأبد، هو بلا شك وهم من وهم الأمس.

      لم يتم تأكيد هذا الاعتقاد لأن هناك دليل حقيقي على أن الله اعتبره كذلك (على الرغم من وجود مملكتين يهوديتين – الأولى في القرن العاشر قبل الميلاد والثانية في بداية عام 539 قبل الميلاد – على نفس الأرض)، ولكن لأنه يرضي حاجة نفسية عميقة الجذور لوطن يهودي وهبه الله.

      والاعتقاد بأن إسرائيل من خلال توسيع المستوطنات سوف تعزز أمنها القومي وتحافظ على قبضتها على الأرض بالكامل هو وهم الغد، وهو وهم يتجاهل عموماً وجود المسلمين في نفس الأرض لأكثر من 1300 عام.

      من المهم أن نلاحظ كيف تدعم هذه الأوهام وتعزز بعضها البعض، وتشكل حاجزًا نفسيًا أكثر مناعة للتفكير النقدي. لقد ساهمت أوهام إسرائيل في خلق منطق الاحتلال.

      الفلسطينيون، من جانبهم، لا يخلو من أوهامهم. كما يعتقدون أن الله قد حفظ لهم الأرض، ويحتجون بحقيقة أنهم سكنوا الأرض لعدة قرون. ومن وجهة نظرهم فإن وجود المسجد الأقصى الذي بني عام 705م في القدس يشهد على ارتباطهم التاريخي والديني بالمدينة المقدسة.

      كما أنهم يتمسكون بفكرة أنهم سيعودون يوماً ما إلى أرض أسلافهم، كما فعلوا وما زالوا يصرون على حق العودة للاجئين الفلسطينيين، على الرغم من أن ذلك أصبح مستحيلاً فعلياً.

      يتمسك الفلسطينيون بأوهام الأمس والغد بشكل أعمى ويائس مثل الإسرائيليين، الأمر الذي يؤدي إلى مقاومة التغيير والخوف منه. وعلى هذا النحو، ما لم يغير الجانبان مسارهما ويقبلا انتماء كل منهما إلى نفس الأرض، خاصة لأنها قائمة على أساس ديني، فمن المحتم أن يؤدي الوضع إلى كارثة.

       وقد ساهم ذلك في جعل الصراع الإسرائيلي الفلسطيني مزمناً وعصياً على الحل، حيث تتغذى الأوهام المختلفة بشكل مستمر وواعي من خلال المواجهات العدائية اليومية والعنيفة في كثير من الأحيان بين الجانبين.

      في السعي إلى سد المفاهيم التي يمكن أن تربط بين مجالات علم النفس والسياسة في الصراع الإسرائيلي الفلسطيني، يمكن اقتراح أن المقاومة الجماعية المتبادلة للتغيير (سواء الواعي أو المتعمد، أو اللاوعي الداخلي) تحمي الهوية الضعيفة.

      فمقارنة، على سبيل المثال، بالهويات السياسية المستقرة والناضجة للدول الأمريكية والبريطانية والفرنسية، فإن الهويات السياسية لكل من الشعبين الإسرائيلي والفلسطيني، بطريقة ما، في مرحلة المراهقة.

      تكون الهويات في هذا السياق أكثر عرضة للخطر، والأبطال بطبيعة الحال أكثر دفاعية ومقاومة للتغيير. بحكم طبيعتها، يجب على اللاعبين أن يجدوا صعوبة (إن لم يكن من المستحيل) في التعبير عن ذلك علنًا، لأن القيام بذلك يعني الاعتراف بهذه الثغرة الأمنية.

      إن مفهوم المقاومة النفسية للتغيير قد يؤثر على الوضع السياسي بشكل عام وعلى الصراع الإسرائيلي الفلسطيني بشكل خاص. فهو يرتبط ارتباطًا وثيقًا بالتصورات على العديد من المستويات ويوفر الحماية لتكوين الهوية الضعيفة.

      وهذه العقلية، التي تعززها التجارب التاريخية، هي التي تتجاوز أكثر من سبعة عقود منذ بدأ الصراع الإسرائيلي الفلسطيني. وما زال الأفراد والجماعات، الإسرائيليون والفلسطينيون على حد سواء، يفسرون طبيعة الخلاف بينهم على أنه “أنت ضدي” بطريقة متحيزة وانتقائية.

      وهذا بدوره أدى إلى خنق أي معلومات جديدة ومكن من استمرار مقاومة التغيير، الأمر الذي يمكن أن يلقي ضوءا جديدا على طبيعة وجوهر الصراع ويساعد في دفع عملية السلام.

      يرتبط مفهوم المقاومة اللاواعية للتغيير في هذا الإطار جيدًا بوجهة نظر التصورات التي تحرك الاستقطاب في الصراع. إن الخبرة التاريخية، التي تصوغ التصورات، تعمل من بين أمور أخرى على تعزيز الإحساس بالهوية “من نحن حقًا”، وهو افتراض جماعي تكويني يقع في حجر الأساس لكل من اللاعبين الرئيسيين ويحرك السلوك الوظيفي والمختل.

ومن حيث المبدأ، فإن مثل هذه العقلية تمنع أياً من الطرفين من طرح أفكار جديدة قد تؤدي إلى تنازلات من أجل التوصل إلى حل سلمي. والمفارقة هنا هي أن الأغلبية على كلا الجانبين تريد السلام وتسعى إليه، وهي تعلم جيداً أن ذلك يتطلب تنازلات كبيرة، لكنها غير قادرة على التوفيق بين التنازلات المطلوبة والتصورات المتأصلة التي حالت دون هذه التنازلات نتيجة المقاومة والخوف من ذلك. يتغير.

      ولذلك، فإن أي إطار للسلام يجب أن يتضمن بنوداً من شأنها أن تزيد بشكل كبير من احتمالات التوصل إلى حل. أولاً، يتعين على الجانبين الالتزام بالتوصل إلى اتفاق على أساس حل الدولتين انطلاقاً من الاقتناع بأن التغيير، الذي يترجم إلى التعايش، أمر لا مفر منه. ولذلك، يتعين عليهم أن يتكيفوا مع متطلبات بعضهم البعض، الأمر الذي يتطلب منهم بالضرورة تقديم تنازلات كبيرة.

      ثانياً، لتسهيل ذلك، يجب عليهم إجراء تفاعلات تصالحية اجتماعية واقتصادية وثقافية وأمنية بين الناس للتخفيف من مقاومتهم للتغيير، والتي يجب أن تبدأ، على الأقل، قبل عام واحد من بدء المفاوضات لخلق الحالة النفسية والاجتماعية. مناخ سياسي لبناء الثقة اللازمة لمفاوضات سلام موضوعية وناجحة.

      إن استئناف محادثات السلام لن يؤدي إلى أي نتيجة ما لم يغير الإسرائيليون والفلسطينيون تصوراتهم المتحيزة ومقاومتهم للتغيير وخوفهم منه، ثم يدركون أخيراً أن مصيرهم متشابك ولا يستطيع أي منهما أن يعيش في سلام وأمن دون الآخر.

      أشعر بأنني مضطر إلى اختتام مقالتي الأخيرة لهذا العام بتحذير شديد من أنه من الأفضل للإسرائيليين والفلسطينيين على حد سواء أن يفكروا فيه مع اقترابهم من نهاية العقد السابع من صراعهم المأساوي.

      يجب على كل متطرف إسرائيلي ومتشدد فلسطيني، أولئك الذين يريدون كل ذلك، أن يتوقفوا ويفكروا أين ستكون إسرائيل والفلسطينيون بعد عشر سنوات إذا استمر الوضع الحالي؟

      أوهامك اليوم لن تصبح حقيقة غدًا، وما سيأتي به الغد ليس سوى المزيد من الألم والدموع والعذاب.

      صراعكم يتطور بشكل أسرع من أي وقت مضى إلى حرب دينية. إن هرمجدون بين المسلمين واليهود يجري الإعداد له الآن، وهو ما من شأنه أن يشعل المنطقة بأكملها على نار لا يمكن تصورها.

      إذا كنتم مؤمنين حقيقيين، فلا تجرؤوا على تحدي مشيئة الله، لأنه جمعكم معًا ليضعكم في الاختبار – يجب عليكم إما أن تعيشوا في سلام ووئام، أو سيحكم عليكم بالنسيان واليأس.

      لديك القدرة على اختيار مصيرك. هل سيكون تدميرًا ذاتيًا أم سيكون تحقيقًا لحلم مجيد؟

      انهضوا ومرروا إرثًا من الأمل لكل طفل إسرائيلي وفلسطيني، لأن لديهم الحق الذي منحه الله لهم في أن يكبروا ويزدهروا ولا ينبغي لأحد أن يموت من أجل أوهامكم عبثًا”.

      كما كتبت في رسالتي بتاريخ 9 نوفمبر 2023، مرآة ظلامنا: كريستالناكت؛ إن إسرائيل تحيي ذكرى هذه المأساة التي فتحت الباب أمام مأساة أكبر في المحرقة من خلال فعل الشيء نفسه بالضبط مع الفلسطينيين، شعب واحد منقسم بسبب التاريخ والدين الذي تم استخدامه كسلاح في خدمة السلطة. وهذا أيضاً سيفتح الأبواب أمام المزيد من إرهاب الدولة وطغيانها، ما لم يتمكن الشعبان من الاتحاد ضد السلطات التي ترتكب الفظائع باسمهما كإستراتيجية لإخضاع وتحرير بعضهما البعض من أولئك الذين يستعبدونهما.

      إذا كنت تفكر في الأمم باعتبارها أطفالًا ناجين من سوء المعاملة، يصبح الكثير واضحًا؛ لأنه بمجرد استيلائهم على السلطة، فمن المرجح أن يصبحوا هم أنفسهم مسيئين. هذه هي الطريقة التي يعمل بها الخوف، ولماذا هو الأساس الحقيقي للتبادل، ولماذا السياسة هي فن الخوف، ولماذا تتجسد الدول في العنف. لقد تعرض كل من الإسرائيليين والفلسطينيين للتهديدات الوجودية بوحشية قبل وقت طويل من بدء ممارسة الوحشية والوحشية وتجريد بعضهم البعض من إنسانيتهم.

      إن استخدام الأنظمة المفترسة على كلا الجانبين لسياسات الانقسام والهوية لمركزية السلطة وإضفاء الشرعية على الهيمنة الاستبدادية هي مرحلة يمكن التنبؤ بها من النضال من أجل التحرير، وخاصة الثورة المناهضة للاستعمار.

       إن الحيلة في أن نصبح بشرًا، وأصدقاء، هي أن نحتضن ظلامنا في النضال وكذلك أعداءنا، ونخرج من تراث تاريخنا الذي يظللنا مثل ذيل تمساح غير مرئي.

       هناك سطر يتحدث به الشرير في مسلسل The Magicians، وهو أحد الناجين من إساءة معاملة الأطفال والطاغية المعروف باسم The Beast لجرائمه المروعة، وكان في السابق الصبي الضعيف والمرعوب مارتن شاتوين والآن إله وحشي؛ “كما تعلم، عندما كنت صبيًا، كان الرجل الذي كان من المفترض أن يعتني بي، يثنيني على مكتبه ويحتضنني مرارًا وتكرارًا في كل مرة كنت وحدي معه. إنه يساعدني على فهم الحقيقة. أنت قوي أو أنت ضعيف. “

       وهنا تكمن الكذبة الأصلية للطاغية والفاشي في الدفاعيات وتبرير الذات وسيكوباتية السلطة؛ الكذبة القائلة بأن القوة وحدها هي التي لها معنى وهي حقيقية، وأنه لا يوجد خير أو شر. إن كيفية استخدامنا للسلطة لا تقل أهمية عن من يملكها. الخوف والقوة هما الوسيلة الأساسية للتبادل البشري، ولكن

ليست الوسيلة الوحيدة؛ الحب والعضوية والانتماء لا تقل أهمية.

       إنه خط يجسد بشكل مثالي التناقضات المتأصلة في حلقة فاغنر من الخوف والقوة والقوة كأصل للشر؛ لأن استخدام القوة الاجتماعية هو أمر تخريبي لقيمه الخاصة. ومع ذلك، فإن الظروف المفروضة للنضال الثوري غالبا ما تتطلب العنف، وإلى أن يتم إسقاط آلهة القانون والنظام من عروشهم، يجب أن أتفق مع القول المأثور الشهير لسارتر في مسرحيته “الأيدي القذرة” عام 1948، والتي اقتبسها فرانتز فانون في خطابه عام 1960. لماذا نستخدم العنف، والذي جعله خالدًا مالكولم إكس؛ “بأي وسيلة ضرورية.”

      كما كتب والتر رودني في The Groundings with my Brothers؛ “لقد قيل لنا أن العنف في حد ذاته شر، وأنه، مهما كان سببه، فهو غير مبرر أخلاقيا. بأي معيار أخلاقي يمكن اعتبار العنف الذي يستخدمه العبد لكسر أغلاله مثل عنف سيد العبد؟ بأي معايير يمكننا أن نساوي عنف السود الذين تعرضوا للاضطهاد والقمع والاكتئاب لمدة أربعة قرون مع عنف الفاشيين البيض. ولا يمكن الحكم على العنف الذي يهدف إلى استعادة الكرامة الإنسانية والمساواة بنفس مقياس العنف الذي يهدف إلى الحفاظ على التمييز والقمع.

      وهذا هو المقطع الذي يشير إليه من ليون تروتسكي في كتابه “أخلاقهم وأخلاقنا: الأسس الطبقية للممارسة الأخلاقية”؛ “مالك العبيد الذي من خلال المكر والعنف يقيد عبدًا مقيدًا بالسلاسل، والعبد الذي يكسر القيود من خلال المكر أو العنف – لا تدع الخصيان المحتقرين يخبروننا أنهم متساوون أمام محكمة الأخلاق!”

      ومع ذلك، أفكر في تلك الشخصيات العظيمة التي كانت أبطال التحرير وأشرار الطغيان؛ قدوتي المراهقة نابليون، واشنطن، الذي يعد محوريًا في تاريخ عائلتنا وصاغ الشعار على شعار النبالة الخاص بنا في رمز المرور خلال معركة ترينتون، النصر أو الموت، عندما كانت الثورة بأكملها تراهن على أمل بائس، من المأساوية دراما الأبطال الذين سقطوا مثل روبرت موغابي، والطغاة المتوحشين ستالين وماو، والقائمة عبارة عن سلسلة لا نهاية لها تقريبًا من الويلات وإخفاقات الرؤية حيث تحولت عوالم جديدة شجاعة إلى جحيم وحالات جنونية. في الدليل الذي أقدمه، أصبحت الثورات الأمريكية والنابليونية إمبراطوريات، والاتحاد السوفييتي، والحزب الشيوعي الصيني، والهند حيث يأتي مجد التحرير جنبًا إلى جنب مع مأساة التقسيم، وهي الآن تحت حذاء القومية الهندوسية، وجميع الثورات المناهضة للاستعمار تقريبًا. والتي أصبحت، مع الفترة الأولى من الحرية كأمم جديدة، أنظمة استبدادية مروعة، وقبل كل شيء دولة إسرائيل، حلم اللجوء الذي نشأ في إرهاب المحرقة التي تعلم ضحاياها الدروس الخاطئة من النازيين وتولوا دورهم في احتلال إسرائيل. فلسطين. إن مخاطر المثالية حقيقية للغاية؛ ولكن كذلك مخاطر الخضوع للسلطة والتواطؤ في الصمت في وجه الشر.

      أنا صياد الفاشيين، وأخلاقي هي أخلاق الصياد. بالنسبة لي هناك اختبار بسيط لاستخدام القوة؛ من يملك السلطة؟

      لقد كتب عدد كبير من الحكماء بشكل جميل عن أهوال فاشية الدم والإيمان والتربة والتسلسلات الهرمية للانتماء النخبوي والاختلاف الإقصائي، كما يفعل بول أوستريشر في المقالة التالية؛ أود هنا فقط أن أشير إلى أن القوى التي تكمن في داخلنا وخارجها، مثل الظروف الاجتماعية والصدمات اللاجينية، والحركات الرجعية للهمجية وأنظمة القمع، هي قوى عالمية بالنسبة للبشر كشروط مفروضة للنضال وتعمل باستمرار حتى عندما تكون محجوبة عن الأنظار. أبعد من الرعب والإذلال الناتج عن نقاط الانكسار في الروح الإنسانية مثل تلك التي حدثت في ليلة الكريستال والتطهير العرقي في غزة.

      أكتب إليك كشخص عاش صرخة معركة “لن يحدث مرة أخرى أبدًا”! منذ أكثر من أربعين عامًا، ومن الأهمية العميقة والحيوية تطبيق مبدأ العمل هذا ليس فقط في مقاومة الفاشية كعدو متطفل على كل ما هو إنساني فينا، ولكن أيضًا على أنفسنا واستخدامنا للعنف والوسائل الاجتماعية. القوة تجاه الآخرين.

     في النهاية، كل ما يهم هو ما نفعله بمخاوفنا، وكيف نستخدم قوتنا.

      بغض النظر عن المكان الذي تبدأ فيه بالانقسامات والتسلسلات الهرمية للانتماء النخبوي والاختلاف الاستبعادي، فإنك دائمًا ينتهي بك الأمر عند أبواب أوشفيتز.

     كما يعلمنا نيتشه في كتابه ما وراء الخير والشر؛ “أولئك الذين يصطادون الوحوش يجب أن ينتبهوا لئلا يصبح وحشًا. وإذا حدقت طويلا في الهاوية، فإن الهاوية ستحدق فيك أيضا.”

      في مرآة غزة المظلمة، بانعكاساتها الوحشية على ليلة الكريستال وأوشفيتز، هل يعجبك ما تراه يا إسرائيل؟

      وكما كتبت في رسالتي بتاريخ 10 مايو 2021، الدفاع عن الأقصى: الحرية مقابل الاستبداد في القدس؛ ربما شهدنا قدوم الانتفاضة الثالثة هذه الليلة، دفاعًا عن الأقصى ومعارك الشوارع في غزة التي أعقبت ذلك، والتي أشعلها الغدر والغزو الإمبراطوري لدولة إسرائيل الفاشية والكارهة للأجانب والتي لا تنظر إلا إلى أحد.

قبيلتهم ودينهم كإنسان حقيقي، والذي ارتكب هجومًا مميتًا غير مبرر كعمل من أعمال إرهاب الدولة وجريمة ضد الإنسانية على المصلين المسالمين في أحد أكثر المساجد قدسية في العالم الإسلامي، وهو استعراض للقوة والقوة. الهيمنة التي تأتي بعد أسابيع من الاستفزازات والاعتداءات وأعمال الدعاية التجريدية من الإنسانية ضد شعب فلسطين.

       مثل انتفاضة الأقصى الثانية التي استمرت أربع سنوات من 28 سبتمبر 2000 إلى 8 فبراير 2005، فإن القضايا التي لم يتم حلها للاحتلال هي الآن في عامها الرابع والخمسين منذ احتلال إسرائيل للقدس القديمة في 7 يونيو 1967، والذي احتفلت به دولة إسرائيل وفقًا لـ إلى التقويم العبري باعتباره يوم القدس اليوم من خلال مهاجمة الأقصى، والكارثة المستمرة الآن منذ ثلاثة وسبعين عامًا منذ يوم النكبة في 15 مايو 1948، تضافرت حول القيمة الرمزية للأقصى، الذي له هوية مزدوجة متنازع عليها مثل جبل الهيكل في القدس. اليهودية.

      إن فرص التهدئة وتجنب الحرب لا تعتمد الآن على العوامل المحلية، بل على استجابة المجتمع الدولي، لأن التاريخ هنا أصبح فخًا ينهار ليوقعنا في شركه، ويجب على القوى الخارجية أن تحررنا من إخفاقات الغرب. التناقضات الداخلية لنظامنا.

      فهل ستتنصل أمريكا وتتخلى عن مستعمرتها إسرائيل، ملكة سياستها الإمبراطورية في الشرق الأوسط وسيطرتها على المورد الاستراتيجي للنفط؟ هل يمكن للوحدة الدولية وضغوط المقاطعة وسحب الاستثمارات وفرض العقوبات أن تحررنا من طغيان وإرهاب نظام الفصل العنصري كما حدث في جنوب أفريقيا؟

      أم أن الحرب هي الحساب الوحيد الذي يمكن للبشرية تقديمه أو قبوله؟

      كما كتب إيشان ثارور في صحيفة واشنطن بوست؛ ليلة الإثنين، تبادل المسلحون في قطاع غزة والجيش الإسرائيلي إطلاق الصواريخ والغارات الجوية وسط تصعيد مميت للعنف. أطلقت حماس والجهاد الإسلامي، الجماعتان المسلحتان المتمركزتان في غزة المحاصرة، وابلًا من الصواريخ التي سقطت بالقرب من القدس وفي أجزاء من جنوب إسرائيل، مما أدى إلى إصابة شخص واحد على الأقل. وأدت الغارات الجوية الإسرائيلية ردا على ذلك إلى مقتل ما لا يقل عن 20 شخصا في غزة، وفقا لوزارة الصحة في غزة، من بينهم تسعة أطفال.

      وقال رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي بنيامين نتنياهو إن “الجماعات الإرهابية” في غزة “تجاوزت الخط الأحمر” بهجماتها الصاروخية. لكن الانفجار الأخير للأعمال العدائية له ذيل طويل، في أعقاب العديد من الأعمال العدوانية التي قامت بها قوات الأمن الإسرائيلية والجماعات اليهودية اليمينية المتطرفة في القدس. قبل أسبوعين، قامت مجموعات من المتطرفين اليهود، بما في ذلك بعض المستوطنين من الضفة الغربية، بمسيرة عبر المناطق المأهولة بالسكان الفلسطينيين في المدينة المقدسة، وهم يهتفون “الموت للعرب”، وهاجموا المارة وألحقوا أضرارًا بالممتلكات والمنازل الفلسطينية. أثارت المحاولات الإسرائيلية لطرد عدد من العائلات الفلسطينية في حي الشيخ جراح بالقدس الشرقية – وهو نموذج مصغر لما يعتبره الفلسطينيون جزءًا من تاريخ طويل من السلب والمحو على يد الدولة الإسرائيلية – احتجاجات التضامن الفلسطيني في أجزاء مختلفة للأراضي المحتلة وإسرائيل.

      كما أثارت التوترات قبيل إحياء يوم القدس يوم الاثنين، وهو يوم عطلة إسرائيلية رسمي يحتفل بالاستيلاء على المدينة خلال الحرب العربية الإسرائيلية عام 1967. تم إلغاء مسيرة سنوية كان من المقرر أن يقوم بها إسرائيليون من اليمين المتطرف بعد أن غيرت السلطات مسارها في اللحظة الأخيرة. ولا تزال أعداد كبيرة تشق طريقها إلى حائط المبكى وتغني أغنية انتقامية متطرفة ضد الفلسطينيين.

      أفاد زملائي أن “هجمات حماس الصاروخية، والتي تضمنت الضربات الأولى ضد القدس منذ عدة سنوات، جاءت بعد اشتباكات بين الشرطة الإسرائيلية والمتظاهرين الفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين اليهود اليمينيين المتطرفين حول المدينة القديمة”. ومن بين مئات الجرحى سبعة نقلوا إلى المستشفى في حالة خطيرة، بحسب الهلال الأحمر الفلسطيني. وتم تداول مقطع فيديو على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي يظهر ضباط شرطة إسرائيليين يضربون بوحشية رجلاً فلسطينيًا معتقلًا.

       فكيف يمكن لأمريكا أن تدعم دولة إسرائيل في الطغيان والإرهاب والغزو والنهب؟ إنه سؤال يُطرح بلهجة الغضب والأسى والحيرة منذ حلول النكبة في 15 مايو/أيار 1948، يوم النكبة التي بدأ فيها احتلال فلسطين والاستعباد الممنهج والإبادة الجماعية لشعبها في أعقاب الغزو الإسرائيلي. القدس. كيف يتم إضفاء الشرعية على هذا؟

       لقد أعاد أحد الأصدقاء صياغة هذا السؤال لي مؤخرًا؛ “لقد أحببت التقليد اليهودي واعتنقته، وانضممت إلى كنيس يهودي وعملت جنبًا إلى جنب مع حاخامه. عندما أشاهد معاملة الحكومة اليهودية في إسرائيل للفلسطينيين، تغمرني مشاعر الارتباك والغضب. ولأنني غير قادر على التوفيق بين هذا الفجور، فإنني أشكك في أساس إيماني. أين الانتفاضة الطيبة والأخلاقية للأصوات اليهودية العالمية المنددة بمسار الحكومة؟ لقد فقدت الثقة في كوني يهودية”.

      ما هو واضح بالنسبة لي هو أن أزمة الإيمان هذه هي أيضًا أزمة هوية وجودية

ن الوضع في غاية الخطورة والخطر والذي يحمل أيضًا إمكانية إعادة التصور والولادة التحويلية، وهو صدى شخصي لأزمة حضارية موازية يجب على البشرية والمجتمع العالمي للأمم أن يجدوا منها طريقة للخروج وتحرير أنفسنا من تراث الحضارة الإنسانية. تاريخنا. وهنا ردي:

      دولة إسرائيل ليست متطابقة مع الديانة اليهودية، على الرغم من أن الفصيل الإمبريالي الفاشي الذي يمثله نتنياهو يرغب في أن يعتقد الجميع ذلك.

     أمة تقوم على تخصيص مواطنيها لهوية قبلية، والتسليح الطائفي للعقيدة في خدمة السلطة والهوية الوطنية المصرح بها، ومجتمع عسكري مع خدمة إلزامية عالمية، وصنم منتشر لأساطير الشجاعة العسكرية ورموزها بما في ذلك البنادق. واستخدمت لغة الوحدة الوطنية العبرية المعاد بناؤها سياسات الهوية لإخضاع مواطنيها لسلطة الاستبداد المركزية؛ إسرائيل دولة فاشية من الدم والإيمان والأرض لا تقل عن دولة النازيين.

      أضف إلى هذا المزيج السام النظام الكليبتوقراطي الذي روج لسرديات الإيذاء التاريخي لإضفاء الشرعية على السرقة الجماعية والغزو الإمبراطوري لشعوب أخرى، وهناك شيء واحد واضح؛ لقد تعلمت إسرائيل الدروس الخاطئة من النازيين.

      ربما تعلمون من إشاراتي العديدة إلى الحادثة في كتاباتي أنني مناهض للفاشية، وقد أقسمت قسم المقاومة على يد جان جينيه عام 1982 في بيروت، أثناء معركتنا ضد الغزو والحصار الإسرائيلي. وفي الأعوام التسع والثلاثين التي تلت ذلك، كنت صائدًا للنازيين وثوريًا للديمقراطية منخرطًا في النضال من أجل تحرير البشرية ضد الطغيان والأنظمة الاستبدادية التي تعتمد على القوة والسيطرة.

       لقد كان الوطن الفلسطيني، والعدالة لشعبه، من بين أهدافي منذ ذلك الصيف منذ فترة طويلة. ومثله كمثل هدف تحرير أيرلندا من الحكم الاستعماري البريطاني، فلا يزال يتعين تحقيقه. موضع التساؤل هو فكرة الحرية والمواطنة باعتبارها سيادة واستقلال الشعوب عن الاستعمار الأجنبي والطغيان الاستبدادي، وأولوية دولة غير طائفية خالية من الانقسامات والتسلسلات الهرمية للإيمان، لأن من يقف بين كل واحد منا وبين اللانهائي لا يخدم أيًا منهما. .

      كما أنني أؤيد فكرة إقامة وطن إسرائيلي، ولا أرى أي سبب يجعل هاتين الدولتين، فلسطين وإسرائيل، متنافيتين أو متعارضتين. بعض الإسرائيليين الذين يختلفون معي حول قضية فلسطين والنزعة العسكرية في الغزو الإمبراطوري والسيطرة الإقليمية كانوا حلفاء في قضية مطاردة النازيين والفاشيين عمومًا في جميع أنحاء العالم، لكنهم غافلون عن تواطؤهم في هذا الشر بسبب رؤيتهم لأنفسهم. كضحايا وليس كمرتكبي جرائم ضد الإنسانية. يتعلق الأمر بالخوف والدورة المدمرة للإساءة والعنف.

      عندما تستولي السلطة على الإيمان لإضفاء الشرعية على سياسات الهوية، تصبح الهوية نفسها مشوشة وغامضة. لكي نصبح أحرارًا، يجب علينا أن نمتلك ملكية أنفسنا ككائنات مخلوقة ذاتيًا ومستقلة.

      ولهذا السبب فإن الواجبات الأساسية للمواطن هي مساءلة السلطة، وكشف السلطة، والسخرية من السلطة، وتحدي السلطة.

      دائمًا يبقى الصراع بين الأقنعة التي يصنعها الآخرون لنا وتلك التي نصنعها لأنفسنا؛ هذه هي الثورة الأولى التي يجب علينا جميعا أن نقاتل فيها.

      أفكر في مشكلة الشر البشري ودورة الخوف والقوة والقوة في حالة الدول التي أصبحت أنظمة استبدادية قاتلت من أجل تحرير نفسها منها، وهذا ينطبق على الدول الثورية المناهضة للاستعمار بشكل عام بسبب الموروثات التاريخية من الإيذاء. ، في هذا الطريق؛ غالبًا ما يصبح الضحايا مسيئين لأن هويتهم منظمة حول السلطة باعتبارها الوسيلة الوحيدة للهروب في عالم لا يمكن الوثوق فيه بأحد.

      عندما يتم إلغاء الثقة وإثبات أنها فارغة وبلا معنى، عندما تنكسر القدرة على الارتباط بالآخرين والشعور بألمهم في التعاطف، ويصبح المرء بلا شفقة أو ندم، عندما يكون الخوف طاغيًا ومعممًا وتشكله السلطة على التعامل مع الآخرين. وفي خدمة السلطة، يتعلم الضحايا أن القوة وحدها هي التي لها معنى وهي حقيقية. يجب ألا نسمح للمسيئين أن يصبحوا معلمينا.

      وفي حين أن كل قضية من هذا القبيل لها أصولها وتاريخها الفريد، فإن المشكلة في حد ذاتها عالمية، وتتعلق بما يخشاه المرء، وكيف يتشكل هذا الخوف من خلال السلطة كهوية. من وجهة نظرنا كأميركيين يفسرون الأحداث في المشكلة الكلاسيكية المتمثلة في الأقلية المزدوجة التي تمثلها إسرائيل وفلسطين، فإن كيفية إدراكنا للقضايا لها علاقة كبيرة بكيفية تأطيرها من خلال مصادرنا الإعلامية والمحفزة.

       في النهاية، يتم تعريفنا بما نفعله بخوفنا، وكيف نستخدم قوتنا.

       السؤال الأول الذي يجب طرحه في أي قصة، والأهم، هو سؤال بسيط؛ من هذه القصة؟

       نحن ضائعون في برية المرايا، من الأكاذيب والأوهام، وتزييف أنفسنا، والصور والانعكاسات المشوهة، والأصداء والهويات المرخصة التي تشوه وتشوه.

مكين، وسرقة أرواحنا.

       فكيف نجيب أولئك الذين يستعبدوننا؟ يتم تحقيق أصالتنا واستقلالنا من خلال الاستيلاء على السلطة، وإعادة تصور وتحويل أنفسنا والبشرية كمجتمع حر متساوين.

       نحن الأمريكيون نميل إلى رؤية الأشياء من منظور القبعات البيضاء والقبعات السوداء، كما هو الحال في الأفلام الغربية التي تعتبر بمثابة أساطير أصلية ونماذج أولية لشخصيتنا الوطنية. بمجرد منح مكانة الضحية، تصبح هذه المجموعات والأشخاص من القبعات البيضاء والأخيار، غير قادرين على الشر ومعارضين تمامًا لأي شخص يجب أن يكون من القبعات السوداء. إنها طريقة فظيعة لاختيار السياسة الوطنية.

      للأسف، نحن البشر يمكن أن نكون خيرًا وأشرارًا في الوقت نفسه، فعيوب إنسانيتنا تتردد وتعكس انكسار العالم. إنها حقيقة تم إثباتها مرة أخرى الليلة في القدس أو القدس اعتمادًا على من يتحدث وبأي لغة، بينما تحترق غزة من هجوم قوات الدفاع الإسرائيلية المسعورة تمامًا كما حدث في الليلة التي مضت قبل أربعة عقود تقريبًا في بيروت. عندما حاولوا حرقي أنا وجينيه أحياء في المقهى الخاص بنا، كعشرات البشر الذين سُرق منهم كل شيء ما عدا الأمل، أقسموا لبعضهم البعض أن يتخذوا موقعًا يغطي هروب النساء والأطفال المحاصرين بالهجوم الإسرائيلي حتى النهاية. نحن آمنون، في دفاع أخير ليس عن المسجد الأقصى، رائع وجميل ومليء بالأهمية، نصب تذكاري للدافع البشري للوصول إلى ما هو أبعد من أنفسنا والإمكانيات اللامحدودة لأن نصبح بشرًا، مرحلة مناسبة للموت المجيد للأبطال، ولكن من صرخات الغرباء بلا جسد بين المحاربين المجهولين في العصور القديمة المهجورة.

      في مواجهة هوة الفراغ والهمجية العدمية في عالم من الظلام والنار، من الخوف والقوة، ليس لدي سوى الكلمات لأقدمها، وأنا أكتب إليكم ما قلته لرفاقي الذين اختاروا الوقوف معي؛ لقد فقدت عدد مرات الوقوف الأخيرة، لكنني خاطرت بكل شيء ضد احتمالات مستحيلة ونجوت مرات أكثر مما أستطيع أن أتذكر، وكل ما يهم هو أننا لا نتخلى عن أنفسنا ولا عن بعضنا البعض، وأن نرفض الاستسلام، لأن هذا هو لحظة حريتنا، ولا يمكن أن تؤخذ منا أبدا.

       من هذه الليلة تتحرر فلسطين، يمكن أن نقتل ولكن لا يمكن أن نفتح.

Hebrew

10 במאי 2024 יום השנה לאינתיפאדה השלישית של 2021, מתקיים כעת בתיאטרון העשירי של מלחמת העולם השלישית המכיל ומחליף את מלחמת עזה

        הן המבקרים בארץ הקודש המחפשים סימנים של הבלתי נראה המתגלים בדיסנילנד של אמונות מסוכסכות והן אלה שנלכדו בתוך הסיוט של חומות, מחסומים, תיל תער, מעקבים נרחבים, אלימות אוניברסלית, פוליטיקה זהותית, והעריצות והטרור של אחד מאיתנו. משטרי הכוח והשליטה הנוראיים ביותר בעולם הפכו כאן לרוחות הרפאים של השואה; ישראל מהדהדת עם הצרחות השקטות של הקולות הגנובים והצללים הטורפים של היסטוריה שנושקה בשירות לשלטון כנרטיבים של קורבנות וביטחון ככוח, אסטרטגיה שנועדה לשבור תחילה את הסולידריות שלנו עם פילוג ופשיזם של דם, אמונה ואדמה. זיוף ולאחר מכן דה-הומניזציה והכניעתנו כאדונים ועבדים וכרצח עם וטיהור אתני.

      ישראל כחלום מקלט ושל אחווה ואהבה אוניברסליים נבגדה וחתרנה על ידי ישראל כתיאוקרטיה שנאת זרים, אימפריה צבאית ומחנה עבדים; כאן אושוויץ התמסד בקנה מידה לאומי, אסיריה לשעבר עכשיו השומרים שלה.

      מדוע שמישהו יבחר לשחזר גיהנום ממנו נמלט, אפילו כאדוניו ולא כעבדיו?

      אני מבין היטב את הפיתוי של כוח כביטחון בעולם של כוחות עוינים וכאוטיים, וכיצד ניתן לעצב פחד מוחץ ומוכלל על ידי סמכות לרכז כוח על ידי הצעת לנו כוח מושאל על אחרים כדמויות של איומים קיומיים; להיות פוסק המידות באמצעות כוח ושליטה. אבל ביטחון הוא אשליה, המדינה כאלימות מגולמת מצייתת לחוק התנועה השלישי של ניוטון ויוצרת התנגדות משלה, והכאב המשותף שלנו מאחד אותנו בדרכים שמתעלות מעל הטבעת הווגנרית של פחד, כוח וכוח, שרק אהבה יכולה לשחרר אותנו מ.

      אהבה כסולידריות בעשייה יכולה לגאול את פגמי אנושיותנו ואת שברו של העולם, תיקון עולם בעברית, ולשחרר אותנו לחיות כערבים לאנושיותו של זה.

       כפי שכתבתי ביום השנה הראשון לאינתיפאדה השלישית בלילה הזה לפני שנתיים; זה חייב להיות הנושא הנכתב ביותר, הנלמד, התווכח, התנסה בו ונלחם בנושא בפוליטיקה הגלובלית מאז מלחמת העולם השנייה שהוא תוצאה ממנה, העם הזה שבו עם אחד מחולק לפי ההיסטוריה כישראלים ופלסטינים, ומדד של האנושות שלנו, כדוגמה הקלאסית של המיעוט הכפול; מה עושים עם עיר אחת ואומה אחת שתיבעות על ידי שתי קהילות היסטוריות, כבסיס לזהות כאמונה ולאום וההשלכות והפרקסיס של פוליטיקת זהויות כאלימות?

      כאן אומה ועם נקרעים על ידי הפרעת זהות דיסוציאטיבית, מסוכסכים ונעולים במאבק טיטאני כמו עם פיצול הזהות, הזיכרון והתודעה של מספר אישים, טירוף בקנה מידה לאומי וציוויליזציוני שנולד ממורשת ההיסטוריה והחיים משבשים אירועים, טראומה אפיגנטית, אבל, אימה, אשמה וייאוש.

      בדואליות של ישראל ופלסטין מתבררים מקורות הרוע כאלימות ועריצות בטבעת הווגנרית הרקורסיבית והתלויה הדדית של פחד, כוח וכוח, כאשר פחד סוחף ומוכלל ואיומים קיומיים מופעלים בנשק בשירות לשלטון על ידי הסמכות. היוצר מצבי כוח ושליטה קרסראליים ככוח לא שוויוני ואלימות מגולמת, באמצעות היררכיות עילית וחלוקות של שייכות ואחרות ופשיזם של דם, אמונה ואדמה.

      כאן פועל הפשיזם כרע מערכתי כהחזקה וגניבה של הנשמה. מה אנחנו יכולים לעשות לגבי זה? כפי ששאל לנין במאמרו משנת 1902; “מה יש לעשות?” איך להשתחרר מהכוחות המערכתיים של ההכנעה שלנו לסמכות, לאליטות ולאלה שישעבדו אותנו?

     ראשית עלינו להכיר ולהיזהר מאלה המתיימרים לדבר בשמנו ולפעול בשמנו, שכן זוהי אסטרטגיה ראשית של הפשיזם. כדי לשחרר את עצמנו מהשקרים והאשליות, הזיוף וההיסטוריה המשוכתבת, תיאוריות הקונספירציה והמציאות החלופית שבאמצעותן אנו הופכים לדה-הומניזציה, עלינו להיות דוברי אמת העוסקים במרדף אחר האמת כקריאה קדושה, ולבצע את ארבע החובות העיקריות של אזרח; רשות שאלה, רשות חשיפה, רשות מדומה ורשות אתגר.

     שנית עלינו לתפוס את הבעלות העצמית והאוטונומיה שלנו בסירוב להיכנע לסמכות, שכן הסוד הגדול של הכוח הוא שהוא ריק וחלול, והוא עובר דה-לגיטימציה דרך סירוב לסמוך ולהאמין בסמכות, ושל כוח שהוא שביר ו מוצא את הגבול שלו בנקודה של אי ציות. מעשים פשוטים, אבל גם כוחות טבועים של האדם שלא ניתן לקחת מאיתנו; שכן מי שמסרב להיכנע הוא חופשי, והופך לבלתי ניתן לכיבוש.

      תמיד נשאר המאבק בין המסכות שאחרים עושים לנו, לבין אלה שאנחנו עושים לעצמנו. זו המהפכה הראשונה שבה כולנו

חייב להילחם; המאבק לבעלות עצמית ולחופש הזהות.

      אין סמכות צודקת.

       הלילה אני יושב בבית בין החושך העצום של גבעותיי, לילה שעוקב אחרי ימים של גשם ומלא בשירי צפרדעים וציפורים, שלווה המופרעת רק בגלל הכירוסקורו של זיכרונותיי מהלילה הזה לפני שנה, בהגנה. של אל אקצא. כמו הבזקים של ברק, יד העבר יכולה להביא את הכאוס ולהושיט יד לתפוס ולטלטל אותנו, ולערער אותנו ואת מבני הנורמליות שלנו עם אירועים בלתי צפויים ופתאומיים משבשים שנפרמו מעגןיהם בזמן.

       אבל הכאוס הוא גם מדד לטווח ההסתגלותי של מערכת, שמביאה הן את אימת האין שלנו והן את השמחה על החופש המוחלט בדמיון המחודש שלנו והלידה מחדש המשנה של עצמנו ושל האפשרויות הבלתי מוגבלות שלנו להפוך לאנושות.

       לגיירמו דל טורו, באפוס המפואר שלו של הגירה ושוויון גזעי קרנבל רואו, יש סצנה שבה שני ממשיכים צעירים להנהגה של פלגים יריבים מסורתיים מוצאים עצמם מאוהבים וזקוקים לבעלי ברית בעלילת משנה המדמה מחדש את רומיאו ויוליה; הגיהנום המורד, ג’ונה ברייקספיר, שואל את אהובתו המקיאוולית, סופי לונגרבין, “למי כאוס טוב?” על כך היא משיבה, “כאוס טוב לנו. כאוס הוא התקווה הגדולה של חסרי הכוח”.

      אפשר לחשוב על הבאת הכאוס במונחים של כוח הגאולה של אהבה, של סולידריות, של חובת הדאגה שלנו לזולת, של תפיסות כוח כהחזרת האיזון, של התנגדות ומאבק מהפכני כמו העמדת חיינו באיזון עם אלה של חסרי הכוח והמנושלים, המושתקים והנמחקים, וכתיקון עולם או ריפוי שברו של העולם.

      בירושלים ובאל קודס, אנו נבגדים על ידי הנורמליות של כניעה לסמכות וחלוקת הכוח הלא שוויוני, דה-הומניזציה על ידי אלה שמבצעים זוועות בשמנו, ונעשים שותפים לפשעים נגד האנושות באמצעות נרטיבים של קורבנות, כפי שוולטר מלמד אותנו מאפשרים. כל דבר.

      Gott mitt uns; זה טרור עתיק יומין. ולכך עלינו להתנגד.

      מיתוסים ישנים, ותלונות ישנות, שזורים במרקם הנפש שלנו והציוויליזציה שלנו. וכמו כל היסטוריה, זיכרון וזהות מורשית, כוחות מימטיים שממורשתם עלינו לצאת.

      ברגע זה אני פונה שוב לאבחנה המבריקה של מחלת הכוח כזהות שנתפסה כפי שכתב אלון בן-מאירין בהאפפוסט, אם כי המרשם שלו למערכת שתי מדינות שנוי במחלוקת ובשבילי יש להחליפו בזמן עם חילוני. מדינה עם חוק אחד לכולם וללא חטיבות רשמיות של שבט, שפה או אמונה, במאמר שכותרתו In The Grip Of Powerful Illusions; “המבוי הסתום בתהליך השלום הישראלי-פלסטיני נראה לא הגיוני ומטריד, שכן רוב הישראלים והפלסטינים מבינים שדו-קיום, בין אם בתנאי איבה או ידידות, הוא עובדה שאף צד לא יכול להשתנות מלבד קטסטרופה.

      המבוי הסתום בתהליך השלום הישראלי-פלסטיני נראה לא הגיוני ומטריד, שכן רוב הישראלים והפלסטינים מבינים שדו-קיום, בין אם בתנאי איבה ובין אם בתנאי ידידות, הוא עובדה שאף אחד מהצדדים אינו יכול להשתנות מלבד קטסטרופה. שני הצדדים מבינים שהפרמטרים הכלליים של הסכם שלום בר קיימא חייבים להישען על פתרון שתי מדינות המבוסס על גבולות 1967 עם כמה חילופי קרקעות. עם זאת, שני הצדדים בוחרים להתענג על אשליות ולחיות בהתרסה לזמן ולנסיבות. נראה שהם מעדיפים המשך התנגשויות אלימות ושפיכות דמים על פני דו-קיום שליו, תוך שהם מאשימים זה את זה בדרך ההרסנית הבלתי נגמרת, שבאופן טרגי שניהם בחרו לעבור.

      ישנם ציווי יסוד, יחד עם אמצעי ביטחון הדדיים ארוכי טווח, המייצגים את מה שהיה על שולחן המשא ומתן בשנת 2000 בקמפ דיוויד ובשנים 2010/2011 ו-2013/2014 בחסות ממשל אובמה בירושלים וברמאללה. כל סבב, עם דרגות שונות של התקדמות, נועד להשלים הסכם ועם זאת בסופו של דבר לא הצליח לעשות זאת. השאלה היא: למה?

      תפיסות מוטות וסלקטיביות, שמחוזקות על ידי חוויות היסטוריות, דת ואידיאולוגיות לא תואמות, נעלו את שני הצדדים בעמדות חסרות תנועה. הגורמים המשמרים ומעצימים דפוסים אלה כוללים רגשות כמו פחד, חוסר אמון וחוסר ביטחון. התוצאה הפסיכולוגית היא הכחשה הדדית של הנרטיב של האחר ודה-לגיטימציה הדדית.

      ביחד, התוצאה האופרטיבית היא סטגנציה וקיטוב. לכן, מה שנדרש הוא דיאלוג מכוון קונצנזוס ברמת המנהיגות של פקידים ולא פקידים כאחד, ואינטראקציות בין אנשים, כדי לפתור את סוגיית התפיסה – סדר גבוה בהתחשב בסביבה הנוכחית שמתבססת ולא משפרת דעות קדומות. תפיסות.

      ישנם מושגים פסיכולוגיים מסוימים הרלוונטיים להבנת השיתוף הישראלי-פלסטיני

 מושג האשליה הוא מושג חיוני. ב”עתידה של אשליה”, פרויד מציע את ההגדרה הבאה: “…אנו קוראים לאמונה אשליה כאשר הגשמת משאלות היא גורם בולט במוטיבציה שלה, ובכך אנו מתעלמים מיחסיה למציאות, בדיוק כפי שה האשליה עצמה אינה מגדירה אימות”.

      מה שמאפיין אשליות הוא ש: 1) הן נגזרות משאלות אנושיות עמוקות, ו-2) האמונה מוחזקת (או תוחזק) בהעדר כל ראיה משכנעת, או נימוקים רציונליים טובים, מטעמה.

      אי אפשר להכחיש שהן הישראלים והן הפלסטינים נמצאים באחיזת אשליות חזקות מאוד שרק משמשות להארכת הסכסוך ולמנוע כל הבנה הדדית. בפרט, האמונה המשותפת לישראלים רבים שיש להם זכות מקראית על הארץ (כולל יהודה ושומרון) ושאלוהים נתן אותה ליהודים לנצח היא ללא ספק אשליה של אתמול.

      אמונה זו אינה מאושרת משום שיש ראיות אמיתיות לכך שאלוהים ראה אותה (למרות ששתי ממלכות יהודיות אכן קיימות – הראשונה במאה העשירית לפנה”ס והשנייה החלה בשנת 539 לפנה”ס – על אותה אדמה), אלא משום שהיא מספק צורך פסיכולוגי עמוק במולדת יהודית שניתנת לאלוהים.

      האמונה שבאמצעות הרחבת ההתנחלויות ישראל תגביר את ביטחונה הלאומי ותשמור על אחיזתה בכל הארץ היא אשליה של המחר, שמתעלמת בדרך כלל מנוכחותם של מוסלמים באותה אדמה במשך יותר מ-1,300 שנה.

      חשוב לציין כיצד אשליות אלו מקיימות ומחזקות אחת את השנייה, ומהוות מחסום פסיכולוגי שהוא הרבה יותר אטום לרפלקציה ביקורתית. אשליותיה של ישראל שימשו ליצירת ההיגיון לכיבוש.

      הפלסטינים, מצדם, אינם חפים מאשליות משלהם. הם גם מאמינים שאלוהים שמר להם את הארץ, ופונים לעובדה שהם ישבו את הארץ במשך מאות שנים. מנקודת המבט שלהם, נוכחותו של מסגד אל-אקצא, שנבנה בשנת 705 לספירה בירושלים, מעידה על זיקתם ההיסטורית והדתית לעיר הקודש.

      הם גם נאחזים ברעיון שהם יחזרו מתישהו לאדמת אבותיהם, כפי שיש להם וממשיכים להתעקש על זכות השיבה של הפליטים הפלסטינים, למרות שזה הפך לבלתי אפשרי כמעט.

      הפלסטינים נאחזים באשליותיהם מאתמול ומחר באותה עיוורון ונואש כמו הישראלים, מה שמוביל להתנגדות ופחד משינויים. ככזה, אלא אם שני הצדדים ישנו מסלול ויקבלו את הזיקה של זה לאותה ארץ, במיוחד בגלל שהיא מבוססת דתית, המצב צפוי להוביל לאסון.

       זה תרם להפיכת הסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני לכרוני ובלתי פתיר כאחד, שכן האשליות השונות ניזונות באופן רציף ומודע ממפגשים עוינים ולעתים קרובות אלימים בין שני הצדדים.

      בניסיון לגשר בין מושגים שיכולים לקשר בין תחומי הפסיכולוגיה והפוליטיקה בסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני, ניתן להציע שהתנגדות הדדית קולקטיבית לשינוי (הן מודעת ומכוונת, והן בלתי מודעת פנימית) מגינה על זהות פגיעה.

      בהשוואה, למשל, לזהות הפוליטית היציבה והבוגרת של האומות האמריקאיות, הבריטיות והצרפתיות, הזהות הפוליטית של העם הישראלי והפלסטיני כאחד נמצאת, במידה מסוימת, בגיל ההתבגרות.

      זהויות בסביבה זו פגיעות יותר, והגיבורים באופן טבעי מתגוננים יותר ועמידים בפני שינויים. מעצם טבעו, על השחקנים להתקשות (אם לא בלתי אפשרי) לבטא זאת בפומבי, שכן לעשות זאת הוא להודות בפגיעות זו.

      הרעיון של התנגדות פסיכולוגית לשינוי עשוי בהחלט להשפיע על המסגרת הפוליטית בכלל ועל הסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני בפרט; הוא קשור קשר הדוק לתפיסות ברמות רבות ומספק הגנה על גיבוש זהות פגיעה.

      הלך הרוח הזה, המחוזק על ידי חוויות היסטוריות, הוא שמתעלה על יותר משבעת העשורים מאז החל הסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני. ליחידים ולקבוצות, ישראלים ופלסטינים כאחד, יש וממשיכים לפרש את אופי המחלוקת ביניהם כ”אתה נגדי” בצורה דעות קדומות וסלקטיביות.

      בתורו, זה חנק כל מידע חדש ואפשר את ההתנגדות המתמשכת לשינוי, מה שיכול לשפוך אור חדש על מהות הסכסוך ומהותו ולעזור לקדם את תהליך השלום.

      הרעיון של התנגדות לא מודעת לשינוי במסגרת זו מתקשר היטב לתפיסה של תפיסות המניעות את הקיטוב בקונפליקט. התנסות היסטורית, המגבשת תפיסות, משמשת בין היתר להגברת תחושת הזהות של “מי שאנחנו באמת”, הנחה קולקטיבית מעצבת היושבת בסלע של שחקני מפתח כאחד ומניעה התנהגות תפקודית ולא מתפקדת.

באופן עקרוני, חשיבה כזו מונעת משני הצדדים לבדר רעיונות חדשים שעלולים להוביל לפשרות לפתרון של שלום. הפרדוקס כאן הוא שהרוב משני הצדדים אמנם רוצים ומחפשים שלום, ביודעים היטב שהדבר ידרוש ויתורים משמעותיים, אך אינם מסוגלים ליישב את הוויתורים הנדרשים עם תפיסות טבועות שמנעו את הפשרות הללו כתוצאה מהתנגדות וחשש מפני שינוי.

      לכן, כל מסגרת לשלום חייבת לכלול הוראות שיגדילו באופן דרמטי את הסיכויים לטובת פתרון. ראשית, שני הצדדים צריכים להתחייב להגיע להסכם המבוסס על פתרון שתי מדינות מתוך אמונה ששינוי, שמתורגם לדו-קיום, הוא בלתי נמנע. לכן, עליהם להתאים את עצמם זה לדרישותיו של זה, מה שמחייב אותם בהכרח לעשות ויתורים משמעותיים.

      שנית, כדי להקל על כך, עליהם לבצע אינטראקציות חברתיות, כלכליות, תרבותיות וביטחוניות פייסות בין אנשים, כדי למתן את התנגדותם לשינוי, אשר חייבת להתחיל, לפחות, שנה אחת לפני תחילת המשא ומתן ליצירת הפסיכולוגיות וה אווירה פוליטית כדי לטפח את האמון הדרוש למשא ומתן לשלום מהותי ומוצלח.

      חידוש שיחות השלום לא יוביל לשום מקום אלא אם ישראלים ופלסטינים ישנו את תפיסתם הדעות הקדומות ואת התנגדותם לשינוי ופחדם משינוי, ולבסוף יגיעו להכרה שגורלם שזור זה בזה ואינם יכולים לחיות בשלום ובביטחון ללא השני.

      אני מרגיש נאלץ לסיים את המאמר האחרון שלי לשנה באזהרה חמורה שישראלים ופלסטינים כאחד יעשו אם להרהר בה כאשר הם מתקרבים לסוף העשור השביעי לסכסוך הטראגי שלהם.

      כל מיליטנט ישראלי קיצוני ופלסטיני, מי שרוצה הכל חייב לעצור ולחשוב היכן יהיו ישראל והפלסטינים בעוד עשר שנים אם המצב הנוכחי יימשך?

      אשליותיך של היום לא יהפכו למציאות של מחר, ומה שהמחר יביא אינו אלא עוד כאב, דמעות ויסורים.

      הסכסוך שלך מתפתח מהר יותר למלחמת דת. מתקיים ארמגדון מוסלמי-יהודי שיעלה את כל האזור באש בלתי נתפסת.

      אם אתם מאמינים אמיתיים, אל תעזו להתריס נגד רצונו של אלוהים, כי הוא דחף אתכם יחד כדי להעמיד אתכם במבחן – עליכם לחיות בשלום ובהרמוניה, או שתיגזרו על שכחה וייאוש.

      יש לך את הכוח לבחור את הגורל שלך. האם זה יהיה הרס עצמי או שזה יהיה הגשמת חלום מפואר?

      קום והעביר מורשת של תקווה לכל ילד ישראלי ופלסטיני, כי יש להם את הזכות הנתונה מאלוהים לגדול ולשגשג ואף אחד לא צריך למות על האשליות שלך לשווא”.

      כפי שכתבתי בפוסט שלי מ-9 בנובמבר 2023, מראה של החושך שלנו: בדולח; ישראל מנציחה את הטרגדיה הזו שפתחה דלת לטרגדיה גדולה עוד יותר בשואה בכך שהיא עושה בדיוק את אותו הדבר לפלסטינים, עם אחד המחולק על ידי ההיסטוריה והאמונה המזוהה עם נשק בשירות לשלטון. וגם זה יפתח דלתות לטרור ועריצות מדינות, אלא אם כן שני העמים יוכלו להתאחד נגד רשויות המבצעות זוועות בשמם כאסטרטגיה של הכנעה ולשחרר זה את זה מאלה שישעבדו אותם.

      אם אתה חושב על עמים כילדים שהם ניצולי התעללות, הרבה מתברר; שכן ברגע שהם תפסו את השלטון יש סיכוי גבוה יותר שהם יהפכו למתעללים בעצמם. כך פועל הפחד, מדוע הוא הבסיס האמיתי לחילופי דברים, מדוע פוליטיקה היא אמנות הפחד, ומדוע מדינות מגולמות באלימות. הן הישראלים והן הפלסטינים נפגעו מהאיומים הקיומיים הרבה לפני שהחלו לחבל, להתאכזר ולעשות דה-הומניזציה אחד את השני.

      העובדה שהמשטרים הדורסניים משני הצדדים השתמשו בפוליטיקת פילוג וזהות כדי לרכז כוח ולהעניק לגיטימציה לשליטה אוטוריטרית היא שלב צפוי של מאבק השחרור, במיוחד של מהפכה אנטי-קולוניאלית.

       הטריק של להיות אנושי, חברים, הוא לאמץ את החושך של עצמך במאבק, כמו גם את אויביו, ולצאת מהמורשת של ההיסטוריה שלנו שמצלה עלינו כמו זנב תנין בלתי נראה.

       יש קו שאמר הנבל בסדרה הקוסמים, ניצול של התעללות בילדות ועריץ הידוע בשם החיה על פשעיו הנוראיים, פעם הילד חסר הכוח והמבועת מרטין צ’טווין וכיום אל מפלצתי; “אתה יודע, כשהייתי ילד, גבר שנועד לטפל בי כופף אותי מעל השולחן שלו וקיבל אותי שוב ושוב בכל פעם שהייתי איתו לבד. זה עוזר לי להבין אמת. אתה חזק או שאתה חלש. “

       הנה השקר המקורי של העריץ והפשיסט באפולוגטיקה, בהצדקה העצמית ובפסיכופתיה של הכוח; השקר שרק לכוח יש משמעות והוא אמיתי, שאין טוב או רע. אופן השימוש בכוח הוא בעל חשיבות שווה למי שמחזיק בו. פחד וכוח הם אמצעי עיקרי לחילופי בני אדם, אבל

לא האמצעי היחיד; אהבה, חברות ושייכות חשובים לא פחות.

       זהו קו אשר לוכד בצורה מושלמת את הסתירות הטבועות בטבעת הוואגנרית של פחד, כוח וכוח כמקור של הרוע; שכן השימוש בכוח חברתי הוא חתרני לערכיו שלו. עם זאת, התנאים המוטלים של מאבק מהפכני מצריכים לעתים קרובות אלימות, ועד שאלי החוק והסדר יופלו מכסאותיהם אני חייב להסכים עם הכתבה המפורסמת של סארטר במחזהו “ידיים מלוכלכות” מ-1948, שצוטט על ידי פרנץ פאנון בנאומו מ-1960. למה אנחנו משתמשים באלימות, והפכו לאלמוות על ידי מלקולם אקס; “בכל דרך אפשרית.”

      כפי שכתב וולטר רודני ב-The Groundings with my Brothers; “אמרו לנו שאלימות כשלעצמה היא רוע, ושלא משנה מה הסיבה, היא לא מוצדקת מבחינה מוסרית. לפי איזה סטנדרט של מוסר יכולה האלימות שבה משתמש עבד כדי לשבור את שלשלאותיו להיחשב זהה לאלימות של אדון עבדים? לפי אילו אמות מידה נוכל להשוות את האלימות של שחורים שדוכאו, מדוכאים, מדוכאים ומדוכאים במשך ארבע מאות שנים עם אלימותם של פאשיסטים לבנים. לא ניתן לשפוט אלימות שמטרתה החזרת כבוד האדם ושוויון לפי אותו קנה מידה כמו אלימות שמטרתה לשמור על אפליה ודיכוי”.

      והנה הקטע שאליו הוא מתייחס מפי ליאון טרוצקי ב-Their Morals and Ours: The Class Foundations of Moral Practice; “בעל עבדים שבאמצעות ערמומיות ואלימות כובל עבד בשלשלאות, ועבד שבאמצעות ערמומיות או אלימות שובר את השלשלאות – שלא יאמרו לנו הסריסים הבזויים שהם שווים בפני בית דין מוסר!”

      אולם בהשתקפות אני חושב על אותן דמויות גדולות שהיו גם גיבורי השחרור וגם נבלי העריצות; המודל לחיקוי בגיל ההתבגרות שלי נפוליאון, וושינגטון, שהוא מרכזי בהיסטוריה המשפחתית שלנו וטבע את המוטו על הסמל שלנו בקוד הסיסמה במהלך קרב טרנטון, ניצחון או מוות, כאשר המהפכה כולה התנהלה על תקווה עזובה, של הטרגי דרמה של גיבורים שנפלו כמו רוברט מוגאבה, העריצים המפלצתיים סטלין ומאו, הרשימה היא אוסף כמעט אינסופי של צרות וכישלונות חזון שבהם עולמות חדשים אמיצים הפכו לגיהנום ולמדינות קרסרליות. לראיה אני מציע למהפכות האמריקניות והנפוליאון להפוך לאימפריות, ברית המועצות, המפלגה הקומוניסטית הסינית, הודו, שם תהילת השחרור באה יד ביד עם הטרגדיה של החלוקה וכעת היא תחת מגף הלאומיות ההינדית, כמעט כל המהפכות האנטי-קולוניאליות. שעם תקופת החירות הראשונה כאומות חדשות הפכו לעריצות איומה, ובעיקר למדינת ישראל, לחלום מקלט שנרקם באימת השואה שקורבנותיו למדו את הלקחים הלא נכונים מהנאצים ונטלו על עצמם את תפקידם בכיבוש פלשתינה. הסכנות של האידיאליזם הן אמיתיות מאוד; אבל כך גם הסכנות שבכניעה לסמכות ובשותפות השתיקה מול הרוע.

      אני צייד של פשיסטים, ושלי הוא מוסר של צייד. מבחינתי יש מבחן פשוט לשימוש בכוח; מי מחזיק בכוח

      הרבה מאוד אנשים חכמים כתבו יפה על זוועות הפשיזם של דם, אמונה ואדמה ועל היררכיות של השתייכות עילית ואחרות מוציאה מהכלל, כפי שעושה פול אוסטרייכר במאמר שלאחר מכן; כאן ברצוני רק להצביע על כך שהכוחות הטמונים בתוכנו ובחוץ כתנאים חברתיים וטראומה אפיגנטית, של אטאביסטים של ברבריות ומערכות דיכוי, הם אוניברסליים לבני אדם כתנאי מאבק כפויים ופועלים ללא הרף גם כשהם מעורפלים מהעין. , מעבר לאימה ולמחסור של נקודות השבר של נפש האדם כמו אלו של ליל הבדולח והטיהור האתני של עזה.

      אני כותב לך כמי שחיה לפי קריאת הקרב של לעולם לא שוב! כבר למעלה מארבעים שנה, ויש חשיבות עמוקה וחיונית ליישם את עקרון הפעולה הזה לא רק בהתנגדות לפשיזם כאויב חודרני של כל מה שאנושי בנו, אלא גם לעצמנו ולשימוש שלנו באלימות ובחברתי. כוח כלפי אחרים.

     בסופו של דבר, כל מה שחשוב הוא מה אנחנו עושים עם הפחד שלנו, ואיך אנחנו משתמשים בכוח שלנו.

      לא משנה היכן אתה מתחיל עם פילוגים והיררכיות של השתייכות עילית ואחרות מדריגה, אתה תמיד מגיע בשערי אושוויץ.

     כפי שמלמד אותנו ניטשה במעבר לטוב ולרע; “מי שצד מפלצות עשוי לדאוג שלא יהפוך בכך למפלצת. ואם אתה מסתכל זמן רב לתוך תהום, התהום מביטה גם בך.”

      במראה האפלה של עזה, עם ההשתקפויות המפלצתיות של ליל הבדולח ושל אושוויץ, אתה אוהב את מה שאתה רואה, הו ישראל?

      כפי שכתבתי בפוסט שלי מ-10 במאי 2021, ההגנה על אל אקצא: חירות מול עריצות בירושלים; ייתכן שהיינו עדים להופעת האינתיפאדה השלישית הלילה, בהגנת אל-אקצא ובקרבות הרחוב בעזה שבאו בעקבותיה, שהוצתו בעקבות הבגידה והכיבוש האימפריאלי של מדינת ישראל שנאת זרים ופשיסטית שאינה מתייחסת לאיש מלבד

השבט והאמונה שלהם כאנושיים באמת, ואשר ביצעו מתקפה בלתי מעוררת וקטלנית כמעשה טרור ממלכתי ופשע נגד האנושות על המתפללים השלווים באחד המסגדים הקדושים ביותר בעולם האסלאמי, הפגנת כוח ו שלטון שבא בעקבות שבועות של פרובוקציות, תקיפות ופעולות של דה-הומניזציה תעמולתית נגד העם הפלסטיני.

       כמו אינתיפאדת אל-אקצא השנייה או אל-אקצא שנמשכה ארבע שנים מה-28 בספטמבר 2000 עד ה-8 בפברואר 2005, נושאים לא פתורים של כיבוש שנמצא כעת בחמישים וארבעה שנים מאז כיבוש ירושלים העתיקה ב-7 ביוני 1967 על ידי ישראל, שמדינת ישראל חגגה על פי ללוח העברי כיום ירושלים היום על ידי תקיפת אל אקצא, ואסון הנמשך כבר שבעים ושלוש שנים מאז יום הנכבה ה-15 במאי 1948, התלכדו סביב הערך הסמלי של אל אקצא, בעל זהות כפולה שנויה במחלוקת כהר הבית ב. יַהֲדוּת.

      סיכויי הסלמה ומניעת מלחמה תלויים כעת לא בגורמים מקומיים אלא בתגובת הקהילה הבינלאומית, שכן ההיסטוריה הפכה כאן למלכודת שמתמוטטת כדי ללכוד אותנו במלתעותיה, וכוחות חיצוניים חייבים לשחרר אותנו מהכישלונות של הסתירות הפנימיות של המערכת שלנו.

      האם אמריקה תתנער ותתנער ממושבה ישראל, מלכת המדיניות האימפריאלית שלה במזרח התיכון והשליטה במשאב האסטרטגי של הנפט? האם האחדות הבינלאומית והלחץ של חרם, ביטול וסנקציה יכולים לשחרר אותנו מהעריצות והטרור של משטר אפרטהייד כפי שעשה בדרום אפריקה?

      או שמא מלחמה היא ההתחשבנות היחידה שהמין האנושי יכול להציע או לקבל?

      כפי שנכתב על ידי ישאן ת’ארור בוושינגטון פוסט; “ביום שני בלילה, חמושים ברצועת עזה והצבא הישראלי החליפו ירי רקטות ותקיפות אוויריות על רקע הסלמה קטלנית של האלימות. חמאס והג’יהאד האיסלאמי, ארגונים חמושים שבסיסם בעזה המצוררת, שיגרו מטח רקטות שנחתו ליד ירושלים ובחלקים מדרום ישראל, ופצעו לפחות אדם אחד. תקיפות אוויריות ישראליות בתגמול הרגו לפחות 20 בני אדם בעזה, לפי משרד הבריאות של עזה, כולל תשעה ילדים.

      ראש ממשלת ישראל בנימין נתניהו אמר כי “קבוצות הטרור” בעזה “חצו קו אדום” עם התקפות הרקטות שלהם. אבל לפיצוץ הלחימה האחרון יש זנב ארוך, בעקבות פעולות תוקפניות רבות הן של כוחות הביטחון הישראליים והן של ארגוני עליונות יהודים מהימין הקיצוני בירושלים. לפני שבועיים צעדו להקות של קיצונים יהודים, כולל כמה מתנחלים מהגדה המערבית, דרך אזורים מאוכלסים בפלסטינים בעיר הקדושה, קראו “מוות לערבים”, תקפו עוברי אורח ופגעו ברכוש ובבתים פלסטינים. ניסיונות ישראלים לפנות מספר משפחות פלסטיניות בשכונת שייח ג’ראח במזרח ירושלים – מיקרוקוסמוס של מה שהפלסטינים רואים כחלק מהיסטוריה ארוכה של נישול ומחיקה בידי מדינת ישראל – עוררו מחאות סולידריות פלסטיניות בחלקים שונים. של השטחים הכבושים וישראל עצמה.

      היא גם העלתה את המתיחות לקראת ציון יום ירושלים ביום שני, חג ישראלי רשמי שחוגג את כיבוש העיר במהלך מלחמת ערב-ישראל ב-1967. צעדה שנתית מתוכננת של ישראלים אולטרה-לאומיים מהימין הקיצוני בוטלה לאחר שהרשויות ניתבו את דרכה ברגע האחרון. מספרים גדולים עדיין עשו את דרכם לכותל ושרו שיר נקמה קיצוני נגד הפלסטינים.

      “התקפות הרקטות של חמאס, שכללו את התקיפות הראשונות נגד ירושלים מזה מספר שנים, הגיעו לאחר עימותים בין משטרת ישראל, מפגינים פלסטינים וישראלים יהודים מהימין הקיצוני ברחבי העיר העתיקה”, דיווחו עמיתיי. “בין מאות הפצועים היו שבעה שאושפזו במצב קשה, כך לפי הסהר האדום הפלסטיני. קטעי וידאו שהופצו ברשתות החברתיות של שוטרים ישראלים מכים באכזריות גבר פלסטיני עצור”.

       איך אמריקה יכולה לתמוך במדינת ישראל בעריצות ובטרור, בכיבוש ובגזל? זו שאלה שנשאלת בטונים של זעם, צער ותמיהה מאז הופעת הנכבה ב-15 במאי 1948, יום הקטסטרופה שהחל את כיבוש פלסטין והשעבוד השיטתי ורצח העם של אנשיה בעקבות הכיבוש הישראלי. של ירושלים. איך זה מקבל לגיטימציה?

       חבר ניסח לי לאחרונה מחדש את השאלה הזו; “אהבתי ואימצתי את המסורת היהודית, הצטרפתי לבית כנסת ועבדתי לצד רבו. כשאני עד ליחס של ממשלת ישראל היהודית לפלסטינים, אני מוצף ברגשות של בלבול וכעס. אני לא מצליח ליישב את חוסר המוסריות הזה, אני מטיל ספק בעצם היסוד של אמונתי. היכן ההתקוממות הטובה והמוסרית של הקולות היהודיים הבינלאומיים המגנה את דרכה של הממשלה? איבדתי את האמון בלהיות יהודי”.

      מה שברור לי הוא שמשבר האמונה הזה הוא גם משבר קיומי של זהות

מצב של כובד ראש וסכנה אשר טומן בחובו גם פוטנציאל לדמיון מחודש ולידה מחדש טרנספורמטיבית, הד אישי למשבר ציוויליזציוני מקביל ממנו על המין האנושי וקהילת האומות העולמית למצוא דרך לצאת ולשחרר את עצמנו מהמורשת של ההיסטוריה שלנו. הנה תשובתי:

      מדינת ישראל אינה זהה לאמונה היהודית, אם כי הפלג הפשיסטי-אימפריאליסטי שנתניהו מייצג היה רוצה שכולם יחשבו כך.

     אומה המבוססת על הקצאת אזרחיה לזהות שבטית, נשק עדתי של אמונה בשירות לשלטון וזהות לאומית מורשית, חברה צבאית עם שירות חובה אוניברסלי ופטישיזציה נרחבת של מיתוסים של חיל לחימה וסמליה כולל רובים , ושפה עברית משוחזרת של אחדות לאומית השתמשה בפוליטיקת זהויות כדי להכפיף את אזרחיה לכוח הריכוזי של העריצות; ישראל היא מדינה פשיסטית של דם, אמונה ואדמה לא פחות מזו של הנאצים.

      הוסיפו לתמהיל הרעיל הזה משטר קלפטוקרטי שהפיץ נרטיבים של קורבנות היסטורית כדי לתת לגיטימציה לגניבה מסיבית וכיבוש אימפריאלי של מדינות אחרות ודבר אחד ברור; ישראל למדה את הלקחים הלא נכונים מהנאצים.

      אתה אולי יודע מההתייחסויות הרבות שלי לתקרית בכתיבתי שאני אנטי-פשיסט, שנשבע לשבועת ההתנגדות על ידי ז’אן ז’נה ב-1982 בביירות, במהלך מאבקנו נגד הפלישה והמצור הישראלים. ב-39 השנים שאחרי, הייתי צייד נאצים ומהפכן של דמוקרטיה העסוק במאבק לשחרור המין האנושי נגד עריצות ומשטרים אוטוריטריים של כוח ושליטה.

       מולדת פלסטינית, וצדק לאנשיה, היו בין המטרות שלי מאז אותו קיץ לפני כל כך הרבה זמן. כמו המטרה של שחרור אירלנד מהשלטון הקולוניאלי הבריטי, עוד נותרה להשיגה. מדובר ברעיון החירות והאזרחות כריבונות ועצמאות של עמים מקולוניאליזם זר ועריצות אוטוריטרית, והקדימות של מדינה לא-כתתית נקייה מפילוגים והיררכיות של אמונה, שכן מי שעומד בין כל אחד מאיתנו לבין האינסופי אינו משרת אף אחד מהם. .

      אני גם תומך ברעיון של מולדת ישראלית, ולא רואה סיבה ששתי המדינות הללו, פלסטין וישראלית, יהיו סותרות זו את זו או אנטגוניסטיות. כמה ישראלים שלא יסכימו איתי בשאלת פלסטין ומיליטריזם בכיבוש אימפריאלי ובשליטה אזורית היו בעלי ברית במטרת ציד הנאצים והפשיסטים בדרך כלל ברחבי העולם, אבל הם עיוורים לשותפותם שלהם ברוע זה בגלל שהם רואים את עצמם כקורבנות ולא כמבצעי פשעים נגד האנושות. מדובר בפחד, ובמעגל ההרסני של התעללות ואלימות.

      כאשר האמונה מנוכסת על ידי סמכות ללגיטימציה בפוליטיקת זהויות, הזהות עצמה הופכת מבולבלת ומעורפלת. כדי להיות חופשיים, עלינו לתפוס בעלות על עצמנו כיצורים שנוצרו בעצמנו ואוטונומיים.

      זו הסיבה שהתפקידים העיקריים של האזרח הם להטיל ספק בסמכות, לחשוף סמכות, ללעוג לסמכות ולערער על סמכות.

      תמיד נשאר המאבק בין המסכות שאחרים עושים לנו לבין אלה שאנחנו עושים לעצמנו; זו המהפכה הראשונה שבה כולנו צריכים להילחם.

      אני חושב על בעיית הרוע האנושי ומעגל הפחד, הכוח והכוח שלו במקרה של מדינות שהופכות לעריצות מהן נלחמו כדי להשתחרר מהן, וזה נכון לגבי מדינות מהפכניות אנטי-קולוניאליות בדרך כלל בגלל המורשת ההיסטורית של הקורבנות , בדרך זו; קורבנות הופכים לעתים קרובות למתעללים מכיוון שזהותם מאורגנת סביב כוח כאמצעי המילוט היחיד בעולם שבו לא ניתן לסמוך על איש.

      כאשר האמון בוטל והוכח כריק וללא משמעות, כאשר היכולת להתחבר ולהרגיש את כאבם של אחרים באמפתיה נשברה ואדם ללא רחמים או חרטה, כאשר הפחד הוא מכריע ומוכלל ועוצב על ידי סמכות בשירות הכוח, הקורבנות לומדים שרק לכוח יש משמעות והוא אמיתי. אסור לנו לאפשר למתעללים שלנו להפוך למורים שלנו.

      בעוד שלכל נושא כזה יש מקורות והיסטוריה ייחודיים משלו, הבעיה עצמה היא אוניברסלית, וקשורה למה שחוששים, ואיך הפחד הזה מעוצב על ידי סמכות זהות. מנקודת המבט שלנו כאמריקאים המפרשים אירועים בבעיה הקלאסית של המיעוט הכפול האופיינית על ידי ישראל ופלסטין, האופן שבו אנו תופסים נושאים קשורים רבות לאופן שבו הם ממוסגרים על ידי מקורות המידע והמניעים שלנו.

       בסופו של דבר אנחנו מוגדרים לפי מה אנחנו עושים עם הפחד שלנו, ואיך אנחנו משתמשים בכוח שלנו.

       השאלה הראשונה שיש לשאול על כל סיפור, והחשובה ביותר, היא פשוטה; של מי הסיפור הזה

       אנחנו אבודים במדבר של מראות, של שקרים ואשליות, זיופים של עצמנו, דימויים והשתקפויות מעוותים, הדים וזהויות מורשות שמעוותות, משבשות.

להעצים ולגנוב את נשמתנו.

       איך נענה למי שישעבד אותנו? האותנטיות והאוטונומיה שלנו מתממשות באמצעות תפיסת כוח, ודמיון מחדש והפיכתנו של עצמנו ושל המין האנושי כחברה חופשית של שווים.

       אנו האמריקאים נוטים לראות דברים במונחים של כובעים לבנים וכובעים שחורים, כמו בסרטי המערבון המשמשים כמיתוסים וארכיטיפים של המקור הלאומי שלנו. ברגע שהוענק מעמד של קורבן, קבוצות ואנשים כאלה הופכים לכובעים לבנים ולחבר’ה טובים, חסרי יכולת לרוע ומנוגדים בתכלית למי שחייבים להיות כובעים שחורים. זו דרך איומה לבחור במדיניות לאומית.

      למרבה הצער, אנו בני האדם יכולים להיות טובים ורעים בבת אחת, פגמי האנושות שלנו מהדהדים ומשקפים את השבר של העולם. זו אמת שהוכחה שוב הלילה באל קודס או בירושלים תלוי למי מדברים ובאיזה שפה, בעוד עזה בוערת מהסתערות של צבא הגנה ישראלי משתוללת בדומה ללילה לפני כמעט ארבעה עשורים בביירות. כשניסו לשרוף את ג’נט ואני בחיים בבית הקפה שלנו, כתריסר בני אדם שנגנב מהם הכל מלבד התקווה נשבעים נדרים זה לזה להחזיק בתפקיד שיכסה את בריחת הנשים והילדים שנלכדו בתקיפה הישראלית עד שכל בטוחים, בהגנה סופית לא על מסגד אל אקצא, מפואר ויפה ומלא במשמעות, אנדרטה לדחף האנושי להגיע אל מעבר לעצמנו ולאפשרויות הבלתי מוגבלות להפוך לאנושיות, במה המתאימה למותם המפואר של גיבורים, אבל של צרחות חסרות גוף של זרים בין המלחמות חסרות השם של עתיקות נטושה.

      אל מול תהום הריקנות והברבריות הניהיליסטית של עולם של חושך ואש, של פחד וכוח, יש לי רק מילים להציע, ואני כותב לך את מה שאמרתי לחבריי שבחרו לעמוד איתי; איבדתי את ספירת היציעים האחרונים, אבל סיכנתי הכל כנגד סיכויים בלתי אפשריים ושרדתי יותר פעמים ממה שאני יכול לזכור, וכל מה שחשוב הוא שאנחנו לא נוטשים לא את עצמנו ולא אחד את השני, שאנחנו מסרבים להיכנע, כי זה רגע החופש שלנו, ולעולם לא ניתן לקחת אותו מאיתנו.

       מהלילה הזה, פלסטין חופשית, כי אנחנו יכולים להיהרג, אבל אי אפשר לכבוש אותנו.

May 4 2024 The Price of Peace: Anniversary of the Kent State Massacre in the Shadow of the Genocide of the Palestinians

     Today we remember the horrific repression and mass murder by police which numbers among the most brutal and senseless crimes of state terror in our nation’s history, but also the valiant resistance of students throughout America to a government which was and yet remains an unjust and violent perpetrator of crimes against humanity both at home and abroad.

    The national student strike which the massacre unleashed was a turning point for American involvement in Vietnam, and remains a model for mass action today. Its primary lesson is simple; to unite everyone, from all classes and stratum of society, in action against an existential threat said threat must be universal as well as clear and direct. Such a universal mass protest now unfolds in the shadow of the Israel Genocide of the Palestinians and the echoes and reflections of the Kent State Massacre.

     A parallel student movement for peace and divestiture now engulfs our nation and our world, a clarion call for solidarity with the oppressed in the genocide of the Palestinians and the deaths of thousands of children and civilians paid for by our taxes, as our government and Genocide Joe abandon our ideas of universal human rights and the historic role of America as their guarantor state, and like university peace movement to end the Vietnam War is met not with celebration of our rights of free speech and the co-ownership of the state by all of its citizens, not with a President who joins the protests as the champion of democracy and our universal human rights, but with police terror and repression of dissent.

     Our leaders have betrayed us, and in the abandonment of our human rights and of our rights as citizens Biden and the Democratic Party may have handed the next election to Trump and the Republican Party whose mission is the sabotage of democracy and its replacement by a theocratic tyranny of patriarchal and white supremacist terror. For if you sponsor and authorize genocide, I cannot vote for you, and I will fight you; and in this I am far from alone.

     We are caught by the horns of a dilemma in this crucial election year, with liberty or tyranny at stake not merely for our nation but for the whole of humankind and throughout the coming millennia. We must bring our dog to heel through Boycott, Divestiture, and Sanction of Israel until the genocide and the Occupation end, and with it the Netanyahu settler regime of ethnic cleansing and theocratic terror. If we cannot, and choose instead to ally and identify our nation once again with imperial conquest and dominion, state terror and tyranny, and the sacrifice of others lives in service to our own power, those of us who remember what it means to be an American and a human being must refuse to vote for Biden, land Trump wins the Presidency; this is the true motive for Israel’s orchestration of the October 7 tragedy, in dual purpose with creating a casus belli for the Final Solution of the Palestinians and the conquest of the Middle East.   

     I ask you now, all of us; don’t let complicity in genocide be the reason democracy falls in America.

    What lessons can we learn from the Kent State Massacre?

    In the words of eyewitness Mike Alewitz writing in Counterpunch; “We were peacefully protesting the US invasion of Cambodia when the Ohio National Guard launched a teargas attack and then opened fire at us.

     67 shots in 13 seconds left our campus strewn with dead and wounded. Four dead in Ohio – nine wounded, one paralyzed for life.

     Ten days later, 75 Mississippi state police, armed with carbines, shotguns and submachine guns, fired 460 rounds into a dormitory at protesting students at Jackson State. The barrage left two dead and an unknown number of wounded.

     And in between, rarely noted, was the largest black uprising in a southern city during the civil rights era.

     On May 11, 1970, the black community in Augusta, Georgia rebelled, after the burned and tortured body of an incarcerated 16-year old retarded black youth was dumped by his jailers at a local hospital.

     The rebellion left six African-American men dead – all shot in the back.

     The invasion of Cambodia and killings at Kent sparked an unprecedented national student strike. Over 400 campuses were shut down and occupied by the students. Millions of people joined street demonstrations demanding an end to the war.

     1970 marked a turning point in history as the majority of GIs came to recognize that Washington had knowingly sent them to die in a war that was unwinnable. Our movement became so powerful that, along with the determined resistance of the Vietnamese people, we forced the government to withdraw from Southeast Asia.

     Ending the war, on the heels of the civil rights movement, was a tremendous victory for working people. The momentum gave rise to the rebirth of the women’s movement, the gay movement and other social movements that transformed the country.

     Today we face an unprecedented medical, ecological, social and economic crisis. We cannot continue to pour trillions of dollars into an insatiable war machine while healthcare workers go begging for masks. While our schools and restaurants are closed. While millions are unemployed. While lines at food pantries stretch for miles.

     The finances and resources of society must be changed to go towards healing our planet and ourselves. The memory of the martyrs of Kent and Jackson cries out for us to continue the struggle for which they gave their lives – to demand money for jobs and education, not for war; to put an end to all US wars and occupations and sanctions.”

    As described by Steve Early in Jacobin; “In May 1970, 4 million students went on strike across the country, shutting down classes at hundreds of colleges, universities, and high schools and demanding an end to the Vietnam War. Fifty years later, their rebellion remains an inspiration, as radical student politics is back on the agenda.

     Over the course of this unprecedented campus uprising, about two thousand students were arrested. After thirty buildings used by the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) were bombed or set on fire, heavily armed National Guards were deployed on twenty-one campuses in sixteen states.

     On May 4, at Kent State University in Ohio, Guard members fresh from policing a Teamster wildcat strike shot and killed four students and wounded nine. Ten days later, Mississippi State Police opened fire on a women’s dormitory at Jackson State University, killing two more students”.  

     “The strike across campuses revealed the power of collective action. Born out of the shutdown, there was an explosion of activity by hundreds of thousands of students not previously engaged in anti-war activity, creating major political tremors across the country, including helping to curtail military intervention in Southeast Asia.”

     “Nixon claimed to have a “secret plan” to bring peace to Vietnam and withdraw the five hundred thousand US troops still deployed there.

     Once unveiled, Nixon’s plan turned out to be “Vietnamization” — shifting the combat burden to troops loyal to the US-backed government in Saigon, while conducting massive bombing of targets throughout Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. By April 30, 1970, the United States was sending ground troops into Cambodia as well.

     Students at elite private institutions long associated with anti-war agitation were among the first to react. Protest strikes were quickly declared at Columbia, Princeton, Brandeis, and Yale, where many students had already voted to boycott class in support of the Black Panther Party, then on trial in New Haven.

     Meanwhile, a Friday night riot outside student bars in downtown Kent, Ohio, was followed by the burning of a Kent State ROTC building over the weekend. Ohio governor James Rhodes ordered a thousand National Guard troops to occupy the campus and prevent rallies of any kind.

     The Guard came geared with bayonets, tear gas grenades, shotguns, and M1s, a military rifle with long range and high velocity. Chasing a hostile but unarmed crowd of students across campus on May 4, one unit of weekend warriors suddenly wheeled and fired, killing four students.”

     “The deaths of Jeffrey Miller, Allison Krause, Sandy Scheuer, and Bill Schroeder had a powerful impact on hundreds of thousands of students at Kent State and beyond.”

     “The resulting calls for campus shutdowns came from every direction. Students at MIT tracked which schools were on strike for a National Strike Information Center operating at Brandeis nearby. Soon the list was ten feet long. Despite its initial association with militant protest, most strike activity was peaceful and legal. It consisted of student assemblies taking strike votes, and then further mass meetings, speeches and lectures, vigils and memorial services, plus endless informal “rapping” about politics and the war.

     The strike brought together a wide range of undergraduates, faculty members, and administrators — despite their past disagreements about on-campus protest activity. Thirty-four college and university presidents sent an open letter to Nixon calling for a speedy end to the war. The strike also united students from private and public colleges and local public high schools in working-class communities. On May 8, in Philadelphia, students from many different backgrounds and neighborhoods marched from five different directions to Independence Hall, where a crowd of one hundred thousand gathered outside. City high school attendance that day dropped to 10 percent, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.”

     “In a Boston Globe interview on the thirtieth anniversary of this upsurge, Isserman argued that it was “the product of unique circumstances that, not surprisingly, provoked outrage from a generation of students already accustomed to protest and demonstration. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see a movement quite like this again.”

     “Yet over the past two decades, college and high-school students have walked out again, across the country, in highly visible and coordinated fashion. In March 2003, they poured out of 350 schools to protest the impending US invasion of Iraq. Fifteen years later, about 1 million students at 3,000 schools walked out to join a seventeen-minute vigil organized in response to the mass shooting at Parkland High School in Florida. And just last September, hundreds of thousands of students left school to join rallies and marches organized as part of a Global Climate Strike.

     Universities and high schools are now experiencing a shutdown of their campuses, albeit of a very different kind. But when these institutions open back up, conditions will require a new set of political demands. A return to normal will not be good enough. When school is back in session, the history of a strike occurring after the shadow of death fell on campuses fifty years ago, thanks to Richard Nixon, may become more relevant to challenging “national policy”.

Crosby Stills Nash & Young – Ohio – (live audio 1970)

Remembering The Kent State Massacre | Morning Joe | MSNBC

National Geographic: Kent State Massacre

https://jacobinmag.com/2020/04/kent-state-shooting-vietnam-war-protest-student-organizing

49 Years After the Kent State Shootings, New Photos Are Revealed

https://time.com/5583301/kent-state-photos

WHERE THE NINE WOUNDED ARE NOW, Kent State Magazine

https://www.kent.edu/magazine/where-nine-wounded-are-now

After the Kent State Massacre, ‘Ohio’ Spoke to the Country

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/kent-state-massacre-neil-young-csny-ohio-history-992126

The Killings at Kent State: How Murder Went Unpunished, by I.F. Stone

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/703405.The_Killings_at_Kent_State

Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties, Thomas M. Grace

             Echoes of Kent State: News of Repression of the University Divestiture and Gaza Peace Protests and Occupations

We Columbia University students urge you to listen to our voices | Columbia College Student Council and Columbia Engineering Student Council

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/04/columbia-university-student-protest-gaza?CMP=share_btn_url

Crackdowns intensify on pro-Palestine campus protests as hundreds arrested

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/may/01/college-campus-palestine-protests-police

Police enter Columbia in apparent bid to break up student occupation

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/30/pro-palestinian-protesters-take-over-columbia-university-building

Police arrest more Gaza protesters at University of Texas-Austin

New Orleans police accused of excessive force as Gaza protesters arrested

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/29/new-orleans-protest-police?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2PMdqzv1_UzetGBbI2XwMu8yCiwqaKvbXxj00wirTDGwgCMEFJqYEATFo_aem_AYJCvBDeWlFdrlsiCoqJjUxVBH9i1B6SiSPn8sb_2S1Nn-u_V673oEIcNRPb-tZWkLxWpoXYjiaKsr2n9ImxxPmy

Columbia University is colluding with the far-right in its attack on students | Moira Donegan

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/19/far-right-columbia-university-student-arrests?CMP=share_btn_url

Protesting against slaughter – as students in the US are doing – isn’t antisemitism | Robert Reich

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/23/israel-gaza-campus-protests?CMP=share_btn_url

Stunning police brutality will ignite a student anti-war movement in America | Joan Donovan

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/29/police-brutality-university-protest?CMP=share_btn_url

Let us remember the last time students occupied Columbia University | Omar Barghouti, Tanaquil Jones, and Barbara Ransby

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/03/columbia-pro-palestinian-protest-south-africa-divestment?CMP=share_btn_url

Student encampments have the potential to strengthen US democracy | Jan-Werner Müller

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/04/university-encampment-democracy?CMP=share_btn_url

I teach democracy at Princeton. Student protesters are getting an education like no other | Razia Iqbal

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/article/2024/may/04/university-protests-democracy-faculty-princeton?CMP=share_btn_url

Like a war zone’: Emory University grapples with fallout from police response to protest

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/27/emory-university-georgia-police-campus-protests?CMP=share_btn_url

UCLA students describe violent attack on Gaza protest encampment: ‘It was terrifying’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/may/01/ucla-campus-violence-protests

‘They’re sending a message’: harsh police tactics questioned amid US campus protest crackdowns | US campus protests

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/04/police-tactics-us-campus-protest-crackdowns

Arabic

4 مايو 2024 ثمن السلام: ذكرى مذبحة ولاية كينت في ظل الإبادة الجماعية للفلسطينيين

      إننا نتذكر اليوم القمع المروع والقتل الجماعي الذي ارتكبته الشرطة والذي يعد من بين أكثر جرائم إرهاب الدولة وحشية وحماقة في تاريخ أمتنا، ولكننا نتذكر أيضًا المقاومة الشجاعة للطلاب في جميع أنحاء أمريكا ضد الحكومة التي كانت ولا تزال مرتكبة ظالمة وعنيفة. الجرائم ضد الإنسانية في الداخل والخارج.

     كان الإضراب الطلابي الوطني الذي أطلقته المذبحة بمثابة نقطة تحول في التدخل الأمريكي في فيتنام، ويظل نموذجًا للعمل الجماهيري حتى اليوم. الدرس الأساسي بسيط. لتوحيد الجميع، من جميع طبقات وطبقات المجتمع، في العمل ضد التهديد الوجودي، يجب أن يكون التهديد عالميًا وواضحًا ومباشرًا. إن مثل هذا الاحتجاج الجماهيري العالمي يتكشف الآن في ظل الإبادة الجماعية الإسرائيلية للفلسطينيين وأصداء وانعكاسات مذبحة ولاية كينت.

      إن حركة طلابية موازية من أجل السلام وسحب الاستثمارات تجتاح الآن أمتنا وعالمنا، وهي دعوة واضحة للتضامن مع المضطهدين في الإبادة الجماعية للفلسطينيين ومقتل الآلاف من الأطفال والمدنيين الذين تدفع ثمنهم ضرائبنا، كما فعلت حكومتنا والإبادة الجماعية. يتخلى جو عن أفكارنا حول حقوق الإنسان العالمية والدور التاريخي لأمريكا كدولة ضامنة لها، ومثل حركة السلام الجامعية لإنهاء حرب فيتنام لا تقابل بالاحتفال بحقوقنا في حرية التعبير والملكية المشتركة للدولة من قبل الجميع. مواطنيها، ليس مع رئيس ينضم إلى الاحتجاجات باعتباره بطل الديمقراطية وحقوق الإنسان العالمية، ولكن مع إرهاب الشرطة وقمع المعارضة.

      لقد خاننا قادتنا، وبالتخلي عن حقوقنا الإنسانية وحقوقنا كمواطنين، ربما يكون بايدن والحزب الديمقراطي قد سلموا الانتخابات المقبلة إلى ترامب والحزب الجمهوري الذي تتمثل مهمته في تخريب الديمقراطية واستبدالها بحكومة ثيوقراطية. طغيان الإرهاب الأبوي والعنصري الأبيض. لأنه إذا كنت ترعى وتأذن بالإبادة الجماعية، فلا أستطيع التصويت لك، وسوف أقاتلك؛ وفي هذا لست وحدي.

      إننا نواجه معضلة في هذا العام الانتخابي الحاسم، حيث الحرية أو الاستبداد على المحك ليس فقط بالنسبة لأمتنا ولكن للبشرية جمعاء وعلى مدى آلاف السنين القادمة. يجب علينا أن نخضع كلبنا من خلال المقاطعة وسحب الاستثمارات وفرض العقوبات على إسرائيل حتى تنتهي الإبادة الجماعية والاحتلال، ومعها نظام نتنياهو الاستيطاني القائم على التطهير العرقي والإرهاب الثيوقراطي. إذا لم نتمكن من ذلك، واخترنا بدلاً من ذلك التحالف وتحديد هوية أمتنا مرة أخرى من خلال الغزو والسيطرة الإمبراطورية، وإرهاب الدولة والطغيان، وتضحيات الآخرين التي تعيش في خدمة قوتنا، فإن أولئك منا الذين يتذكرون ما يعنيه أن تكون دولة يجب على الأميركي والإنساني أن يرفضوا التصويت لبايدن، أرضاً يفوز ترامب بالرئاسة؛ هذا هو الدافع الحقيقي لتدبير إسرائيل لمأساة 7 أكتوبر، بهدف مزدوج مع خلق سبب للحرب من أجل الحل النهائي للفلسطينيين وغزو الشرق الأوسط.

      أسألكم الآن جميعاً؛ لا تدع التواطؤ في الإبادة الجماعية يكون السبب وراء سقوط الديمقراطية في أمريكا.  

Hebrew

4 במאי 2024 מחיר השלום: יום השנה לטבח במדינת קנט בצל רצח העם של הפלסטינים

      היום אנו זוכרים את הדיכוי הנורא והרצח ההמוני על ידי המשטרה, שהם בין הפשעים האכזריים וחסרי ההיגיון של טרור המדינה בתולדות האומה שלנו, אבל גם את ההתנגדות האמיצה של סטודנטים ברחבי אמריקה לממשלה שהיתה ועדיין נותרה עבריין לא צודק ואלים של פשעים נגד האנושות הן בבית והן מחוצה לה.

     שביתת הסטודנטים הלאומית שהטבח חולל הייתה נקודת מפנה למעורבות האמריקנית בווייטנאם, והיא נותרה מודל לפעולה המונית כיום. הלקח העיקרי שלה הוא פשוט; כדי לאחד את כולם, מכל המעמדות והשכבות של החברה, בפעולה נגד איום קיומי האיום האמור חייב להיות אוניברסלי וכן ברור וישיר. מחאה המונית אוניברסלית כזו מתרחשת כעת בצל רצח העם הישראלי של הפלסטינים וההדים וההרהורים של הטבח במדינת קנט.

      תנועת סטודנטים מקבילה לשלום והסרה בולעת כעת את האומה שלנו ואת העולם שלנו, קריאה מובהקת לסולידריות עם המדוכאים ברצח העם של הפלסטינים ובמותם של אלפי ילדים ואזרחים המשולמים על ידי המסים שלנו, כממשלתנו ורצח העם. ג’ו נוטש את הרעיונות שלנו בדבר זכויות אדם אוניברסליות ותפקידה ההיסטורי של אמריקה כמדינה הערבית שלהם, וכמו תנועת השלום האוניברסיטאית לסיום מלחמת וייטנאם אינה זוכה לחגיגה של זכויות הביטוי שלנו והבעלות המשותפת על המדינה על ידי כולם של אזרחיה, לא עם נשיא שמצטרף להפגנות בתור אלוף הדמוקרטיה וזכויות האדם האוניברסליות שלנו, אלא עם טרור משטרתי ודיכוי התנגדות.

      המנהיגים שלנו בגדו בנו, ובנטישת זכויות האדם שלנו וזכויותינו כאזרחים, ייתכן שבידן והמפלגה הדמוקרטית העבירו את הבחירות הבאות לטראמפ ולמפלגה הרפובליקנית שמשימתן היא חבלה בדמוקרטיה והחלפתה בתאוקרטיה. עריצות של טרור פטריארכלי ולבן. כי אם אתה נותן חסות ותאשר רצח עם, אני לא יכול להצביע עבורך, ואני אלחם בך; ובזה אני רחוק מלהיות לבד.

      אנו נלכדים בקרנות של דילמה בשנת בחירות מכרעת זו, עם חירות או עריצות על כף המאזניים לא רק עבור האומה שלנו אלא עבור המין האנושי כולו ולאורך אלפי השנים הקרובות. עלינו להביא את הכלב שלנו לעקב באמצעות חרם, ביטול וסנקציה של ישראל עד לסיום רצח העם והכיבוש, ואיתו משטר המתנחלים נתניהו של טיהור אתני וטרור תיאוקרטי. אם איננו יכולים, ובמקום זאת בוחרים ליצור ברית ולזהות את האומה שלנו שוב עם כיבוש ושליטה אימפריאלית, טרור מדינה ועריצות, והקרבת חיים של אחרים בשירות לכוחנו, אלו מאיתנו שזוכרים מה זה אומר להיות אמריקאי ובן אנוש חייבים לסרב להצביע עבור ביידן, קרקע שטראמפ יזכה בנשיאות; זהו המניע האמיתי לתזמור של ישראל את הטרגדיה של 7 באוקטובר, במטרה כפולה עם יצירת קאזוס באלי לפתרון הסופי של הפלסטינים ולכיבוש המזרח התיכון.

      אני שואל אתכם עכשיו, כולנו; אל תתנו לשותפות ברצח עם להיות הסיבה שהדמוקרטיה נופלת באמריקה.                  

May 3 2024 A Sacred Calling to Pursue the Truth: On World Press Freedom Day

     On this thirty first World Press Freedom Day I call for the universal recognition of journalism as a sacred calling to pursue the truth which supercedes the rights of any state to authorize and enforce versions of it in service to power and identitarian politics, and for a United Humankind in solidarity as guarantors of each other’s universal rights, which include the Four Primary Duties of a Citizen; to Question Authority, Expose Authority, Mock Authority, and Challenge Authority, and to preserve the independence of the press and the transparency of all governments as institutions which must answer ultimately to their people.

     Freedom of the press and of information, the right to speak, write, teach, organize, research and publish in an environment of transparency of the state, along with rights of protest and strike, are instrumental to the agency of citizens and to the idea and meaningfulness of democracy.

     Any power or authority held by a government of any form is granted by its citizens or has been appropriated from them unjustly, and it is the highest principle of natural law as articulated in our Declaration of Independence that we may seize and reclaim it at any time it is held without our participation and co-ownership, or used against our general interests.

     True democracy as a free society of equals requires the four ideals of liberty, equality, truth, and justice, and one thing more; an engaged electorate of truth tellers who will hold our representatives and the institutions of our government responsible for enacting our values

     Like the role of a free press in the sacred calling to pursue the truth, the role of a citizen is to be a truth teller. Both serve Truth, and truth is necessary to the just balance of power between individuals which is the purpose of the state.

    As I wrote in my post of August 16 2020, Democracy, the Right of Free Speech Versus the Crime of Hate Speech, and the Principle of Open Debate;    To free ourselves of the ideas of other people; such is the essence of democracy. Conversely, the use of social force in marginalizing and silencing dissent is the definition of tyranny.

     Much talk of late has employed the term cancel culture to deflect and obscure the true issues involved with the disambiguation of free speech from hate speech and the role of open debate in a democracy; cancel culture is a figment used without sincerity to obfuscate loathsome acts of white supremacist and patriarchal sexual terror, incitement to violence and dehumanization.

     Conversely, antifascist action in defense of equality and our universal human rights such as platform denial and forms of peer ostracism and boycott are part of the free market of ideas and have no relation to silencing and erasure used by authoritarian tyrannies of force and control to subjugate a population and repress dissent, as exemplified by the Chinese Communist Party’s arrest of newspaperman Jimmy Lai in their campaign against democracy and truth in Hong Kong, the gruesome butchery of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia in their games of imperial dominion, the assassination of Palestinian witness of history Shireen Abu Aqleh by Israel in service to state terror and the Occupation, and countless others.

     The state is embodied violence.

      Against this we have only our loyalty to and solidarity with each other, our witness of history and the bond of our word, and our power of vision to reimagine and transform ourselves, our ways of being human with each other, and our future possibilities of becoming human. 

     But the values and issues which the phenomenon of repression of dissent raises are interesting, as they signpost the heart of what democracy means and our responsibility to others as well as our freedom from the ideas of others. Freedom from is as important as freedom to. 

     Democracy is reducible to a simple idea; the abandonment of social force and control in shaping others to our own image, in the authorization of identity, in our freedom of conscience, and from the establishment and policing of boundaries of the Forbidden.

     The autonomy of individuals takes precedence over all rights of authority and the state, which exists only to secure those rights which we cannot secure for ourselves. The state protects us from the tyranny of other people’s ideas of virtue; and others from our own.

     Any society or culture requires shared values and principles, agreements about things such as freedoms of and freedoms from, whether in systems of law and justice or as standards of courtesy. Democracy is unique in that it requires  rights of free access to information and the sharing of it, and freedoms from surveillance, censorship, and lies disguised as truths, but also requires for its functioning the tradition of open debate founded with our civilization in the Forum of Athens.

     Hate speech, which seeks to harm a class of persons, is the only exception to the right of free speech as parrhesia, the sacred calling to expose injustice, and the independence of journalism as a sacred calling to seek the truth, for hate speech dehumanizes others as a criminal theft of humanity, citizenship, and identity which violates our ideals of equality and liberty; hate speech is an act of tyranny and terror which is subversive to democracy as a free society of equals.

     To make an idea about a kind of people is a hate crime and an act of violence.

    I explored the implications of parrhesia and Foucault’s extension of this classical principle as truth telling in my post of May 27 2020, On Speaking Truth to Power as a Sacred Calling;  I found myself responding with candor to a conversation today in which a friend, a fearless champion of the marginalized and the wretched of the earth, the powerless and the dispossessed, the silenced and the erased, expressed fear of retribution in calling out the police as an institution of racist state force and control, thereby illustrating the mechanism of silencing on which unjust authority depends.

     Of course this was a preface for an act of Breaking the Silence; I did say they are my friend.   

     Here is the beginning of that conversation; “Today I’m going to do something stupid.

     On my Facebook and Twitter feeds I am going to express a viewpoint that I have long held to myself. A viewpoint I believed, if ever made public, would kneecap my dreams of a political career and public service.

    Today I realized my silence was just a vestige of my own internalized oppression and respectability politics, and f*** respectability. It has never, and will never, save us. So here goes: here’s why I am a #PoliceAbolitionist”

      What followed was a brilliant and multivoiced discussion of the role of police violence in white supremacist terror, as an army of occupation whose purpose is to enforce inequality and elite hierarchies of exclusionary otherness and to subvert the institutions and values of democracy, and of the use of social force in a free society of equals. This is among the most important issues we face today and questions some of the inherent contradictions of our form of government, of which George Washington said, “Government is about force; only force.”

     But this is only indirectly the subject on which I write today; far more primary and fundamental to the institution of a free press is the function of other people’s ideas of ourselves, of normality and respectability, in the silencing of dissent.

     To our subjugation by authorized identities, I reply with the Wicked Witch; I will fuck respectability with you, and their little dog normality too.     

     Authorized identities and boundaries of the Forbidden are about power, and we must call out the instruments of unequal power as we see them. Foucault called this truthtelling, and it is a crucial part of seizure of power and ownership of identity; always there remains the struggle between the masks others make for us and those we make for ourselves.

     Against state tyranny and terror, force and control, let us deploy parrhesia and the performance of our best selves as guerilla theatre. Go ahead; frighten the horses.

    Often have I referred to this key performative role in democracy as the Jester of King Lear, whose enactments of mockery and satire, the exposure and deflation of the mighty as revolutionary seizures of power which reclaim that which we the people have lent them when it is used unjustly, are necessary to maintain the balance of interests in a society in which government is co-owned equally by its citizens and has as its overriding purpose the securement of the freedom and autonomy of individuals and of their universal human rights.

     Without citizens who refuse to be silenced and controlled by authority, democracy becomes meaningless.

     So with my arts of rhetoric and poetry as truthtelling, and with my praxis of democracy in my daily journal here at Torch of Liberty; to incite, provoke, and disturb.

     For democracy requires a participatory electorate willing to speak truth to power. 

     To all those who defy and challenge unjust authority; I will stand with you, and I ask that all of us do the same.

     As written by Jonathan Watts in The Guardian, in an article entitled Across the world, journalists are under threat for sharing the truth: Last year was the most dangerous to be a reporter since 2015. Without the courage of correspondents risking everything to report from conflict areas, we could be at risk of ‘zones of silence’ spreading around the world; “Conflict in Gaza, war in Ukraine, a battle over the global environment – the world is becoming an increasingly hostile place, particularly for frontline journalists.

     Last year saw 99 killings of reporters, up 44% on 2022 and the highest toll since 2015.

     Without the courage of correspondents to continue working in conflict areas, press organisations warn the world will start to see “zones of silence”, where the risks are so great that important stories go unreported.

     Last year’s high toll was almost entirely due to Gaza, where a Guardian editorial noted “no war has killed so many journalists so quickly”.

     The vast majority are Palestinian reporters who, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, appear to have been targeted by Israeli forces. The Guardian was among more than 30 news organisations that signed an open letter expressing solidarity with journalists working in Gaza and calling for their protection and freedom to report.

     This is much more than a matter of principle; solidarity is a matter of survival. Over the years, Guardian reporters have been kidnapped in Iraq and Afghanistan, beaten in Pakistan, expelled from Russia, and arrested in Egypt, Zimbabwe and China.

     The search for the truth can come at a horrific cost.

     Two years ago, a regular Guardian contributor, Dom Phillips, was murdered in the Brazilian Amazon, with the Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. On the first anniversary of the killings last year, the Guardian joined an international collaboration to amplify their work.

     A group of Dom’s journalist friends, including myself, are also working on a crowdfunded project to finish the book that he was working on at the time of his death: How to Save the Amazon: Ask the People Who Know. It will be published next year.

     Reporting on the war against nature might generate fewer headlines than Gaza or Ukraine, but it is also high risk with little legal protection. The number of environmental journalists being attacked or killed is rising and it continues to be one of the most dangerous fields of journalism after war reporting. Though the trend is accelerating, prosecutions remain dismally low, with very few cases leading to convictions.

     Instead, the law appears to be increasingly used against journalists. One of the most disturbing trends in recent years has been the arrests or police harassment of journalists covering environmental protests. This has stirred outrage in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Canada, Australia, Azerbaijan, the US and China, which is consistently the biggest jailer of reporters.

     But huge challenges remain for the media in general.

     Throughout this week we will be marking Friday’s World Press Freedom Day with a series of articles about different threats posed to all types of reporters, from those working in exile and still facing threats from their home states, to environmental journalists facing up to violence and censorship as well as female journalists being targeted because of their sex. We want to use our platform to highlight the work they are doing, often in incredibly dangerous circumstances.

     The risks may be growing, and the space to operate may be increasingly constrained, but we are more determined than ever to tell the stories of our age so that you, the readers, have the information to act as voters, citizens, consumers and participants in the web of life on Earth.”

    Where can we look for a model free press, even one beset by catch and kill journalism as election interference, propaganda and falsification from every angle, hate speech disguised as free speech, and the erosion of truth and meaningful public debate? When most of our world is enslaved by tyrannies who enforce state power with brutal repression, there are few where one can mock a ruler and be met with humor and on equal terms by the ruler himself.

    Here follows the speech of President Biden at the 2023 White House Correspondent’s Dinner; “Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Steve, for that introduction. And a special thanks to the 42% of you who actually applauded.

     I’m really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than I have. That’s hard to say after what we just saw.

     This is the first time a president attended this dinner in six years. It’s understandable. We had a horrible plague followed by two years of Covid.

Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year. Now, that would really have been a real coup if that occurred. A little tough, huh?

     But I’m honored to be here at such an event with so much history.

As already referenced, the very first president to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was Calvin Coolidge in 1924. I had just been elected to the United States Senate. And I reme — I remember telling him, “Cal, just be yourself. Get up there and speak from the heart. You’re going to be great, kid. You’re going to do it well.”

     Of course, Jill is with me tonight. Jilly, how are you, kid? I think — I think she’s doing an incredible job as first lady. The first lady to continue working full-time, and she does as a professor.

     She doesn’t pay much attention to the polls, though she did say the other day: Instead of introducing myself as Jill Biden’s husband, maybe I should introduce myself as her roommate.

     I’ve attended this dinner many times, but this is my first time as president. And the organizers had — had it hard — made it pretty hard for me tonight. Although the good news is, if all goes well, I have a real shot at replacing James Corden.

     It was great having him over at the White House the other day, just as he announced he’s leaving the show. A great performer is going out on top after eight years in the job. Sounds just about right to me.

     And it’s tough to follow pros like James and Billy Eichner. Billy, where are you again? Do you — where is he?

     Well, Billy, you’re famous for interviewing — your interviewing skills. Billy, you should know what you’re doing, pal. You know it, you know it well. And you should — I think — you should host “Meet the Press.” Maybe they’ll start to watch it again.

     I’ve never had — never had to — I’ve never had to open — I’ll never be — I’ll never be invited to “Meet the Press” again. Anyway.

     I’ve never had to open before Trevor Noah. Trevor is great. When I was elected, he did a show and he called me “America’s new dad.” Let me tell you something, pal: I’m flattered anybody would call me a “new” anything. You’re my guy.

     And, folks, it’s been a tough few years for the country. That’s one reason why it’s great to be here again.

     Everyone at the White House is so excited. I told my grandkids and Pete Buttigieg they could stay up late and watch this show tonight.

     Tonight — tonight we come here and answer a very important question on everybody’s mind: Why in the hell are we still doing this?

     I know there are — I know there are questions about whether we should gather here tonight because of Covid. Well, we’re here to show the country that we’re getting through this pandemic. Plus, everyone had to prove they were fully vaccinated and boosted.

     So, if you’re at home watching this and you’re wondering how to do that, just contact your favorite Fox News reporter. They’re all here, vaccinated and boosted — all of them.

     And, look, Fox — Fox News, I’m — I’m really sorry your preferred candidate lost the last election. To make it up to you, I’m happy to give my chief of staff to you all so he can tell Sean Hannity what to say every day.

     In fact, Ron Klain is here at the CBS table, which hired Mick Mulvaney. Mick, on CBS? I was stunned. I figured he’d end up on “The Masked Singer” with Rudy.

Amazing hire, guys. Really quite amazing.

     Look, I know this is a tough town. I came to office with an ambitious agenda, and I expected it to face stiff opposition in the Senate. I just hoped it would be from Republicans.

     But I’m not worried about the midterms. I’m not worried about them. We may end up with more partisan gridlock, but I’m confident we can work it out during my remaining six years in the presidency.

     And, folks, I’m not really here to roast the GOP. That’s not my style. Besides, there’s nothing I can say about the GOP that Kevin McCarthy hasn’t already put on tape.

     And, you know, at the same — at the same time, a lot of people say the Republican Party is too extreme, too divisive, too controlled by one person. They say, “It’s not your father’s Republican Party.”

     Ronald Reagan said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear this wall down.” Today’s Republicans say, “Tear down Mickey Mouse’s house.” And pretty soon, they’ll be storming Cinderella’s castle, you can be sure of it.

     But Republicans seem to support one fella — some guy named Brandon. He’s having a really good year, and I’m kind of happy for him.

     Let me conclude with a serious word.

     We live in serious times. We’re coming through a devastating pandemic, and we have to stay vigilant. I know Kamala wanted to be here, for example, and thankfully she’s doing well. You should all know she sends her best.

     We’re in a time when what we so long have taken for granted is facing the gravest of threats. And I’m being deadly earnest.

     Overseas, the liberal world order that laid the foundation for global peace, stability and prosperity since World War II is genuinely, seriously under assault.

And at home, a poison is running through our democracy of all — all of this taking place with disinformation massively on the rise, where the truth is buried by lies and the lies live on as truth.

     What’s clear — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart — that you, the free press, matter more than you ever did in the last century. No, I really mean it.

     I’ve always believed that good journalism holds up a mirror to ourselves, to reflect on the good, the bad and the true. Tonight, I want to congratulate the awardees and the scholarship winners who carry on that sacred tradition.

We’ve all seen the courage of the Ukrainian people because of the courage of American reporters in this room and your colleagues across the world, who are on the ground, taking their lives in their own hands.

     We just — we just saw a heartbreaking video: Nine have been killed reporting from Kyiv — struck by a kamikaze drone strike after a shopping mall attack; shot in the neck while decounci- [sic] — while — while documenting Ukrainians fleeing; killed when Russian missiles hit the television tower in a residential neighborhood. One journalist from Radio Liberty just killed days ago.

     So many of you telling the stories and taking the photos and recording the videos of what’s happening there, the unvarnished truth shown — showing the — the destruction and the devastation and, yes, the war crimes.

     Tonight, we also honor the legacy of two historic reporters, and that is Alice Dunnigan and Ethel Payne. I’m glad you saw that tonight. I didn’t know you were doing that. These are the first Black women to be White House reporters, who shattered convention to cover a segregated nation.

     We honor journalists killed, missing, imprisoned, detained and tortured; covering war, exposing corruption and holding leaders accountable.

     We honor members of the press, both national and local, covering a once-in-a-century pandemic where we lost a million Americans, a generation reckoning on race and the existential threat of climate change.

     The free press is not the enemy of the people — far from it. At your best, you’re guardians of the truth.

     President Kennedy once said, and I quote, “Without debate, without criticism, no administration, no country can succeed, and no republic can survive.”

     The First Amendment grants a free press extraordinary protection, but with it comes, as many of you know, a very heavy obligation: to seek the truth as best you can — not to inflame or entertain, but to illuminate and educate.

I know it’s tough. And I’m not being solicitous. The industry is changing significantly.

     There’s incredible pressure on you all to deliver heat instead of shed light, because the technology is changing so much, the system is changing. But it matters. No kidding. It matters. The truth matters.

     American democracy is not a reality show. It’s not a reality show. It’s reality itself. And the reality is that we are a great country.

     Our future is bright. It’s not guaranteed, because democracy is never guaranteed. It has to be earned. It has to be defended. It has to be protected.

     As you’ve heard me say many times: There’s not a damn thing this country can’t do when we stand united and do it together. And I know we can do anything we want to do that’s right.

     I’ve been around a long time, as has been pointed out many times tonight. But I give you my word as a Biden: I’ve never been more optimistic about America than I am today. I really mean it.

     At times of enormous change, it presents enormous opportunities. For despite all the crises, all the partisanship, all the shouting and the showmanship,

I really know this and you know it too: We are a great nation because we’re basically a good people.

     And here in America, good journalism, good satire about our leaders, about our society is quintessentially an American thing. It demonstrates the power of our example.

     And I, honest to God, believe it reveals our soul — the soul of our nation. And that’s what I’d like to toast tonight, if I may.

(The President offers a toast.)

     To the journalists and their families, to the people and their elected representatives, to the United States of America.

     And by the way, Madeleine Albright was right: We are the indispensable nation.

     Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to turn this over to Trevor now, strap myself into my seat.

     And, Trevor, the really good news is: Now you get to roast the President of the United States and, unlike in Moscow, you won’t go to jail.

     The podium is yours.”

      As written by Margaret Sullivan in The Guardian, in an article entitled When journalists are persecuted, we all suffer; “Jodie Ginsberg remembers an important lesson from her decade as a Reuters foreign correspondent and bureau chief: there simply is no substitute for being at the scene.

     “The first and most important source is what journalists see in front of them – their ability to give a firsthand, eyewitness account,” says Ginsberg, now the president of Committee to Protect Journalists, the non-profit advocacy organization based in New York City.

     A memorable case in point was how two Associated Press journalists last year were able to tell what was happening on the ground in Mariupol, Ukraine. As a Russian siege largely destroyed the city, children’s bodies filled mass graves and shells demolished a maternity hospital, but Russian officials tried to deny it and called the horror stories nothing but fiction.

     “The Russians said this was all a fake, but the AP journalists at the scene were able to say no, and tell the real story,” Ginsberg said. One of them, Yevgeny Maloletka, took an unforgettable photograph, seen on front pages around the world, of an injured pregnant woman being carried on a gurney from the bombed-out hospital by emergency workers; her baby was born dead and she died soon afterwards.

     But with journalists threatened with harassment, danger and even imprisonment around the world, that crucial ability to report on the ground – to get the invaluable eyewitness account – has been sorely diminished.

     The situation is dire; as democracy declines worldwide, there are more journalists in prison now than at any time since the CPJ began keeping track. The organization’s annual prison census showed 363 reporters in prison at the end of last year – an increase of 20% from the previous year, with the most journalists jailed in Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey and Belarus.

     This ugly trend means less on-the-ground reporting – not only by the imprisoned journalists but by many others who flee conflict zones or are forced to censor themselves in order to avoid the growing dangers.

     When the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in late March on false espionage charges in Russia – he remains imprisoned – many western journalists finally fled the country joining those who had left months earlier. The threats had simply become untenable.

     “Evan’s arrest sends a powerful message to other journalists – that you may face something similar,” Ginsberg told me. “That has a chilling effect on reporting, which is the aim of the repressive governments doing this kind of harassment and imprisonment. It is meant to silence journalists.”

      No longer is it just war correspondents who face extreme danger. These days, the dominance of authoritarian governments around the world make life hazardous for all kinds of journalists. Local and regional reporters around the world may bear the brunt most, partly because they don’t have the protection and legal resources of large news organizations.

      In addition to the countries named above, Ginsberg said that Mexico, Haiti, Russia and parts of Latin and South America are particularly difficult places for journalists to do their work now.

      Concerned people can help. They can show they care about journalism by subscribing to news organizations or donating to free-speech and press-rights organizations including CPJ, Pen America and Reporters Without Borders.

     And perhaps most important of all, they can keep jailed journalists in mind, and keep their plight in the public consciousness. That goes for Austin Tice, a freelance journalist who went missing in Syria in 2012 and is believed to be a captive of the Syrian government. It goes for Gershkovich, of course, and for the hundreds of lesser known reporters who are threatened or jailed around the world.

     It was encouraging to hear Joe Biden bring up Tice and Gershkovich at the White House correspondents’ dinner last weekend in Washington DC. He spoke of Evan’s “absolute courage”, and said US officials are working every day to bring him home.

     “Our message is this,” Biden added. “Journalism is not a crime.”

     Not only is journalism not a crime, it’s a necessity – one that’s becoming harder than ever to carry out with every passing month.

     That’s not only terrible for those directly involved. It also hurts everyone who cares about the truth.”

     As written last year by Oliver Holmes in The Guardian, in an article entitled Media freedom in dire state in record number of countries, report finds: World Press Freedom Index report warns disinformation and AI pose mounting threats to journalism; “Media freedom is in dire health in a record number of countries, according to the latest annual snapshot, which warns that disinformation, propaganda and artificial intelligence pose mounting threats to journalism.

     The World Press Freedom Index revealed a shocking slide, with an unprecedented 31 countries deemed to be in a “very serious situation”, the lowest ranking in the report, up from 21 just two years ago.

     Increased aggressiveness from autocratic governments – and some that are considered democratic – coupled with “massive disinformation or propaganda campaigns” has caused the situation to go from bad to worse, according to the list, released by the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

     “There is more red on the RSF map this year than ever before, as authoritarian leaders become increasingly bold in their attempts to silence the press,” the RSF secretary general, Christophe Deloire, told the Guardian. “The international community needs to wake up to reality, and act together, decisively and fast, to reverse this dangerous trend.”

     Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary of the first World Press Freedom Day, which was created to remind governments of their duty to uphold freedom of expression. However, the environment for journalism today is considered “bad” in seven out of 10 countries, and satisfactory in only three out of 10, according to RSF. The UN says 85% of people live in countries where media freedom has declined in the past five years.

     The survey assesses the state of the media in 180 countries and territories, looking at the ability of journalists to publish news in the public interest without interference andwithout threats to their own safety.

     It shows rapid technological advances are allowing governments and political actors to distort reality, and fake content is easier to publish than ever before.

     “The difference is being blurred between true and false, real and artificial, facts and artifices, jeopardising the right to information,” the report said. “The unprecedented ability to tamper with content is being used to undermine those who embody quality journalism and weaken journalism itself.”

     Artificial intelligence was “wreaking further havoc on the media world”, the report said, with AI tools “digesting content and regurgitating it in the form of syntheses that flout the principles of rigour and reliability”.

     This is not just written AI content but visual, too. High-definition images that appear to show real people can be generated in seconds.

     At the same time, governments are increasingly fighting a propaganda war. Russia, which already plummeted in the rankings last year after the invasion of Ukraine, dropped another nine places, as state media slavishly parrots the Kremlin line while opposition outlets are driven into exile. Last month, Moscow arrested the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first US journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the cold war.

     Meanwhile, three countries: Tajikistan, India and Turkey, dropped from being in a “problematic situation” into the lowest category. India has been in particularly sharp decline, sinking 11 places to 161 after media takeovers by oligarchs close to Narendra Modi. The Indian press used to be seen as fairly progressive, but things changed radically after the Hindu nationalist prime minister took over. This year, the BBC was raided by the country’s financial crimes agency in a move widely condemned as an act of intimidation after a BBC documentary was critical of Modi.

     In Turkey, the administration of the hardline president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had stepped up its persecution of journalists in the run-up to elections scheduled for 14 May, RSF said. Turkey jails more journalists than any other democracy.

     Some of the 2023 index’s biggest falls were in Africa. Until recently a regional model, Senegal fell 31 places, mainly because of criminal charges brought against two journalists, Pape Alé Niang and Pape Ndiaye. Tunisia fell 27 places as a result of President Kais Saied’s growing authoritarianism.

      The Middle East is the world’s most dangerous region for journalists. But the Americas no longer have any country coloured green, meaning “good”, on the press freedom map. The US fell three places to 45th. The Asia Pacific region is dragged down by regimes hostile to reporters, such as Myanmar (173rd) and Afghanistan (152nd).

     “We are witnessing worrying trends, but the big question is if these trends are a hiccup or a sign of a world going backwards,” said Guilherme Canela, the global lead on freedom of speech at Unesco. “Physical attacks, digital attacks, the economic situation, and regulatory tightening: we are facing a perfect storm.”

     A separate Unesco report released on Wednesday said healthy freedom of expression helped many other fundamental rights to flourish.

     Nordic countries have long topped the RSF rankings, and Norway stayed in first place in the press freedom index for the seventh year running. But a non-Nordic country was ranked second: Ireland. The Netherlands returned to the top 10, rising 22 places, following the 2021 murder of the crime reporter Peter R de Vries. The UK was listed at 26.

     The western world’s media landscape remains mixed, according to RSF and other press freedom groups, with political and financial pressures. In the first quarter of this year, news media job cuts in the UK and North America ran at a rate of 1,000 jobs a month, a Press Gazette analysis found.

     Last week, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists released a report warning against complacency in the EU, which has traditionally been considered among the world’s safest and freest places for journalists.

     The group expressed concern about rising populism and illiberal governments such as in Hungary and Poland trampling on the rule of law, including press freedom. The Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the Slovakian journalist Ján Kuciak had been murdered in connection with their work.”

     As written by Kelly Walls in The Guardian, in an article entitled Trust, diversity and independence: three key elements for a thriving press:  Newspapers’ power is being eroded and disinformation is rife – but there is a way forward; “Our understanding of the world is driven by information. It feeds our ability to make informed decisions about our lives, our communities, the way we’re governed. This fundamental freedom, the power to be able to access reliable information, sits at the heart of a thriving democratic society.

     But increasingly that power is being eroded. Indeed, some never had it to begin with. Press freedom is being threatened, compromised and denied in an increasing number of countries around the world.

     In parallel, trust in news among the general public is declining. Financial pressures are multiplying. And for every technological advancement to counter disinformation, there is another that can more effectively spread it.

     As the Nobel laureate Maria Ressa put it recently: “This is not a content problem, it isn’t a freedom of speech problem, it is a distribution problem. It is the fact that by design, lies are distributed faster and further than facts.”

     Ahead of the 30th anniversary this week of World Press Freedom Day, it is becoming clearer than ever that three things have to happen to assure a future for media organisations.

    The first is financial independence. The Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) say that media can only be truly independent if there are no financial strings. They created Plūrālis for this reason, a blended funding model that combines philanthropic and commercial capital to make interventions when media are most vulnerable, acting as a shield against capture from governments or individuals who seek to compromise their editorial independence. “A new approach was needed and this was an experiment, but it really could be a model for the future,” their chief strategy officer, Patrice Schneider, said.

     But beyond philanthropic grants and investment, ultimately media organisations strive to be self-sustaining. To that end, more are turning to membership and reader revenue models. In a world where so much information is available for free, to persuade a reader to voluntarily pay for news is tough. It relies on an exchange of value and trust.

     In recent months, the Guardian Foundation team, in collaboration with our colleagues at the Guardian, have worked with the Kyiv Independent, Holod, Telex and +972, to exchange knowledge, skills and tactics. The hope is that if we can share with young, vibrant, independent startups what is working for others, they will flourish in parts of the world that desperately need them.

     Zakhar Protsiuk, chief operating officer of the Kyiv Independent, said the mentorship “gave us practical advice that we could act on quickly. One tip resulted in an increase of more than 150% in reader support that week.”

      They went on to achieve their goal of 10,000 members. At the recent International Journalism festival, editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko reflected on their broader journey over the last 18 months: “We just hope that other media can draw from our success and that this isn’t just something for us.” This is key: a community of independent media who are working together in solidarity, not competition.

     The second vital factor is plurality of voice and agency. News organisations must include diverse perspectives and reporting by journalists from a broad range of backgrounds. If certain communities are excluded or misrepresented in the news coverage they see, then trust is lost. To combat this effectively, the barriers to entry and progression in the industry must be broken, alongside the recognition that more inclusive and representative news organisations create better journalism and engage the audiences they seek to serve in a more successful way.

     The third crucial element is news literacy. If the long-term sustainability of news organisations relies, at least in part, on people willing to pay for it, then audiences who can seek out, value and trust those organisations must exist. A report by Impress, based on research by the universities of Leeds and Derby, found a link between lack of trust in journalism and low levels of news literacy among the UK population.

     Without educating audiences to critically evaluate sources and discern reliable information, trust cannot be built. Without trust, news has no value, meaning readers won’t pay for it, news organisations won’t be viable and public access to fact-based journalism will decrease. With that, our ability to make informed decisions and hold power to account is weakened.

     Thankfully, news and media literacy is gaining more support, being seen as a vital part of the journalism ecosystem and an underpinning of democracy.

     So as World Press Freedom Day approaches, while we must recognise the very real threats, let’s also take a moment to look forward with some hope for a society in which people can find and use their power to participate, influence and act.”

Across the world, journalists are under threat for sharing the truth | Jonathan Watts

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/30/across-the-world-journalists-are-under-threat-for-sharing-the-truth?CMP=share_btn_url

Attacks on press freedom around the world are intensifying, index reveals

https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/may/03/attacks-on-press-freedom-around-the-world-are-intensifying-index-reveals?CMP=share_btn_url

The tragic history of journalists killed in the U.S. for doing their job

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-tragic-history-of-journalists-killed-in-the-u-s-for-doing-their-job

‘I decided to not let anybody silence my voice’: the journalists in exile but still at risk

https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2024/may/03/i-decided-to-not-let-anybody-silence-my-voice-the-journalists-in-exile-but-still-at-risk?CMP=share_btn_url

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/full-speech-biden-gives-remarks-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner/vi-AAWOGR7

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/03/world/women-journalists-press-freedom-online-violence-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/01/politics/transcript-joe-biden-white-house-correspondents-dinner/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/03/media-freedom-in-dire-state-in-record-number-of-countries-report-finds

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/03/evan-gershkovich-journalists-persecuted-world-press-freedom-day?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/01/trust-diversity-independence-press-newspapers

        Freedom of the Press and Journalism as a sacred calling in pursuit of truth, a reading list

Discourse and Truth: The Problematization of Parrhesia, by Michel Foucault

The Trial of Socrates, by I.F. Stone

Manufacturing Consent : The Political Economy of the Mass Media, Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12617.Manufacturing_Consent?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_21

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, Jonathan Rauch

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54616040-the-constitution-of-knowledge?ref=rae_2

Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Free Press for a New Century, Lee C. Bollinger

Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship in the West, from the Ancients to Fake News, Eric Berkowitz

Truth in Our Times: Inside the Fight for Press Freedom in the Age of Alternative Facts, David E. McCraw

The Idea of a Free Press: The Enlightenment and Its Unruly Legacy, David A. Copeland, Daniel Schorr (Foreword)

April 27 2024 This Passover, Stand Against Genocide. This Passover, Stand With the Children: the Passover Peace and Divestiture Protests and Occupations

      Throughout America and the world courageous students protest and occupy their universities in refusal to be silenced or made complicit in genocide, either by institutional profiteering on crimes against humanity through investments or by state sponsorship of war, tyranny, and terror..

     Much of this rage is directed at Genocide Joe, who has betrayed us and abandoned our ideals of universal human rights as our tax dollars buy the deaths of children and their families in Israel’s Gaza War and imperial conquest of her neighbors.

     But American complicity in Israeli war crimes and state terror and tyranny did not begin with Biden’s sock puppet Netanyahu in games of imperial dominion with Iran and Russia; it began generations ago in the wake of the Holocaust at the founding of the nation which was intended to protect us all from fascism, and has now has come round to become all that it once feared, reproducing the conditions of Auschwitz and the concentration camps throughout Israel itself and wherever its power can reach.

    Tonight at the White House Correspondent’s Ball the tyrant himself and his apologists of genocide and dehumanization will laugh and roast each other with clever jibes, while in Gaza real human beings will roast in cities become vast crematoriums.

      In the words of the magnificent character of Lt Aldo Raine in Inglorious Basterds; “I can’t abide it. Can you abide it?”

                Hope and a Prayer

      This Passover, stand against genocide.

      This Passover, stand with the children.

      This Passover, turn not the Stranger from your door.

      This Passover, chose love and not fear.

Can You Abide It? Inglorious Basterds final scene

Bernie Calls Out Netanyahu On Genocide

     (In stark contrast with Genocide Joe, here is an American politician with heart, moral vision, and the courage to speak truth to power. Who will stand with us?)

Sanders hits back at Netanyahu: ‘It is not antisemitic to hold you accountable’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/27/bernie-sanders-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-gaza-war?CMP=share_btn_url

A new generation at UC Berkeley pitches its tents

     (I was nine years old, holding my mother’s hand in the front line of the divestiture protest against the Occupation of Palestine when Reagan ordered the police to open fire on the students on Bloody Thursday May 15 1969 in People’s Park Berkeley, the most terrible incident of state terror in American history since Wounded Knee.

     Fifty five years, and we have learned nothing, changed nothing. There is but one rule in American politics; nobody messes with the grift.)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/27/university-california-berkeley-palestine-protest?CMP=share_btn_url

US faculty speak up and stand alongside student Gaza protesters

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/27/us-faculty-university-students-campus-protests-gaza?CMP

Open Letter to College and University Presidents on Student Protests | ACLU

Four students on why they’re protesting against war in Gaza: ‘Injustice should not be accepted’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/26/college-protests-israel-gaza?CMP

Columbia University calls for inquiry into leadership as student protests sweep 40 campuses

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/26/pro-palestinian-protests-college-campuses?CMP=share_btn_url

Chaotic and thrilling: Columbia’s radio station is live from the student protests

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/26/columbia-protests-student-reporters-radio-station-wkcr?CMP

Hebrew

7 באפריל 2024 בפסח הזה, עמוד נגד רצח עם. בפסח הזה, עמוד עם הילדים: מחאות ועיסוקים של שלום פסח והסרה

       ברחבי אמריקה והעולם סטודנטים אמיצים מוחים וכובשים את האוניברסיטאות שלהם בסירוב להשתיק או להיות שותפים לרצח עם, אם על ידי רווח ממוסד על פשעים נגד האנושות באמצעות השקעות או על ידי חסות מדינה למלחמה, עריצות וטרור.

      חלק גדול מהזעם הזה מופנה לרצח העם ג’ו, שבגד בנו ונטש את האידיאלים שלנו לגבי זכויות אדם אוניברסליות, כאשר כספי המס שלנו קונים את מותם של ילדים ומשפחותיהם במלחמת עזה של ישראל ובכיבוש האימפריאלי של שכנותיה.

      אבל שותפות אמריקאית בפשעי מלחמה ישראלים ובטרור המדינה ועריצות לא התחילה עם בובת הגרב של ביידן נתניהו במשחקי שליטה אימפריאלית עם איראן ורוסיה; זה התחיל לפני דורות בעקבות השואה עם הקמת האומה שנועדה להגן על כולנו מפני הפשיזם, וכעת הפך לכל מה שפחדה ממנו פעם, משחזר את תנאי אושוויץ ומחנות הריכוז לאורך כל הדרך. ישראל עצמה ולכל מקום שכוחה יכול להגיע.

     הערב בנשף הכתב של הבית הלבן, העריץ עצמו ומתנצליו על רצח עם ודה-הומניזציה יצחקו ויצלו זה את זה בג’יבס חכם, בעוד שבעזה בני אדם אמיתיים יצלו בערים יהפכו למשרפות עצומות.

       במילותיה של דמותו המפוארת של סגן אלדו ריין ב-Inglory Basterds; “אני לא יכול לעמוד בזה. אתה יכול לעמוד בזה?”

       בפסח הזה, עמוד נגד רצח עם.

       בפסח הזה, עמדו עם הילדים.

       בפסח הזה, אל תפנו את הזר מדלתכם.

       פסח זה, בחר באהבה ולא בפחד.

Arabic

27 أبريل 2024 في عيد الفصح هذا، قف ضد الإبادة الجماعية. في عيد الفصح هذا، قف مع الأطفال: سلام عيد الفصح واحتجاجات الاحتلال وسحب الاستثمارات

       في جميع أنحاء أمريكا والعالم يحتج الطلاب الشجعان ويحتلون جامعاتهم رفضًا لإسكاتهم أو جعلهم متواطئين في الإبادة الجماعية، إما عن طريق التربح المؤسسي من الجرائم ضد الإنسانية من خلال الاستثمارات أو عن طريق رعاية الدولة للحرب والطغيان والإرهاب.

      إن قسماً كبيراً من هذا الغضب موجه نحو منظمة الإبادة الجماعية جو، التي خانتنا وتخلت عن مُثُلنا بشأن حقوق الإنسان العالمية، بينما تشتري دولارات ضرائبنا وفاة الأطفال وأسرهم في حرب إسرائيل على غزة والغزو الإمبراطوري لجيرانها.

      لكن التواطؤ الأميركي في جرائم الحرب الإسرائيلية وإرهاب الدولة وطغيانها لم يبدأ مع نتنياهو، دمية بايدن، في ألعاب الهيمنة الإمبريالية مع إيران وروسيا؛ لقد بدأت منذ أجيال في أعقاب الهولوكوست عند تأسيس الأمة التي كان الهدف منها حمايتنا جميعًا من الفاشية، وقد أصبحت الآن كل ما كانت تخشاه ذات يوم، وتعيد إنتاج ظروف أوشفيتز ومعسكرات الاعتقال في جميع أنحاء العالم. إسرائيل نفسها وأينما يمكن أن تصل قوتها.

     الليلة في حفلة مراسلي البيت الأبيض، سوف يضحك الطاغية نفسه والمدافعون عنه عن الإبادة الجماعية والتجريد من الإنسانية ويشوون بعضهم البعض بسخرية ذكية، بينما في غزة، سيتم شواء البشر الحقيقيين في المدن ليصبحوا محارق جثث ضخمة.

       على حد تعبير الشخصية الرائعة للملازم ألدو رين في فيلم Inglorious Basterds؛ “لا أستطيع تحمل ذلك. هل يمكنك تحمل ذلك؟”

       في عيد الفصح هذا، قفوا ضد الإبادة الجماعية.

       في هذا الفصح، قفوا مع الأطفال.

       في هذا الفصح، لا تُخرج الغريب من بابك.

       هذا الفصح اختار المحبة وليس الخوف.

April 24 2024 An Irish Song of Liberty: the 1916 Easter Rebellion

     The beauty and grandeur of anticolonial resistance and liberation struggle unto death, against impossible odds, and of solidarity in action which affirms our humanity under tyranny and state terror as imposed conditions of struggle; the 1916 Easter Uprising speaks to us of resilience and the limitless capacity of humankind to overcome unequal systems of power by refusal to submit.

     Here is a kind of victory which cannot be taken from us, and like Dorothy’s Magic Ruby Slippers bears the power to send us home and confer ownership of ourselves and realization of those truths written in our flesh.

     The 1916 Easter Uprising was both tragic and glorious; tragic because it was answered not with brotherhood and solidarity by the English people as a united front with the Irish against systemic oppression versus divisions of language, faith, history, and national identity weaponized for centuries by the British Empire in service to power, but by forces of reaction and the Occupation. Glorious, because the Uprising was a Defining Moment which turned the tide of history and created the Republic of Ireland as a sovereign and independent nation, and because the Irish people fought on beyond hope of victory or survival.

      This is where freedom is born.  In the words of Max Stirner; “Freedom cannot be granted; it must be seized.”

     As I wrote in my post of February 8 2020, Hope for the Union of Ireland: Sinn Fein Wins a Place at the Table; Today we celebrate with triumphant joy the electoral victory of Sinn Fein, the Irish party of liberation and social justice, which puts Union back on the table, the glorious dream of freedom from the colonial imperialist tyranny of England, which squats like a toad of foulness on the shores of Northern Ireland.

     What if all the former colonies of the British Empire sent troops to aid the people of Ireland in their struggle for liberty? How then can tyranny survive?

      Imagine with me a United Humanity of Free Peoples and Army of Liberation comprised of former slaves and victims of oppression with a historic mandate to export the revolution and bring justice to all humankind, India and America, Zimbabwe and Malaysia, Australia and Eqypt, Israel and Singapore, and so many others. Such a force would be unstoppable, would sweep across hierarchies of authoritarian force and control like the Black soldiers of the Union Army who liberated Richmond and brought the Confederacy to submission or the Allied victory over fascism in the Second World War.

     Liberty is a dream resonant with historic momentum and power; we need only harness it to ride to victory on its tides.

     So I wrote three years ago, and with electoral victory of May last year we moved a step nearer to our goal of Union; Northern Ireland with Ireland as one sovereign and independent nation. So very like the Thousand Day War in which the people of Vietnam liberated themselves from colonial Occupation and reunited their nation; the imposed conditions of struggle may yet force a return to such strategies as Vietnam used to win independence, but for now the peace holds and the struggle is limited to the arena of electoral politics. This too I celebrate; voting is always better than shooting.

     Here in Ireland we play what in chess is called a Long Game, in which the sacrifices we make along the way to liberation become our stepping stones to victory. And with the issue of trade as leverage, and all of the intractable issues signified by the term Brexit, as our civilization begins to collapse from the mechanical failures of its internal contradictions amid a changing world order, we now have unique opportunities for revolutionary struggle and for independence.

     As Guillermo Del Toro teaches us in Carnival Row; “Who is Chaos good for? Chaos is good for us. Chaos is the great hope of the powerless.”

     As I wrote in m y post of September 23 2021, When Things Fall Apart and the Center Cannot Hold, Embrace Change; Transformative change and the forces of Chaos lie at the heart of our universe, a reality and medium of being characterized by illusion and impermanence, destruction and recreation, as its central motive principle.

     Chaos is a forge of creation which endlessly generates contradictions and paradoxes as the forking points of universes, of multiplicities and relative truths, a wellspring of life and the realization of unknowns but also of our darkness born of attachment to that which is by its nature ephemeral and transitory, and moreover a world filled with falsifications of ourselves, echoes and reflections like the distorted images in funhouse mirrors which multiply into infinity as a theft of our uniqueness and our souls. 

     The trauma of death and of life disruptive change, and our immersion in a sea of grief, despair, and terror; when the anchorages and truths we cling to have shifted and cast us adrift into topologies of the unknown, when we dare to look behind the curtain and the figures of our faith are revealed to be lies and instruments of our subjugation, when these existential threats and crises of hope, trust, and faith combine as they have this past year with the loneliness of our modern pathology of disconnectedness, how shall we answer our nothingness?

      To this I say, how can we not embrace Chaos and transformative change, when it is endless and ongoing, and challenges us to live in the eternal now? Why fix and react wholly to its negative aspects as death and destruction, when it offers us equally possibilities of liberation from order and authority, self-creation, autonomy, and unknowns to explore, and a space of free creative play?

      Here is Yeats great and visionary poem The Second Coming, written in the wake of three successive mechanical failures of civilization as systems of order and oppression from their internal contradictions, the First World War, the Easter Rising of 1916, and the Russian Revolution of 1917. It is a song of rage against the dying of the light, of the embrace of our darkness, and of warning that the lies and illusions which enforce authority and our subjugation are and must always fail with cataclysms, but for myself it is also a song of hope.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

    As I wrote in my post of January 30 2022, Fifty Year Anniversary of Bloody Sunday;  Fifty years ago the massacre of Irish citizens by the British Army, an atrocity of state terror known throughout the world as Bloody Sunday, shifted American and global public and official support to the cause of Irish nationalism and reunification and like the brutal repression of Gandhi’s Salt Tax Protest delegitimized the British Empire. We have not yet fully emerged from the shadows of our imperial and colonial histories, but in the last century since the  collapse of civilization from the mechanical failures of its internal contradictions in World War One and the revolutions and liberation movements which swept the world the tides have begun to turn.

     Such is the terror and ruin of the age in which we live, and of its hope and glories as a liminal time of the reimagination and transformation of ourselves and the limitless possibilities of becoming human.

    The people of a nation are living echoes, reflections, consequences, and bearers of its histories, and the people of Ireland are no different in this from any other, our songs of survival, resistance, and triumph over those who would enslave us acting like forces of nature, like the winds and the tides, to shape us as informing and motivating sources. So national identities are formed from the legacies of our stories, both as epigenetic and multigenerational trauma and harms and as freedom and the ownership of ourselves.

     History, memory, identity; we are prochronisms, histories expressed in our form of how we have solved problems of adaptation over vast epochs of time, truths written in our flesh like the shells of fantastic sea creatures.

     What has been written in our lives has all too often been a tale of tyranny and repression, imperial conquest and colonialism, the theft of the soul by carceral states of force and control, and the consequences of falsification, commodification, and dehumanization by the state as organized violence and enslavement by elite hegemonies of wealth, power, and privilege and divisions of exclusionary otherness by fascisms of blood, faith, and soil.

     And this we must resist, by any means necessary. To tyranny and fascism there can be but one reply; Never Again.

    When those who would enslave us and steal our souls come for us, let them find not a humankind subjugated by police terror and the control of false histories and propaganda, abjection and learned helplessness, but united in solidarity and refusal to submit.

     Whosoever refuses to submit becomes Unconquered and free, and this power of self ownership cannot be taken from us. Here also is the moment of decision wherein the tide turns and tyrannies of force and control break; for the social use of force is hollow and brittle, and fails at the point of disobedience. This great truth is the keystone of my art of revolution, and why liberation movements will eventually be victorious when applied as disruptive forces to systems of unequal power which will inevitably fail from their internal contradictions.

      Always there remains the struggle between the stories we tell about ourselves and those others tell about us. This is the first revolution in which we all must fight; the struggle for ownership of ourselves.

      Tyrants may own the monstrous shadows of the past, but the future is ours. 

Liam Neeson reads WB Yeats’ Easter 1916

Michael Collins’ speech, in the film starring Liam Neeson 

1916: The Easter Rising (Episode 1 – Tom Clarke)

the global brotherhood of nations liberated from the British Empire 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/List_of_countries_gained_independence_from_the_UK_Flag_version_3.svg

The Tragic Story Of The 1916 Easter Rising | A Terrible Beauty

The Easter Rising, Irish Rebellion of 1916

https://www.thoughtco.com/easter-rising-4774223

Easter Rising 1916: Six days of armed struggle that changed Irish and British history

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-35873316

1916: The Easter Rising, Tim Pat Coogan

The Rising: Ireland: Easter 1916, Fearghal McGarry

James Joyce and the Irish Revolution: The Easter Rising as Modern Event,

Luke Gibbons

The Yeats Reader: A Portable Compendium of Poetry, Drama, and Prose,

Richard J. Finneran

Yeats: The Man and the Masks, Richard Ellmann

The Unique and Its Property, Max Stirner

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62077979-the-unique-and-its-property

On the film Belfast

https://focusfeaturesguilds2021.com/belfast/conversations?fbclid=IwAR0jQ-9ULoSSk36o–8CNOvx5X7xOC4bF2MG8NEvtY1fNLyFJ3Opg-N0FRc

 The Wind That Shakes the Barley film

https://archive.org/details/TheWindThatShakesTheBarleyFULLMOVIE

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland,

by Patrick Radden Keefe

Tim Pat Coogan’s Author page on Goodreads, with all his published works

Fintan O’Toole’s Author Page

April 16 2024 Whoremonger In Chief: Stormy Daniels Hush Money Trial Begins

      In the Stormy Daniels hush money trial of our former Whoremonger In Chief, Traitor Trump, a shifting constellation of evils is displayed before the stage of the world; sin and depravity, secrecy and the catch and kill system of bent journalism as subversion of our elections, criminality in service to power, and the manufacture of false identity and history as idolatry; yet the bottomless depths of Trump’s perversions and use of sexual terror neither begin nor end here.

     Beginnings are such curious things; the origins of the Trump family fortune in the trafficking of Native American women during the Klondike gold rush, which finds reflection in Trump’s use of the modeling and beauty pageant system he once owned to exploit and globally traffic teenage girls, like the crimes of his buddy Epstein but industrialized on a mass scale.

     Often have I wondered if Trump hired Stormy Daniels to prove to the world and his donors that he has normal sexual identity, in the wake of the loss of the beauty and modeling network amid exposure of his peeping at young girls, the exposure and fall of the Epstein trafficking network, of his rape of E Jean Carroll, and of his public use of his daughter from childhood as an erotic proxy. And these are only the perversions we know about.

     Imagine the family dynamics created by the kind of crimes possible when only fear and power are real and have meaning; did the Trump Patriarch commit acts including the raiding and burning of villages, abduction, and mass enslavement of women kept in chains like livestock in the Trump string of brothels over a century ago, tortured and horsewhipped into submission and sometimes exhibited like trained animals in grotesque circus acts? Here I merely question, for I was not there nor do I possess historical documents of witnesses; but how if such horrors form the basis of the Trump family crime syndicate as a multigenerational cult of sexual terror?

     When the Republicans speak of family values, this is what they really mean;  the right of a man to do anything imaginable to women as patriarchal sexual terror and the dehumanization of women authorized by theocracy.

      And remember, friends, you can always tell the secret name of a Republican; it’s their act of treason plus their sex crime.

      As I wrote of the iconic mug shot which defines the character of Traitor  Trump and the meaning of his criminal regime in our history in my post of

  August 27 2023, Behold the Monster: Trump Surrenders to Justice; Here is a Mirror of Dorian Grey wherein America may behold the monster of our soul which lives beneath the mask of normality, in the mug shot of Our Clown of Terror, Traitor Trump. Here the nadir of our atrocities, perversions, amoral nihilism, degenerate brutality and atavisms of animal instinct glare back at us with the malign and savage rage of a baboon, and like Nietzsche’s Abyss we must beware lest our shadow capture us in the mirror of its gaze.

      Half our nation remains under its spell, while those still free mock and poke the beast with a stick. Trump has surrendered to justice with no mass protests by loyal followers despite his threats and plots of coup, terror, and civil war, and we rejoice in his pathetic diminishment and humiliation, yet the danger has not passed.

     Both the Fourth Reich which has infiltrated the state and Trump as its figurehead are still fundraising off of hate speech, possess a largely intact and unimpeded propaganda network, and control not only the Republican Party but also much of the state through their agents in the legislative and judicial branches of government as well as its security services.

     In this moment, under the glare of the police photographer’s lights, the orders of a judge, and the scrutiny of history, Trumps thinks of himself as a doomed king at bay, like King Kong, a film which is an allegory of fascism as a flawed response to the fall of civilization from the mechanical failures of its internal contradictions, an American version of the Wagnerian end in fire with which Hitler was obsessed and ended in his suicide in an underworld labyrinth. 

     What remains to be determined is whether America sees Trump as its tragic savior, cast in the part of Cyrus the Great in a myth of Exile as our new faith of QAnon has him, and chooses to fall with him and bring two thousand years of democracy as a dream of liberty and equality crashing down into fascist tyranny.

     While most of us are hoping that being sent to prison for treason and espionage will remove the threat of a second Trump Presidency, many among the Party of Treason, Patriarchal Theocracy, and White Supremacist Terror will and are using the indictments and lawsuits to escalate commitment among those already decided, and abandoning overtures to swing voters and independents in recognition of a totally polarized political and cultural moment wherein few persuadable voters remain. After all, prison did not prevent Trump’s role model Adolf Hitler from becoming the Fuhrer; why should it derail rather than help Trump’s capture of the state and subversion of democracy?

     Why is it cute and adorable when Jenna Ortega does the Kubrick Stare as Wednesday Addams, and repulsive when Trump does it? Wednesday doesn’t drop her chin to present glowering menace, a pose Trump carefully copies from Jack Nicholson in The Shining because he intends it as a threat and a demonstration of power; Jenna’s Wednesday faces us directly as total openness and honesty, a Nietzschean yes to life, to its horror and depravity as well as its exaltation and beauty, which denies nothing; an Otherness which accepts and affirms all otherness as equal. She challenges us to risk saying yes to ourselves and those truths written in our flesh; while Trump desires only our subjugation. Herein is the true difference between the Democratic and Republican Parties.

       What does Trump’s mugshot and the polarized reactions to it tell us about America and the moment we now live in? As written by Chris McGreal in The Guardian, in an article entitled Belligerence and hostility: Trump’s mugshot defines modern US politics; “Mugshots define eras.

     Bugsy Siegel peering malevolently from beneath his fedora in a 1928 booking photo summed up the perverse romance of gangsters in the prohibition age.

     Nearly half a century later, mugshots of David Bowie, elegantly dressed but dead-eyed after his arrest for drug possession, and a dishevelled Janis Joplin, detained for “vulgar and indecent language”, spoke to the shock waves created by 1960s counterculture.

     Now comes what Donald Trump Jr described as “the most iconic photo in the history of US politics” before the booking picture of his father glaring into the camera was even taken. But whether deeply divided Americans view the first ever mugshot of a former president as that of a gangster or a rock star is very much in the politics of the beholder.

     Trump’s hostility shines through as he turns his eyes up toward the camera above him and in his taut, downturned mouth as he is booked into the Fulton county jail on charges of trying to steal the 2020 presidential election. Dressed in a blue suit, white shirt and red tie, he makes no attempt to put on a smile like some of his co-defendants in their mugshots.

     The picture does not flatter but it does convey the message many of Trump’s supporters want to hear – belligerence.

     The six-pointed star of the Fulton county sheriff’s office badge and the name of the sheriff, Patrick Labat, sits in the top left hand corner of the picture. But some will be disappointed that Trump is not seen in the classic pose holding a board in front of his chest with his name and date of arrest.

     Still, the mugshot will now enter the pantheon of famous-name booking photos, alongside Frank Sinatra looking unperturbed after his arrest in 1938 for “carrying on with a married woman”, and Hugh Grant after he was found with a sex worker on Sunset Boulevard. Trump has some way to go to catch up with the American actor Lindsay Lohan’s eight-year run of mugshots for theft, drugs and driving offences.

     The former president’s supporters are already embracing the booking photo as a badge of honour and defiance. It will be held up as evidence that their man will not give up the fight against a system his followers see as ever more determined to bring him down and prevent him returning to the White House.

     Far-right congresswoman Lauren Boebert led the way with a tweet proclaiming: “Not all heroes wear capes.”

     The president’s detractors, on the other hand, will see the booking photo as evidence that even a man who was once the most powerful person in the land cannot escape the might of the justice system. Some will welcome anything that makes him look even a little bit more criminal as a confirmation that sooner or later he is going to prison. The accused may be presumed innocent until a plea or a jury says otherwise but mugshots can have a way of conveying guilt.

     For Trump though, the picture is likely to prove yet another money spinner. Within hours, his campaign fundraising website was advertising T-shirts, bumper stickers and coffee mugs glorifying a martyred Trump with the booking photo above the words “never surrender!”. Sales are likely to be brisk given the enthusiasm with which the former president’s supporters now treat each public humiliation as an accomplishment.

     Two impeachments and four sets of indictments, from financial fraud to a slew of charges over the 2020 election, have done little to damage Trump’s standing among the true believers, and have only bolstered his run for the Republican presidential nomination. Such is the strength of that belief that a recent CBS poll showed Trump voters trust him more than their own family members and religious leaders.

     Ordinary Americans have already got creative in response to the flood of indictments by mocking up pictures of the former president in an orange jump suit a la Guantánamo prison and in printing T-shirts with Trump in various states of detention with slogans declaring “Trumped up charges”, “Guilty AF”, “Guilty of winning” and “Legend”.

     There will be plenty who will challenge Don Jr’s claim that the mugshot has instantly become the most iconic photo in US political history. Pictures of John F Kennedy’s assassination or Martin Luther King Jr leading the march for freedom or a host of other historic moments will surely prove more enduring.

    But as with the gangsters and rock stars, Trump’s booking photo may come to define an era – one of unusual political turmoil that has yet to resolve whether his next mugshot is as an inmate.”

      What would Trump’s imprisonment mean for the future? As written by Martin Kettle in The Guardian, in an article entitled America on trial: the charges against Trump will decide the fate of a nation; “History teaches us few wider lessons. But there are rare exceptions. One of these is that for a nation to put its former leaders on trial is never straightforward. Although such cases are rare, when they do occur they frequently involve the pushing of pre-existing legal boundaries and the reshaping of constitutional norms and assumptions. The evolution of the doctrine of crimes against humanity after the Nuremberg trials in 1945 is the most significant modern example of this.

     Both at the time they occur and subsequently, the arguments that surround trials of this kind are almost inescapably political to a significant degree. That was true of the trial and execution of Charles I in 1649, an event that divided England then; and some of those divisions of the 17th century can still be felt today. But it will unquestionably also be true of the trials of the former US president Donald Trump, of which the latest step is due to be taken in Atlanta on Thursday.

     It is important to see that this stubborn political reality applies just as much in the Trump cases as in Charles I’s. In part, this is because many will go out of their way to deny it. Trump’s prosecutors – and many of his political critics – will undoubtedly argue that Trump is simply a defendant like any other, and that their cases are designed to show that no one, not even a former president and commander-in-chief, is above the law. They will be adamant that this is not a political trial, and that it is not Joe Biden’s revenge.

     In some very fundamental senses, they are right about that. The law is not being altered in order to prosecute Trump. The investigations have followed long-established rules. The verdicts are not foregone conclusions. This is neither a witch-hunt nor a show trial. Yet, however true these points and however honourably such claims are made, they cannot be quite the whole story. The two cases are very different, yet in both 1649 and 2023, the indictments against the king and the president take a stand on behalf of a conception of the nation against a leader set on subverting it.

     Four separate cases against Trump are now on course for trial. The first three sets of allegations cover: falsification of business records in the Stormy Daniels hush money case; withholding of classified federal documents in his Florida home; and attempting to prevent the US Congress from validating Biden’s 2020 election. This week’s case alleges that Trump tried to interfere with the counting and validation of Georgia’s vote for Biden. All four cases are due in court in the first half of 2024, before the presidential election in which Trump aims to be a candidate.

     All of these cases also contain multiple allegations. Two – the Florida document cases and the US Congress case – will be heard in federal courts. The others have been brought at state level by New York and Georgia. All the charge sheets are extremely detailed. In the documents case, for instance, the indictment now stretches to 60 pages, with Trump facing 40 separate charges. In the 6 January case, the indictment stretches to another 45 pages, and centres on four separate charges.

     Like it or not, though, these carefully crafted cases take the US into new legal territory. That is not simply because Trump is the first serving or former American president in the nation’s history to face criminal charges. Nor is it even because, being Trump and still running for office, he will treat the courtroom as a political platform. It is also because a large number of the charges, and the way in which the judges and juries will be asked to test them, relate umbilically to his roles as head of state and upholder of the constitution. These cases are a test of the constitution and, in the broadest sense, of the nation.

     All of these points repeatedly echo aspects of cases from the past. The Trump cases are still, in the end, an attempt to hold a past leader to account and judge him for the way he handled his office. That was also what the cases against earlier rulers were ultimately about too. The indictments against Charles I for his “crimes and treasons” or against Louis XVI of France for having “plotted and formed a multitude of conspiracies to establish tyranny in destroying liberty” are maybe not a world away from those against Trump, after all.

     Nor is it a world away from the much more recent example of Marshal Philippe Pétain’s trial for treason after the liberation of France in 1945. Pétain was charged with treason for his role as head of the collapsing French government in 1940, when he signed an armistice with Hitler’s invaders, and then as head of the puppet Vichy regime that collaborated with the Germans until the allied victory in 1945. Pétain was tried and convicted in Paris that same summer. His death sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment by Charles de Gaulle.

     As described in Julian Jackson’s masterly recent book, France on Trial, the Pétain case has many differences from those facing Trump, but also some similarities. Pétain was put on trial after a war, not an election. His was an unashamedly political trial. The jury was stacked against him, and the outcome a foregone conclusion.

     But at the same time it was also the trial of a nation, its recent history, its dilemmas and its sense of itself. It was, in the end, a moment of catharsis for postwar France. It was a trial that had to happen, and it was vitally important for the future of France that the former leader in the dock was not acquitted. For all the many differences between the two cases, the exact same applies to the US on the eve of the Trump trials.”

      Who is Donald Trump? Glowering, feral, with the dead eyes of a cornered but dangerous animal, his fake blond hair, fake history of success, and fake identity? Traitor Trump has been the cuckoo in our nest, ambush predator and pathological liar, rapist and enemy agent, worshipper of Moloch, Demon of Lies, and disciple of Adolf Hitler.

     As I wrote in my post of August 7 2019, Psychopathy and the Nature of Evil: the Parallel Cases of Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler; How are monsters created, and how does evil arise as a shaping force which grants them the power to change the topography of human souls and the course of history?

     While sorting through Trump’s tweets and speeches by keyword looking for answers, I was reminded of another such project, the now-classic study of Adolf Hitler from his speeches and writings, The Psychopathic God by Robert G. L. Waite, which I read enthusiastically the year of its publication while a junior in high school. I had just finished reading Jerzy Kosinski’s novel The Painted Bird, which led me to an interest in the origins and consequences of evil, the route by which I developed a serious interest in psychology and its intersections with history, philosophy, and literature.

     The parallels between Hitler and Trump are amazing and instructive, both in terms of the personal and political origins, shaping forces, and consequences of madness and evil.

     Dr Justin Frank’s book Trump on the Couch is an excellent resource, particularly illuminating on Trump’s erotic relationship with his daughter, the fantasies of violence and power which are rooted in his childhood relationship with his tyrannical and abusive father, and his inability to love or empathize with others as a result of his abandonment by his mother.

      Pathological lies, poor impulse control, and grandiose fantasies and delusions complete the picture of a narcissistic personality and psychopathic predator.

     I’ve said it as a joke, but its quite true; how do you spell Trump? Treason, Racism, Untruth, Misogyny, Predator.

    Actually, Donald Trump is very easy to understand, because literature provides a ready portrait of him in Frankenstein’s monster, which I have described in my celebration of Mary Shelly and her luminous novel as the figure of an abandoned and tormented child, “a vessel of rage and vengeance, with the merciless iron will to enact subjugation of others in their turn, terrible and pathetic and with the grandeur of a tortured defiant beast trapped in the same flesh as the innocent who needs to be loved and cannot understand why he seems monstrous to others.”

     How Trump’s particular madness is expressed in our national policy is a horror which can described with precision; his fear of contamination and faecal fixation translate into his signature campaign against nonwhite others and a policy of ethnic cleansing and racist state terror, his misogyny into a patriarchal wave of legal disempowerment of women’s reproductive rights, his fragile ego,  identity confusion, and narcissistic need for attention into a governance of Nuremburg-like rallies, the cultivation of despicable autocrats, and the obsessive vengeance against anyone who refuses to offer adoration and submission.

     Above all what unites Trump and Hitler as parallel figures and historical forces is the theory of politics as theatre of cruelty and government as performance art.  

     As I wrote in my post of June 9 2023, We Celebrate the Indictment of Traitor Trump, Russian Spy and Most Effective Enemy Agent Ever to Attack America, For Espionage in the Theft of State Secrets; How do you spell Trump? Treason, Racism, Untruth, Misogyny, Predator.

      Take a moment to savour with me the indictment of Trump for the crime of espionage. Ahhh, the bliss.

      A commentator on MSN’s Eleventh Hour this night pronounced the magic words which I hope will awaken our nation from the long nightmare of capture by the Fourth Reich; “I think Trump is done.”

     It has been a fairytale from which we may learn many kinds of morals, a story which begins in the 1980 capture of the Republican Party by Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority movement as a fundamentalist theocracy and the Presidency of its figurehead Ronald Reagan, and found its true form in the Presidency of a pedophile rapist and Russian agent who for years slept with a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf on his nightstand in place of a Bible.

      Here in the trial of Traitor Trump is a morality play which is also a Rashomon Gate of our possible futures, for it is more than a legal last stand of the rule of law and the idea of democracy in America against a rigged electoral process which offers capture of the state to its enemies, but also a trial of democracy in America and of our infiltrated and subverted justice system whose court of ultimate appeal is a Supreme Court which is become a whorehouse.    

      What is the meaning of the Trump regime in the story of America and our future possibilities of becoming human as a free society of equals?

           As I wrote in my post of November 3 2020, One Hundred Years of Racist Vote Suppression and White Supremacist Terror: Anniversary of the Ocoee Massacre; This election has seen attempts at vote suppression unknown in our lifetimes; Trumps mission to subvert democracy includes intimidation by calling for armed white supremacists to deny nonwhite citizens access to the polls, an attack on Biden’s campaign caravan by the Trump Train mobile force, failed assassination attempts against Biden and other political figures, sabotage of the postal system, politization of the Justice department, and his farcical declaration of victory before the vote is counted, among his many treasonous crimes.

     Today liberty and tyranny play for the soul of America and the freedom of the world.

    I spent some time today at a Trump rally trying to defuse a hate crime in the making. A hey rube went up that a rally staged between our local mosque here in Spokane and a Middle Eastern grocery was becoming a violent mob; while others responded as a protection detail and placed themselves with great courage between potential perpetrators and their victims, I blended into the rally to assess and shape its development as an incubator of violence and work to defuse it through dialog and negotiation.

      Today these angry young men chose not to allow fear, rage, and hate to master and dehumanize them, nor provoke them into violence which would be the ruin of their lives; what will all of the other angry young men choose tomorrow?

     I’d like to believe this incident is atypical and not being played out a thousand times over across America; but I wouldn’t bet on it.

     Tyranny weaponizes overwhelming and generalized fear as an instrument of subjugation. This we must resist, but unless we speak directly to those fears we cannot heal the divisions of our society which authority has so skillfully manipulated.

    In the words of Sigmund Freud, “Civilization begins when we throw words instead of stones.”  Sadly, we humans have often chosen stones when words would serve us better.

    In all the madness of this election and of the deranged perversions and assaults upon our liberty, equality, truth, and justice of our Clown of Terror, Traitor Trump’s kleptocracy of state terror and tyranny, we must not forget that though he exploited the flaws of our society to orchestrate the Fall of America and of democracy throughout the world, he did not originate them.

     Trump has revealed, tested, and hammered at our flaws, yet we remain unbroken and unconquered. This we should celebrate; in the main we are voting and not shooting, because our faith in one another and in the ideals on which our society is founded remain intact, though the institutions of our government may need radical and revolutionary change.

     Nor is there anything new in the threat to democracy of vote suppression; today is the one hundred year anniversary of the Ocoee Massacre, the most terrible incident of racist vote suppression in the history of our nation since the Civil War. What may give us hope now that failed us then is the emerging consensus of racial equality and the mass coalition for racial justice won for us by the Black Lives Matter movement and the heroic citizens who have seized the streets of our cities in an unparalleled months long mass action.

      Regardless of the election results, anyone who wishes to actually govern must do so at the head of these protests and not barricaded against the will of the people. This is the true meaning of this years seizure of power by our citizens, and it is a genie which cannot be returned to the prison of its lamp, for each of us is now a Living Autonomous Zone.

      As I wrote in my post of November 5 2020. Trump’s Last Coup Attempt and Subversion of Democracy as His Ship of Fools Sinks in Pathetic Failure; As Trump’s Ship of Fools comes apart at the seams and sinks beneath the waves in pathetic failure, our Clown of Terror collapses in infantile tantrums and tries to take democracy down with him, a final gesture of madness and idiocy in his delusional quest to subvert our values and institutions of liberty and seize tyrannical power.

     We must never forget how close we came to a repeat of the 1933 German Federal Election that set Hitler on the path to a tyranny of absolute power; this is clearly the most important electoral event in the history of humankind since then, and the two elections are terrifyingly parallel. Trump tried three times to use the Black Lives Matter protests to create fear and legitimize the federal occupation of America under the pretext of re-establishing law and order in an exact duplication of Hitler’s successful strategy using the Reichstag Fire, and failed.

     We have escaped the jaws of the Fourth Reich which have held us fast for four years, since the Stolen Election of 2016, while Trump and his cabal of Gideonite fundamentalist patriarchs, white supremacist terrorists, and plutocratic robber barons have violated everything about America which is noble and true, plundered the public wealth, dehumanized and divided us, sabotaged and subverted the institutions of our freedom, equality, truth, and justice, betrayed our allies and emboldened our foes, lost the American hegemony of global power and privilege and our position as a guarantor of democracy and universal human rights and a beacon of hope to the world.

     Let us never forget the bottomless depravities, treasons, and amoral predation and greed of Trump’s many enablers and conspirators in the Fall of America as we struggle in the years ahead to reclaim our nation and our souls. We must hold them to account, but we must also reimagine our society and the many systemic and structural flaws by which we came to this broken and lost state.

      As I wrote in my post of June 9 2022, The Greatest Show on Earth: Presenting the January 6 Committee; Tonight our puppets will dance upon the stage of history and our imaginations, while a chiaroscuro of light as truth and democracy versus darkness as fascist tyranny and falsification, lies, illusions, rewritten histories, alternate realities, conspiracy theories and propaganda play for the kingdom of our souls and the fate of America and the world.

     Who do we want to become, we humans? A free society of equals or a prison planet of masters and slaves?

     Now begins a great Reckoning, and we shall see.

     As I wrote in my post of February 10 2021, Treason, Tyranny, and Terror on Trial: As the Second Impeachment of Traitor Trump Begins, I Submit Charges Before the People’s Tribunal of Crimes Against Humanity for Which Trump and His Collaborators Should Now Be On Trial;  Among the many crimes against humanity for which Traitor Trump and his collaborators should be on trial but are not yet include the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Mexican and other nonwhite migrants, the concentration camps at our border, the orphaning and torture of children, and the state tyranny and terror of fascist and racist violence as national policy perpetrated by the ICE and Border Patrol components of Homeland Security, forces of repression which are racist and antidemocratic by their nature and which should be abolished as a top priority of the Restoration of America.

    Just as villainous and reprehensible is the parallel program of racist police violence and the carceral state to re-enslave Black American citizens and enforce systemic forms of inequality and injustice through state terror, repression of dissent, the force of a militarized police and the counterinsurgency model of policing which has transformed our security services into an army of occupation with primarily political objectives, and the control of pervasive and endemic surveillance and propaganda, lies, illusions, and subversions of the truth.

     Our Clown of Terror, Traitor Trump, and his circus of fools, degenerates, and barbarians, his enablers and collaborators both within the government and his shadow forces rallying under the Confederate flag to bring violence and insurrection to our nations capital and to the streets of our cities throughout America, are co-conspirators and instigators in the murders of every Black American killed by police shooting or other racist violence since its authorization by Trump in the wake of Charlottesville.

      And every missing child kidnapped by the state and disappeared into what abominable slavery or human trafficking designed in the diseased imagination of Trump and his Epstein buddies we know not of, every migrant of the huddled masses yearning to be free who died in the quest to reach the safety of America because the water caches had been intentionally sabotaged by criminals in the uniform of our nation who were “just following orders” like their counterparts in the SS during the Holocaust, every prisoner who died in custody because they were denied water or medical care; the blood of these and countless other victims of Trump’s narcissistic self-aggrandizement and regime of fascist corruption, racism, and patriarchal sexual terror is on the hands of every  Republican who voted for him and fails now in this trial to repudiate him publicly and renounce his works as among those of the devils which he serves.

     For in his actions Trump has been not only a foreign agent and Putin’s puppet whose mission is the subversion of democracy and the Fall of America, but also a slave of Moloch the Seducer, Demon of Lies, in that he is not merely a pathological liar but also an idiot madman who cannot distinguish truth from lies, and who has weaponized his delusions and psychopathy as instruments of our falsification and subjugation in his quest for tyrannical power.

     The bizarre and lurid dark fairytales of the QAnon conspiracy theory movement, like the charges of the Inquisition and the Nazis which othered witches and Jews on which QAnon is constructed, serves as deflection from Trump’s loathsome perversions and sexual terrorism. What terrors did he conceal behind the beauty pageant and modeling syndicate he once controlled?

     His Stop the Steal campaign is a similar deflection which shields him from inquiry into the Stolen Election of 2016 and the fact that his Presidency was entirely illegitimate and due to Russian interference; it was also the rhetorical and organizational basis of his final attempted coup on January 6, for which he is now being impeached for the second time.

     We must cast out the monsters from among us, the racists and white supremacist terrorists, the Gideonite fundamentalists and patriarchs of Christian Identity fascism and sexual terror, and the amoral forces of repression of those who would enslave us and who enforce hegemonies of elite power and privilege and hierarchies of exclusionary otherness armed with guns and badges and the authority of a government which has been infiltrated by the Fourth Reich, an implacable and relentless enemy which has come just short of seizing us in its jaws.

     We must give fascism no second chances.

     As I wrote in my post of January 11 2021, Allegories and Symbols of the Fall of America: the January 6 Insurrection as Theatre of Cruelty; Here is an expanded version of my post of January 6 on the Surrealist film Gummo as a satire of the Deplorables who committed treason and armed insurrection against our nation at the command of Our Clown of Terror, Traitor Trump; on Insurrection Day, I offer for your consideration the film Gummo, a sensitive and elegant documentary of the Deplorables from whom the Fourth Reich cadre who staged the assault on Congress were recruited, and an allegory of America.

        Bacon? Stapled to the wall, a strip of bacon captures ones attention as a symbol of degeneration and barbarian atavisms of instinct. Werner Herzog signposted it for our attention, and it persists as a symbol of degeneration to an animal state, like a trophy of wealth which is also offal above a bathtub filled with filth as our young protagonist eats spaghetti, his mouth smeared with red like a cannibal; an unforgettable image of the fallen American Dream.

      It is the little things which disturb, provoke, and incite us to challenge normality, the tyranny of other people’s ideas of virtue, the authorized identities of hegemonic elites and divisions of otherness, and to transgress the boundaries of the Forbidden with glorious sins of beatification.

     Here as always, all true art defiles and exalts.

     We dine in filth on the carrion of others lives and by their labor. This is a Surrealist film intended as an allegory of America and a thematic interrogation of our flaws and dark legacies of injustice, and in large part restates Nietzsche’s critique of Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure and the idea of the innate depravity of man, an extension of the doctrine of original sin, on which all our law is based, as Nikos Kazantzakis argues in his thesis Friedrich Nietzsche on the Philosophy of Right and the State, an anarchist analysis of authority as dehumanization which underlies all his later work.

     So also does the film restate William S. Burroughs’ analysis of capitalism and imperialism as the Algebra of Need, in which drug addiction becomes a metaphor of our addiction to wealth, power, and privilege, an engine of self-destruction, commodification, and dehumanization which feeds on and worsens our most atavistic instincts. Here the flaws of our humanity, fear and rage, vanity and jealousy, the need to dominate and control, become the instruments of our subjugation to hegemonic elites through divisions of exclusionary otherness and to tyrants of force and control and the imperial and carceral states of those who would enslave us.

     The film itself is brutally shocking, grotesque, and borders on the obscene; which is why I adore it so. I must warn you that while I like it as an allegory of America’s flaws, and to poke fun at Trump’ s followers, this is brutal and depressing; anyone with suicidal ideation should avoid it. This debut of a heralded wonder of the new age as director was not understood as a critique of state power as a force of dehumanization and regression to an animal state, like that of the Deplorables, and unjustly derailed a promising career; a historical injustice I would like to redeem, because Gummo is a film we need now.

     We must see the enemies of Liberty as they truly are, if we are to heal our nation from the primary trauma of fracture they enacted in the January 6 Insurrection.

     Both the Insurrection and the film Gummo, like the Trump presidency as a whole, must be interpreted as performances of the Theatre of Cruelty as articulated by Antonin Artaud in his manifesto The Theatre And Its Double. Trump is a figure of the mad emperor from his great novel Heliogabalus; or, the Crowned Anarchist; his performances as a clown of terror, disruption, and sadism were also brilliantly prophesized by Robert Coover in The Public Burning, A Political Fable, written as a satire of Nixon.

    Let us see beyond the lies and illusions with which Trump and his Deplorables conceal their subversions of democracy, sabotage of our institutions, and violations of our ideals of liberty, equality, truth, and justice.

     Always pay attention to the man behind the curtain. As Dorothy says to Oz, he’s never anything but “just an old humbug.”

     As I wrote in my post of February 11 2021, Profiles in Treason and Terror; The dishonorable and the mad, the delusional and the sadistic epicures of brutality and perversions, the feral predators hooting and champing before the gallows and guillotines they have brought to murder members of congress with and their partners in uniform unleashing racist terror and gun violence in the streets, and the amoral and predatory grifters and puppetmasters of fascism who have subjugated and enslaved them and stolen their honor and their souls; these are among the idolators of Traitor Trump who conspired, enabled, and collaborated in his plot to subvert democracy and overthrow America in the January 6 Insurrection which attempted to seize Congress and execute its members, which like Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch on which it was modeled was intended to decapitate the government of the people in a single stroke.

     As details emerge of the internal operations and massive scale of the plot against America, in terms of its central coordination and logistics under direct operational command of Trump and his cabal of conspirators, we are offered not only the spectacle of his aberrance and monstrosity as a mad idiot Clown of Terror drooling and gloating in bestial depravity at the destruction of our values and institutions, the violation of our ideals and the endless suffering he has caused, but of those of his freakish and degenerate followers as well.

     The role of deniable forces of the Fourth Reich such as the Proud Boys, the Oathkeepers, and other organizations of white supremacist terror, and of their partners and infiltration agents within our police, military, and security services,  in the January 6 Insurrection is by now well documented and will become more so as the greatest manhunt in our history exposes and entraps more of its perpetrators.

     The images we have been witnessing of their assault on liberty during the Second Impeachment trial will be remembered in the history of the world as the true legacy of an era of fascist tyranny under the figurehead of Trump which nearly ended America as a guarantor of global democracy and universal human rights, and had we fallen as the primary domino and a beacon of hope to the world both democracy and human rights would be lost to humankind for unknown ages; the last time civilization fell it took a thousand years for the idea that government derives its authority from its citizens and not by divine right, the idea that no one of us is better than any other by right of birth, and that freedom, equality, truth, and justice are the foundational values of our society and truths of human being and meaning, to reawaken.

     And it took centuries of wars and revolutions to do so; how if this time civilization falls not to hordes of barbarians seeking nothing but pillage and destruction, but to regimes of totalitarian force and control?

     This is the great contradiction of the forces of repression and subjugation to authority which overran our capitol on January 6; they have been betrayed by their masters in believing they were acting to restore our traditional values and civilization, when in fact they had been weaponized in service to its destruction. Here is a clear and present danger, but also an opportunity; shared motives can be redirected to heal divisions, for they too want an American Restoration. As yet we just disagree on our definition of terms.

     When fear is overwhelming and generalized, it can be shaped through submission to authority by lies, illusions, alternate realities, especially when pervasive and endemic surveillance, big data, and propaganda are available as instruments of state control. Authority achieves submission through falsification and the theft of the soul, but this is also the weakness of control which cannot stand against truth, just as the weakness of force is that it is powerless against resistance, disobedience, and refusal to submit.

    The election of Biden and Harris, the failure of Trump’s sixth coup attempt on January 6, and the public exposure and shaming of his co-conspirators, collaborators, and enablers before the stage of the world of the Second Impeachment trial; in these events we have witnessed a turning of the tide from fascism to a restoration of democracy.

     Once the Reckoning has been achieved, the Restoration must heal our divisions; and this means we must embrace and transform the fear that lives at the heart of hate, and drives the rage, violence, and need to conquer and dominate others which shadows our historical inequalities and injustices.

    Fear, Power, Force; such is the Ring of Power which enslaves us, and which we must abandon if we are to become whole.

     Herein I offer a previous version of the role of Trump as Angelo in the savage morality play Measure For Measure, a work luminous with Kafka-esque Absurdism, Freudian horror, and a brilliant interrogation of the dynamics of patriarchy and power asymmetry in gender relations in the brilliant review of the Simon Godwin production, critiqued with marvelous insight by Geoffrey O’Brien in the New York Review of Books; entitled “Shakespeare’s Pornography of Power by Geoffrey O’Brien.

     “This is the disgusting, stinking world of medieval Vienna. The darkness of this world is absolutely necessary to the meaning of the play…When this play is prettily staged, it is meaningless—it demands an absolutely convincing roughness and dirt.” Thus Peter Brook, who directed a legendary production in 1950, on his vision of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Simon Godwin’s pathway into the play at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn is by way of a corridor through Mistress Overdone’s brothel, along a narrow basement path lined with discreetly closed cubicles and arrays of lubes, dildos, anal plugs, shackles and handcuffs, multicolored condoms, an inflatable sex doll. It is a space dimly lit but by no means medieval, an ingratiatingly tacky emporium more likely to amuse than repel the New York theatergoers passing through.

     Given the perennial relevance of the various injustices it circles around—the sexual exploitation and pious hypocrisy and persecution of whistleblowers—Measure for Measure invites updating. The virginal Isabella, realizing that no one will believe her story of victimization against that of the all-powerful Angelo—who has been named regent of Vienna by its absent duke—cries out: “To whom should I complain? Did I tell this, / Who would believe me?”—language so direct it could be lifted from the latest celebrity harassment trial, especially when spoken with the angry clarity that Cara Ricketts gives the line.

     Angelo—the moral disciplinarian with a spotless reputation who, once given power, swiftly succumbs to his most predatory impulses—can be envisioned almost too neatly as the sort of high-minded conservative who from time to time finds himself indicted for sexual malfeasance. There is no problem with Thomas Jay Ryan’s performance: Ryan’s delineation of Angelo’s ethical collapse and his half-hearted efforts to justify himself to himself have the barely controlled panic of a public figure realizing how little he knows himself. The regent lies, and the most unhampered truth-telling comes from sex workers and criminals who make no pretense to any credo beyond their own self-interest, as in the unarguable defense of the tapster Pompey, arrested for procuring: “Truly, sir, I am a poor fellow that would live.”

     But it’s in the nature of Measure for Measure that whatever contemporary analogies are invoked cannot quite make sense of what happens. In its early stages the play is centered on the three characters whose destinies collide so violently: Angelo, Isabella, and her brother Claudio, who has been condemned for fornication. The scenes in which they confront each other have the amplitude of the tragedies that were to follow: Isabella pleading for Claudio’s life, Angelo demanding her virginity as the price of her brother’s pardon, Claudio overwhelmed by the terror of death, Isabella (in a moment that challenges any audience’s sympathy) denouncing her brother for his weakness of character when she realizes he is willing to see her give in to Angelo’s demands.

    The grandeur of these scenes becomes most fully alive through Cara Ricketts’s Isabella, intensely focused, supremely pointed in her argumentation, but with a hint of an absolute commitment to the ideal that helps account for her harsh dismissal of her condemned brother’s terror of dying; an altogether serious person, too serious for the world she finds herself inhabiting, perhaps too serious for the madcap Duke when he proposed to her at the very end of the play. Her reaction to Angelo’s harassment goes beyond physical repulsion into profound moral contempt—expressing itself in angry laughter—at the triviality of his character. Her ultimate forgiveness of Angelo—at a moment when she still believes her brother to have been executed—is dramatically the most difficult of all, couched as it is in a nice legal argument, but Ricketts brought a somber conviction to it.

     An audience that wants to take the play as readily grasped satire cannot evade the puzzlements and reversals of judgment that come in its later scenes—reversals of judgment that do not end even when the play is done. Measure for Measure is a perpetual questioning machine, exquisitely functional, set to a relentless tempo, yet a machine that bristles and crackles in its joints with contradiction and discomfort. Harold Bloom has described it as “a comedy that destroys comedy.” It is a comedy that threatens to destroy or at least wear down its own characters by subjecting them to the only mechanism—a mechanism demanding elaborate subterfuges and unlikely changes of heart—by which they can avoid a tragic fate. By the end we might imagine them as the exhausted, socially viable remnants of those conflicted, passionate beings we saw tearing apart everything including themselves scene after scene, during the first three acts. They are saved, and some of them have saved others, but for what fate we can only wonder.

     In Godwin’s production, to emerge from the brothel’s passageway into the main theater is to find the Polonsky transformed into what looks like an oversize banqueting hall, the playing area laid out as an immense table decked with candles and balloons and trays of drinks, a few audience members seated around the edge. Drunken revelers stagger noisily across the tabletop stage, leaving behind a solitary figure sprawled on its surface, shooting up (presumably) heroin and then wrapping himself up in a tangle of sheets. A woman in business attire approaches him, studying him like a corporate assistant confronted by a messy but familiar management problem. He, it quickly emerges, is Vincentio, Duke of Vienna, and she is Escalus, the “ancient Lord” who serves him, transmuted into Escala, a tightly controlled executive who in January LaVoy’s reading sometimes evokes a less murderous version of Tilda Swinton’s scheming pharmaceuticals exec in Michael Clayton.

     As the Duke (Jonathan Cake) rouses himself from his nod he delivers the play’s opening speech, in a broken rhythm suggesting that the passage’s roundabout prolixity reflects his faltering attempt to shake himself out of his opiate daze. It is one way to get the play going: pitched forward headlong, off-balance from the start, the unanswered and perhaps unanswerable questions piling up before we even know where we are. What manner of being is the Duke really? Why is he leaving Vienna in such haste and putting in his place a temporary regent, the “precise” Angelo, known for his rigorous strictness? Why does he choose to linger, disguised as a friar, to observe what happens in his absence? Having learned that his moralistic stand-in is attempting to blackmail Isabella—a young woman just about to enter a convent—into sex in order to save her brother Claudio (Leland Fowler) from a death sentence, why does he intervene in such needlessly tortuous fashion, subjecting innocents to agonies of misinformation? When in one of the play’s most eloquent speeches he more or less persuades Claudio that life is not especially worth living—“Be absolute for death”—does he speak his own sincerest thoughts or is this merely part of the role he is playing as prison confessor?

     To cast the Duke as a junkie is one way of providing him with a motive. His addiction perhaps discourages him from exercising moral authority; perhaps he sees it as a weakness rendering him unfit to enforce Vienna’s laws with the necessary severity; perhaps he even harbors the thought that those laws are unnecessarily severe; perhaps he simply needs to take some time out. In any event his drug habit, as far as I could observe, comes up only once more (a quick glance at the track marks on his arm, lest he forget), and from the moment he dons his disguise he grows steadily more assured, though it is an assurance boosted by waves of antic humor to which Cake at times gives an almost Monty Pythonish edge. A certain hilarity gives him courage to dream up and carry out his preposterous scheme, which more and more comes to resemble a baroque sting operation.

     We can hardly expect to find out who the Duke really is in the course of the evening, since Shakespeare’s text leaves that question so hauntingly open. Even if he assures a confederate early on that he has “a purpose / More grave and wrinkled than the aims and ends / Of burning youth,” he never articulates what that purpose is. He is more than central to the play—as the narrative advances he becomes its directing force, moving plot elements around like game pieces—while remaining to the end a fascinating cipher. He is memorably termed “the Duke of dark corners”—a secret devotee of hidden vices—by the witty reprobate Lucio, but Lucio is by no means averse to making things up. If nothing else the Duke can be said to behave very much like a playwright working with improvisatory energy on his play’s last act, an act that will feature a succession of agonizingly drawn-out revelations, a string of pardons, and an unlooked-for proposal of marriage.

     The lust of the hypocritical Angelo is not triggered by the attractive power of beauty but perversely by the notion of violating purity: the pornography of power, relished by a man for whom execution and torture are primary tools of policy. There is a terror at the heart of everything. The Duke’s exhortation to Claudio to resign himself to death cannot match in dramatic effect Claudio’s subsequent speech—roughly the play’s midpoint—on the horror of dying: “The weariest and most loathed worldly life / That age, ache, penury, and imprisonment / Can lay on nature, is a paradise / To what we fear of death.”

     Sometimes the play feels like a series of decentered snapshots of city dwellers shuffling between sex and death. It is the only Shakespeare play concerned with how a city is run, and what that is like for the people who live there. (Romeo and Juliet is also a city play of sorts, but it centers on the operation of clans, not the municipal government that so ineffectively intervenes in their never-ending feud; and that play’s poetry—so unlike the gnarled, combative, often tensely legalistic exchanges of Measure for Measure—constantly evokes spaces beyond the immediate setting.) In Measure for Measure everything is local, in the most oppressive way. We look at things from the top down and from the bottom up, and the judgment is ambivalent, or rather multivalent. Godwin’s staging conveys very well the sense of airless interconnecting interiors, all linked as part of the same system: claustrophobic offices, claustrophobic cells of both prisons and convents, but mostly of prisons. It could almost be called a prison play, a point underlined here by the cell walls constantly rolling in and out of the foreground.

     The motives of the three main characters are seen from many angles, by each other and by bystanders and street-corner commentators of all sorts, from the generously inclined Provost of the prison, realized with great feeling by Oberon K.A. Adjepong, to the unavoidable Lucio, amusingly played by Haynes Thigpen as a self-satisfied comedian a little too hip for the room, always there to speak up for ordinary human vice (“a little more lenity to lechery would do no harm”) although contemptuous of the whores he sleeps with, constantly hovering at the edge of what goes on so he can get his digs in and almost managing to avoid getting called on it. The comedy provides not so much relief as an obverse view, consistently deflating and needling, and it is rarely clear where exactly the boundaries are, or who can truly be called central in this world fallen askew.

     Consider the late emergence of Barnardine, a murderer who for nine years has been awaiting execution. The Duke determines to substitute his head for that of Claudio, demanded by Angelo in proof that he has been put to death, but when Barnardine—already described as “a man that apprehends death no more dreadfully but as a drunken sleep; careless, reckless, and fearless of what’s past, present, or to come”—emerges from his cell, he simply refuses to die—“I have been drinking hard all night, and I will have more time to prepare me… I swear I will not die today for any man’s persuasion”—and staggers back to his cell. It was a disappointment to see this episode treated as a comic interlude, with too much hokum and unneeded verbal additions. (Zachary Fine did much in his other role as the simple-minded constable Elbow.)

     It’s the most surprising scene in Measure for Measure and ought to stop the proceedings in their tracks, with its after beat the Duke’s astonishing pardon of the murderer in the last act. I can still recall being taken to see John Houseman’s production of the play at age eight—a memorable outing to the Shakespeare theater in Stratford, Connecticut in 1956—and however dimly I apprehended its stew of bawdry and sexual extortion, there was no mistaking the uproarious force of Barnardine’s unconditional refusal. The actor was Pernell Roberts, of later Bonanza fame, and he must have delivered Barnardine’s few lines with great vigor, since the scene has lingered in memory ever since. In a play of punitive laws, complex masquerades, and tortuous mutually annihilating arguments, it briefly upholds the intoxicating possibility of simply walking away.”

     As I wrote in my post of June 15 2022, Act Three of the Greatest Show on Earth: Where Do We Go From Here?;  Where do we go from here?

      Democracy in America survived its most terrible moment of peril from internal threat in the January 6 Insurrection, yet here we are, witness to the public exposure of the plot and its treasonous conspirators on television as Congress brings a Reckoning to the Fourth Reich.

      Like the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 on which it was modeled, it failed; but in doing so also achieved all of its strategic goals, moving our great enemy nearer to victory by staging a Lost Cause which established the fascist counternarrative as iconography that Trump remains our legitimate President. Next time, and there will always be a next time, we may not be so lucky.

      Not only do the forces of fascism remain an active threat, through open allegiance to the Lost Cause which echoes horrifically with that of the Confederacy and the KKK whose adherents are among the networks of deniable assets now among us as they were at the Capitol on that fateful day, but the vast resources of wealth and power at their command after seventy years of infiltration of global elites and governments remain undiminished.

      But none of this is relevant to the true threat which fascism poses to us all today; for America has been divided against itself, and as we are warned by Abraham Lincoln in 1858 in his House Divided speech in reference to the synoptic Gospels of Luke 11:17, Mark 3:25, and Matthew 12:25; “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it.

     We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation.

Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, not ceased, but has constantly augmented.

     In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed –

     “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

     I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.

     I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect it will cease to be divided.

     It will become all one thing, or all the other.”

      As we are taught with the lyrics of the song Where Do We Go From Here?, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode 7 of season 6, Once More With Feeling, possibly the greatest musical episode of any telenovela yet created;

 “Where do we go from here

Where do we go from here

The battle’s done,

And we kinda won.

So we sound our victory cheer.

Where do we go from here.

Why is the path unclear,

When we know home is near.

Understand we’ll go hand in hand,

But we’ll walk alone in fear. (Tell me)

Tell me where do we go from here.

When does the end appear,

When do the trumpets cheer.

The curtains close, on a kiss god knows,

We can tell the end is near…

Where do we go from here

Where do we go from here

Were do we go

from here?”

       Here is an elegy for the Fall of America, a hymn to a dying hope and the lost grandeur of a fallen nation. When in a distant future the artifacts of our civilization begin to puzzle whatever beings arise from our carrion, and they ask who were the Americans, I hope such music as this lamentation remains to guide their questions.

     Yet hope remains when all is lost, and whether it becomes a gift or a curse is in our hands. These lyrics speak of the modern pathology of disconnectedness, of the division and fracture of our Solidarity, of subjugation through learned helplessness and the dominion of fear. But this is not the end of the story, nor of ours.

     Once More With Feeling ends not with abjection, but with The Kiss, between the Slayer and Spike, one of the monsters she hunts. A very particular kind of monster, who is also the hero of the story in its entire seven year arc; one who is made monstrous by his condition of being and forces beyond his control, against which he struggles for liberation and to recreate and define himself as he chooses, a monster who reclaims his humanity and his soul. This is why we continue to watch the show twenty years after its debut; we are all Spike, locked in titanic struggle for the ownership of ourselves with authorized identities and systemic evils, a revolution of truths written in our flesh against imposed conditions of struggle and orders of human being, meaning, and value.

      Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an allegory of Sartrean freedom in a world without inherent value or meaning, of the joy of total freedom versus the terror of our nothingness, and above all a song of the redemptive power of love to return to us our true selves.

      This is how we defeat fascist tyranny in the long game, after we bring a Reckoning for its crimes against humanity and its subversion of democracy; let us answer hate with love, division with solidarity, fear with hope, and bring healing to the flaws of our humanity and the brokenness of the world.

The Treason Mob: Trump and His Circus of Treason

Trump’s hush-money trial: what’s happened so far?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/15/trump-hush-money-trial

Who are the key players in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/15/key-players-donald-trump-hush-money-trial

Trump’s hush-money trial: prosecutors’ key arguments in criminal case

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/15/trump-hush-money-trial-key-arguments

King Kong | Climbing Up (and Falling from) the Empire State Building

(how Trump sees himself)

Belligerence and hostility: Trump’s mugshot defines modern US politics

America on trial: the charges against Trump will decide the fate of a nation

Trump’s mugshot reviewed: ‘More like a foolish old man with anger issues than a presidential contender’ | Photography | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/aug/25/trump-mugshot-reviewed-fry-blackadder-melchett-fulton

Mugshotted, Trump’s veneer of immunity cracked. Yet his wrath is bottomless | Lloyd Green | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/25/trump-fulton-county-jail-mugshot-republicans-2024

Trumps Kubrick Stare

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday’s Kubrick Stare, in the iconic dance with her monster

Wednesday: the first revolution in which we all must fight; the struggle for ownership of ourselves

Wednesday Addams | Inside the Character | Netflix

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 6 episode 7- Once More, with Feeling – Where Do We Go From Here?

Gummo film

https://vimeo.com/388834918

Lincoln’s House Divided speech

https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/housedivided.htm

The Public Burning, by Robert Coover, William H. Gass (Introduction)

Heliogabalus; or, the Crowned Anarchist, by Antonin Artaud

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75887.Heliogabalus_or_the_Crowned_Anarchist

The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde, Nicholas Frankel  (Editor)

The Theatre and Its Double, by Antonin Artaud

The Algebra of Need, by William S. Burroughs, Eric Mottram (Editor)

Friedrich Nietzsche on the Philosophy of Right and the State, by Nikos Kazantzakis

American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery, Craig Unger

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55655068-american-kompromat?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18

God’s Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God a Republican and Baptized the American Right, Michael Sean Winters

A List of the Crimes of Our Clown of Terror, Traitor Trump

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-complete-listing-atrocities-1-1-056

April 15 2024 First Anniversary of the Sudan War

      Sudan, where roving bands of tribal and warlord armies savage each other over the carrion of a nation and apex predators of foreign empires hunt each other among the ruins.

       And in the background, like shadow puppets in a theatre of darkness, a vast humanitarian failure of atrocities, war crimes, famine, and refugees speaks to us of the distance we have fallen in our duty of care for one another.

    For one year as of today atrocities which define the limits of the human have been committed here on a mass scale, with intent and by design, wherein our dehumanization is industrialized by tyrants to enforce the wealth, power, and privilege of hegemonic elites through fascisms of blood, faith, and soil. Sadly, this is far from unique in human history, and we know where this leads.

     No matter where authority begins with narratives of elite belonging and exclusionary otherness, we always end up at the gates of Auschwitz.

      Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine; symptoms of the same disease, now ongoing and appended to an endless litany of woes. Here I must signpost that the Sudan War is but one of several related conflicts in the African Theatre of World War Three as Putin attempts to re-found the Russian Empire. This is why the RSF is supplied with weapons from Russia’s client state in Libya, and why Ukrainian and other special forces are fighting the Wagner Group in Sudan.

       As Alan Moore teaches us in the great film V For Vendetta; “Since mankind’s dawn, a handful of oppressors have accepted the responsibility over our lives that we should have accepted for ourselves. By doing so, they took our power. By doing nothing, we gave it away.”

       As I wrote in my post of November 28 2023, The Failure of Empathy and the Fall of Human Civilization: the Case of Sudan; To remember, and bring a Reckoning; such is our duty of care for each other, without which we cease to be truly human and degenerate as atavisms of instinct in parallel and interdependent with processes of civilizational collapse.

     A wise friend of mine, the poetess Aasifa Reshi has written; “Sudan has died, and nobody wrote the obituary.”

     Here as in so many places we may see the abandonment of our humanity and of our empathy as a limit beyond which we may not pass without losing who we are, and a vision of the future which awaits us all if we cannot reverse course and act in solidarity to affirm our universal human rights.

     Among the many horrors of the civil war in Sudan, become a theatre of World War Three now as Ukrainian and Russian special forces battle each other for the dominion or liberation of Sudan, is the apathy with which the world witnesses some of the most terrible atrocities of the twenty first century with none of the mass protests and peace marches which have made the Gaza War part of the lives of all of us and the history of the world. Some of this is because the global Jewish and Palestinian diasporas are enormous and so many people are personally involved through people who are part of our lives, often on both sides; some of it is simple racism.

      Why are so many willing to immolate themselves on the funeral pyre of human civilization over the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians and the moral collapse and delegitimation of the state of Israel, and so few placing their lives in the balance with the peoples of Sudan?

      What can this tell us about the systems of unequal power in which we are ensnared, and how we might free ourselves and each other?

      So I wrote half a year ago of the boundaries and interfaces between elite belonging and exclusionary otherness when identities of race and faith are weaponized as division in service to power by those who would enslave us, and of the degradation of our humanity and loss of our solidarity and guarantorship of each other’s universal human rights.

      What is the situation in this war now?

     As written by Nesrine Malik in The Guardian, in an article entitled For a full year, the bodies have piled up in Sudan – and still the world looks away; “One year ago today, Sudan descended into war. The toll so far is catastrophic. Thousands are dead, and millions are displaced, with hunger and disease ravaging all in the absence of aid. The UN has called the situation “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history”, afflicting about 25 million people. The Sudanese people are suffering what has become the largest displacement crisis in the world.

     The war was both sudden and a long time coming. The short history is that of a country where, following a promising 2019 revolution that overthrew the dictator Omar al-Bashir, the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful militia, ejected civilians from a power-sharing agreement between the three parties and then could not come to an agreement themselves. Their partnership broke down in April last year, and the RSF moved quickly, taking over the capital city, Khartoum, in an unprecedented moment in the country’s history. It then spread through the rest of the country, looting, assaulting and murdering civilians.

     The army – and here is the long history – which established the RSF in the first place from remnants of the infamous Janjaweed troops it partnered with in Darfur to help it savagely suppress rebellion in the region – has so far been unable to prevail against its own creation. The result is a fluid situation, with gains and losses for both parties, no discernible frontline, and millions of Sudanese people caught in the middle.

     It’s not so much a civil war as it is a war against civilians, whose homes, livelihoods and very lives have been the collateral damage so far. It is two tragedies overlaid. The first is of a country that until last year, although beset with conflict and dictatorship, had managed to maintain its integrity – and with it a sense that there was a way through its troubles, after which it could achieve its potential.

     The war, despite all that led up to it, was not inevitable, was not the foreseeable fate of a country where ethnic differences necessitated conflict. It was the result of an economic model of centralisation where dominant parties in the centre preyed on, and extracted from, the periphery. One of the largest countries in Africa, with a sparkling coast along the Red Sea, fertile land across the Nile River, and the sort of cultural and ethnic diversity that could be harnessed into a powerhouse of Arab and African convergence, Sudan was always held back by an entitled few who wouldn’t share.

     Added to the loss of what could have been are all the personal losses spread now throughout the country. The war unfolded and spread so rapidly that a mass dispossession took place, and with it an odyssey of displacement. Everyone I know in the country of my birth is scattered to different degrees, either within Sudan – sheltering, sometimes for the third or fourth time, with friends or relatives as the war reaches them – or outside of it. All, including my family, have left their homes, sometimes grabbing what they could before the RSF stormed in and took over their properties.

     Even though it has been a year, there is still a sense of whiplash, of disbelief that it has actually happened, is actually happening. Every development expands the theatre of war and makes a return to peace more remote. Writing these words is a halting, painful process, like stepping on shards of broken glass. Something similar plays out on an almost daily basis, where one tries, and fails, to trace and keep track of all the individual and national tolls.

     And more jarring is that the world has gazed with indifference upon this crucible of war. The “forgotten war” is what it’s called now, when it’s referenced in the international media. Little is offered by way of explanation for why it is forgotten, despite the sharpness of the humanitarian situation, the security risk of the war spreading, and the fact that it has drawn in self-interested mischievous players such as the United Arab Emirates, which is supporting the RSF, and therefore extending the duration of the war.

     One of the reasons for this is Gaza and the escalating Middle East conflict, and how they have monopolised global attention and diplomatic bandwidth for the past six months. And another is that for those reporting within Sudan and the few who manage to get in, doing so is difficult and fraught with danger, limiting the output of images and details that can be broadcast consistently to galvanise attention. But the rest, I suspect, is down to what to most will seem unremarkable: this is just another African country succumbing to intractable conflict.

     This is a different war from the one waged in Darfur, which drew in celebrities, politicians and even the international criminal court in previous years. And it is different from the war between the north and south, which also attracted so much advocacy and political pressure that a peace agreement and secession was secured. It is not, as in the past, a conflict resonantly framed as Muslims against Christians, or Arabs against Africans, stirring sympathy and outrage. It is the challenge of a new configuration of political and economic entrepreneurs who wish to displace the old military cluster of ruling parties – but with no experience and even less interest in actually running parts of the state captured in the meantime.

     On a political level Sudan falls, and has always done, low on the list of priorities for power brokers in the west, who have few interests in the country. They either crudely isolated it through sanctions or, after the revolution, naively and hastily tried to marshal the two armed parties to agreement and a de-facto return to a militarised, centralised status quo.

     This is the point where I would usually suggest some potential way through it all. But one year on there is nothing but mourning. There is comfort though, as infrastructure has collapsed, in how the Sudanese people have pooled their few resources and opened up their homes to each other, in how volunteers have set up community kitchens, and how resistance committees, local civil disobedience units that were set up before and thrived during the 2019 revolution have been repurposed to provide medical aid, food and shelter. In these acts, there is still a reminder that a country is not a place but a spirit. Not only is that very much alive, but it has proved to be, in even the most extreme circumstances, impossible to extinguish.”

     What is to be done, as Lenin asked in the essay that began the Russian Revolution?

     As written by Kate Ferguson in The Guardian, in an article entitled The RSF are out to finish the genocide in Darfur they began as the Janjaweed. We cannot stand by; “As conflict in Sudan escalates, it is becoming clear that the Rapid Support Forces has returned to Darfur to complete the genocide it began 20 years ago. The RSF is the Janjaweed rebranded, the “devils on horseback” used by the Sudanese government from 2003 to implement widespread and systematic crimes against non-Arab communities across Darfur. The RSF was, and still is, commanded by Gen Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.

     In recent weeks, what we knew was coming has been confirmed. Yale University’s Conflict Observatory, which uses a combination of satellite imagery, Nasa thermal-detection data and open-source analysis, found evidence of the “targeted destruction of at least 26 communities” by the RSF between 15 April and 10 July. Mass graves have been discovered, and satellite imagery shows entire urban neighbourhoods and villages have been burned down.

     Sexual violence is once again an evident component of RSF strategy. Facilities necessary for survival are being deliberately destroyed, from homes, schools and hospitals to water, electricity and communications infrastructure.

     What has been reported in Darfur is the first wave of a strategy that will become more extreme if left unchecked.

     This is what you do when you want to permanently remove a people. And terrible as this evidence is, the public reports and verified cases will still represent a massive undercount of what is actually taking place.

     This hellish trajectory will gather momentum, and there is a real risk the RSF will now take aim at larger targets, such as the town of El Fasher, where there are at least 600,000 displaced people now largely housed in three camps.

     The RSF appears to be taking advantage of an international response to the crisis that is prioritising resolution between the warring generals – Hemedti and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s armed forces – but so far is proving unable or unwilling to respond to the mass violence being unleashed across Darfur.

     From the second world war and the Holocaust to the wars of Yugoslav succession and genocide against Bosnia’s Muslims, this deeply flawed assumption that ending armed conflict will also end campaigns of identity-based mass violence has meant catastrophic failures to protect vulnerable people and prevent massive losses of life. Failure to acknowledge these distinctions in Sudan will likewise be devastating for Darfur.

     The deliberate violence in Darfur requires an urgent response. However, doing so confers no legitimacy on Sudanese armed forces, which have been committing human rights violations elsewhere in Sudan in pursuit of reimposing Islamist authoritarian rule.

     What has been reported in Darfur should be seen as the first wave of a strategy that will become more extreme if left unchecked. The RSF command is watching what the world will do before it escalates. We have the narrowest of windows in which to act.

     The nature, intent and perpetrators of atrocities must be named and condemned. Last week the UK’s development minister, Andrew Mitchell, said crimes against humanity was “entirely right” to describe what is taking place. It is surprising that other countries – in particular the US, which has an established mechanism to do so – have yet to follow suit. Global condemnation can give perpetrators cause to hesitate; this buys time, which saves lives.

     The roles played by state leaders via back-channel diplomacy, and in leveraging bilateral and personal relationships, often make the greatest difference amid such delicate tipping points. Leadership from the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, along with Mitchell, in publicly condemning mass atrocities in the strongest possible terms – and getting on the phone to urge their counterparts to do the same – is therefore critical.

     The glare of the international spotlight allows perpetrators fewer places to conceal their crimes. As current president of the UN security council, the UK should be using every forum and mechanism to bring attention, investigation, documentation and media coverage. Impunity thrives in the shadows.

     The UK must listen far more to the people who know and understand this violence best. I told the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee last month that the UK made a catastrophic error in trusting the men with guns rather than listening to the people who were feeling increasingly unsafe. It would be a graver mistake still to assume now that designing protective strategies is the singular purview of military experts in western capitals.

     The UK needs to establish urgently an emergency communications channel between Whitehall and experts in Sudan, Darfur, Chad and the Darfuri community here in the UK, who will be among the first to know when the RSF advance or alters course.

     Ultimately, as the chairs of both the international development and foreign affairs select committees have repeated, a protective wedge must be placed between people at risk and the RSF. The full spectrum of protective options must be fully considered, including but not limited to the rapid deployment of high-level international observers, the presence of UN political and human rights experts as “eyes and ears” on the ground, and peacekeeping forces that can protect civilians.

     None of these options is easy – we know the UN security council is broken, and securing permission for access will be a diplomatic feat on its own – but difficulty cannot become an excuse not to persevere when any kind of international presence will help to pause attacks and buy time.

     We knew the spectre of identity-based mass violence was returning to Sudan. We knew it when Hemedti instigated a massacre in Khartoum after the people’s revolution in 2019; we knew it when Burhan led the military coup in 2021.

     If the UK’s policy is indeed “to maximise our ability to take effective action to prevent and respond to atrocities”, comprehensive action must be taken now. Otherwise, we will have to accept that we stood by 20 years after genocide began in Darfur, allowing the very same perpetrators to complete the crime.”

     As I wrote in my post of July 15 2023, Genocide as a Symptom of Social and Political Collapse in Failed States: the Case of Sudan; Genocide can be read as a symptom of both social and political collapse; the hollowing out of values and relationships which sustain our humanity and the degradation of nations into regimes of authoritarian tyranny and state terror as they become delegitimized.

     It is the ultimate crime, and the end state of authorized national identities and fascisms of blood, faith, and soil, of the weaponization of fear and faith in service to power through divisions and hierarchies of belonging and exclusionary otherness.

     In Sudan a civil war rages and devolves into the horrors of genocide, a war which is also a proxy Great Powers conflict between the Arab-American Alliance and Russia for dominion in this theatre of World War Three. Here the past swallows the future and cannibalizes our hope for a humankind united as guarantors of each other’s universal human rights.

     Sudan is a classic example of the problems of faith as national identity and of the Double Minority as in Northern Ireland or Israel and Palestine, wherein both historically Islamic and Christian identities have been deployed in service to power. This is now compounded by having become a wishbone of empires.

     Herein we play two bad choices against each other in hope of creating a free space of play for liberation and democracy, and at risk of either side consolidating power as a tyrannical regime, while whole peoples die.

     The strategy and goal of the Arab-American Alliance is simple; overthrow the regime of Russia’s client state with our champion Hemedti, a key regional ally whose child soldiers enforce our power in Yemen and elsewhere, who also happens to be a warlord, slave raider, and mining robber king whose wealth and power are built on the lives of indigenous Black people. This means that we need him in the Great Game and cannot disavow him, but also that his campaign of genocide against the Black Christian peoples has destabilized the whole region, abetted Islamization and brought America into alignment with forces inimical to our political interests and long range goals, and subverted our goal in Sudan of a secular and multiethnic democracy.

     Here is a parallel of why American abandoned Afghanistan; we needed the Taliban as a buffer state and counterforce to Iran, more than we needed the wealth from control of its heroin fields.

     The use of social force is subversive of its own values in the enforcement of virtue.

     For myself, I would dearly love to break the power of the Russian Empire and liberate Africa and the world from Putin’s colonialist tyranny and terror, but not at the cost of a genocide.

     In Sudan we must change our strategy, envision a new path to a free society of equals, and bring the Chaos.

     Let us send no armies to enforce virtue, but in liberation struggle only.

     No matter where you begin with songs of the Elect and Others, of purity and contamination, virtue and monstrosity, obedience and transgression, identification of the Infinite with those who claim to speak in his name and enforce our submission to their will, with the idea that some of us are better and truly more human than others on the basis of any of this, with subjugation to those who claim to speak in our name and would enslave us defined as good and freedom from systems of force and control as evil, and with the use of social force in service to elite hegemonies of wealth, power, and privilege, you always end up at the gates of Auschwitz.

     And this we must Resist, and give reply with the words found written on its death chambers after Liberation; Never Again!

     As written by Simon Tisdall in The Guardian, in an article entitled China, Myanmar and now Darfur … the horror of genocide is here again: Each time it happens, the world insists: ‘never again’. But the political and moral blindspots that allow these atrocities will persist until the lessons of history are learned; “

It’s happening again. In Darfur, scene of a genocide that killed 300,000 people and displaced millions 20 years ago, armed militias are on the rampage once more. Now, as then, they are targeting ethnic African tribes, murdering, raping and stealing with impunity. “They” are nomadic, ethnic Arab raiders, the much-feared “devils on horseback” – except now they ride in trucks. They’re called the Janjaweed. And they’re back.

     How is it possible such horrors can be repeated? The world condemned the 2003 slaughter. The UN and the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigated. Sudan’s former president, Omar al-Bashir, was charged with genocide and crimes against humanity along with his principal allies. The trial of one suspect, known as Ali Kushayb, opened last year. Yet Bashir and the guilty men have evaded justice so far.

     It’s a familiar story. Throughout history, genocide, the most heinous of crimes, has often gone unpunished. The UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention defined it as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. It is universally proscribed. States are legally bound to prevent it. Yet there’s a tendency to look away. In Xinjiang, Myanmar and elsewhere, the convention’s “odious scourge” rages unchecked.

     For its part, Sudan goes from bad to worse. The Janjaweed are allied to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – paramilitaries warring with the army for control of the country. The RSF commander, known as Hemedti, was a Janjaweed leader in 2003. Like others, he has never faced justice. The UN warns with growing urgency that “crimes against humanity” are being committed in Darfur. It seems only too obvious where this is headed.

     Genocide, typically, is a “never again” event. So terrible and long-lasting are its effects that survivors insist it cannot ever be repeated. The Holocaust – the murder of six million European Jews by Nazi Germany – is the supreme, modern example of genocidal evil. Yet even that abomination has not dispelled a more general amnesia (or deliberate forgetting) about the past, nor deterred present-day emulators. “Never again” never works.

     The denial of recognition and justice to genocide’s historical victims helps explain today’s political and moral blindspots. In a powerful essay in the New York Review of Books last month, Ed Vulliamy, a former Guardian and Observer Bosnian war correspondent, highlights one such case of “invisibility”: the 19th-century drive to exterminate California’s Native American tribes.

     “They were totally deprived of land rights. They were… treated as wild animals, shot on sight… enslaved and worked to death… Their life was outlawed and their whole existence was condemned,” an official report later admitted. Nowhere were efforts to destroy Indigenous peoples’ lives and culture more “methodically savage” than in California, Vulliamy writes. Yet who remembers now? Who even knew?

     To his credit, the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has sponsored a California Truth and Healing Council to collect descendants’ testimony and formulate proposals for recognition, recompense and restorative justice. Newsom is clear about what happened. “It’s called genocide… No other way to describe it,” he said when setting up the council. Such candour is rare.

     Most European countries, Britain especially, formerly exhibited genocidal tendencies. Australia, too. The genocide of the Herero, Nama and other Aboriginal peoples by early 20th-century German settlers in what is now Namibia is another instance of obliterated history recently brought painfully to light. Thousands were machine-gunned by the colonists. Pornographic photographs of sexually-abused women were sent home as postcards. Foreshadowing Nazi atrocities, macabre medical experiments were conducted on prisoners.

     In 2021, a belatedly apologetic Germany agreed reparations with Namibia’s government. But the deal is on hold. Victims’ groups object, saying they were not consulted. As in other historical genocides, like that suffered by Ottoman-era Armenians in 1915-17, facts are disputed, responsibility is repudiated, and reconciliation remains elusive. Referred pain is just too powerful.

     Genocide prosecutions make gradual advances. Last week, a court in Paris jailed for life a Rwandan military policeman, Philippe Hategekimana, for his role in the slaughter of 800,000 people, mostly minority ethnic Tutsis, in 1994. Following the Bosnian war, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and the Bosnian Serb leaders, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, were tried for genocide.

     But national courts in Germany and France exercising “universal jurisdiction”, the much-undermined ICC (the US, Russia and China reject its authority), special courts (as in Sierra Leone) and ad hoc, Yugoslavia-style international tribunals, such as that urged for Ukraine, are struggling to keep up with the sheer scale of atrocious behaviour around the world.

     Why, for example, is Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, not prosecuted for attempted genocide of Kurdish and Sunni groups under the terms of the 1948 convention? Russia’s Vladimir Putin should surely face similar action over Ukraine – in addition to the ICC’s war crimes warrant. Last week’s pizza restaurant bombing in Kramatorsk could be exhibit A, though in truth there are not enough letters in the alphabet to list all Putin’s crimes.

     Treating genocide as a rare, usually historical occurrence is nonsense. It’s happening today in Darfur. It’s happening in Myanmar, where minority Rohingyas are persecuted and displaced by a vicious military junta. And it’s happening in China with the documented mass detention, forced labour, involuntary sterilisation, family separation and religious persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

     As the US government says, such cruelty exactly fits the definition of genocide with intent. So why not indict President Xi Jinping? The UN Human Rights Council’s shameful vote to ignore its own damning Xinjiang investigation shows why this suggestion is impractical to the point of absurdity. It shows the depth of the problem with genocide denialism that the world still faces.

     It’s why impunity rules. It’s why the killers keep killing. It’s why the Janjaweed ride again.”

     As I wrote in my post of April 16 2023, Chaos Is the Great Hope of the Powerless: the Case of Sudan; In Sudan the legacies of our history return to savage us with terror and cruelty, as consequences of the Darfur War and the tyranny of the monstrous Omar al-Bashir, for though he has been brought a Reckoning as the figurehead of atavistic forces of fascisms of faith and race and the nihilistic wanton capitalism of elite hegemonies of wealth, power, and privilege, the forces which created him live on after he is fallen, conserving inequalities of power.

     All use of social force and violence obeys Newton’s Third Law of Motion, and creates its own resistance. This is both an existential threat to be feared, and an opportunity for transformative change to be desired.

    Such are the true aims and means of politics as the art of the possible; to dream and make real visions of fear and desire, belonging and otherness.

     Sudan began the Arab Spring, and was among its victims as failure of vision  and the persistence of evil as unequal power.

      In this moment the Rapid Support Forces led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, remnants of Omar al-Bashir’s army of madness and criminality, challenges the government of Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who has repressed the democracy movement with great brutality.

      The fall of tyrants and seizures of power are goals and objectives of revolution, but we must also bring change to unjust systems if we are to free ourselves from the legacies of history and dream new and better ways to be human together. As proof of my thesis I offer you the case of Sudan, where warlords struggle for dominion in the wake of the collapse of the hope of democracy.

      And this moment of chaos is also one of opportunity, for as Guillermo del Toro has written in his great telenovela Carnival Row, “Who is Chaos good for? Chaos is good for us. Chaos is the great hope of the powerless.”

     Let us use the enemies of liberty against each other, and bring to Sudan a free society of equals who act as each other guarantors of universal human rights.

      Let us bring the Chaos.

     As written by Adam Fulton in The Guardian, in an article entitled Sudan conflict: why is there fighting and what is at stake in the region?

Power struggle between military factions erupted after faltering transition to civilian-led government; “Clashes between Sudan’s military and the country’s main paramilitary force have left at least 56 dead, while control of the presidential palace and the international airport in Khartoum is in doubt after disputed claims from both sides, in fighting that threatens to destabilise Sudan and the wider region.

     What’s behind the fighting?

The clashes erupted amid an apparent power struggle between the two main factions of Sudan’s military regime.

     The Sudanese armed forces are broadly loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country’s de facto ruler, while the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a collection of militia, follow the former warlord Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

     The power struggle has its roots in the years before a 2019 uprising that ousted the dictatorial ruler Omar al-Bashir, who built up formidable security forces that he deliberately set against one another.

     When an effort to transition to a democratic civilian-led government faltered after Bashir’s fall, an eventual showdown appeared inevitable, with diplomats in Khartoum warning in early 2022 that they feared such an outbreak of violence. In recent weeks, tensions have risen further.

     How did the military rivalries develop?

     The RSF was founded by Bashir to crush a rebellion in Darfur that began more than 20 years ago due to the political and economic marginalisation of the local people by Sudan’s central government. The RSF were also known by the name of Janjaweed, which became associated with widespread atrocities.

     In 2013, Bashir transformed the Janjaweed into a semi-organised paramilitary force and gave their leaders military ranks before deploying them to crush a rebellion in South Darfur and then dispatching many to fight in the war in Yemen, and later Libya.

     The RSF, led by Hemedti, and the regular military forces under Burhan cooperated to oust Bashir in 2019. The RSF then dispersed a peaceful sit-in that was held in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum, killing hundreds of people and raping dozens more.

     A power-sharing deal with the civilians who led the protests against Bashir, which was supposed to bring about a transition towards a democratic government, was interrupted by a coup in October 2021.

     The coup put the army back in charge but it faced weekly protests, renewed isolation and deepening economic woes. Hemedti swung behind the plan for a new transition, bringing tensions with Burhan to the surface.

     Hemedti has huge wealth derived from the export of gold from illegal mines, and commands tens of thousands of battle-hardened veterans. He has long chafed at his position as official deputy on Sudan’s ruling council.

     What are the faultlines?

     A central cause of tension since the uprising is the civilian demand for oversight of the military and integration of the RSF into the regular armed forces.

     Civilians have also called for the handover of lucrative military holdings in agriculture, trade and other industries, a crucial source of power for an army that has often outsourced military action to regional militias.

     Another point of contention is the pursuit of justice over allegations of war crimes by the military and its allies in the conflict in Darfur from 2003. The international criminal court is seeking trials for Bashir and other Sudanese suspects.

     Justice is also being sought over the killings of pro-democracy protesters in June 2019, in which military forces are implicated. Activists and civilian groups have been angered by delays to an official investigation. In addition, they want justice for at least 125 people killed by security forces in protests since the 2021 coup.

     What’s at stake in the region?

     Sudan is in a volatile region bordering the Red Sea, the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa. Its strategic location and agricultural wealth have attracted regional power plays, complicating the chances of a successful transition to civilian-led government.

     Several of Sudan’s neighbours – including Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan – have been affected by political upheavals and conflict, and Sudan’s relationship with Ethiopia, in particular, has been strained over issues including disputed farmland along their border.

     Major geopolitical dimensions are also at play, with Russia, the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other powers battling for influence in Sudan.

     The Saudis and the UAE have seen Sudan’s transition as an opportunity to push back against Islamist influence in the region. They, along with the US and Britain, form the “Quad”, which has sponsored mediation in Sudan along with the UN and the African Union. Western powers fear the potential for a Russian base on the Red Sea, which Sudanese military leaders have expressed openness to.”

     As I wrote in my post of February 12 2020 Sudan: Justice for the Victims of the Darfur War; Pandora’s Box has been opened once again in Sudan today, this time signaling not the escape of evils but the rediscovery of hope as yesterday the government agrees to surrender the monster and outcast former tyrant Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court to be tried for genocide and war crimes during the Darfur War.

     Both slave revolt and revolutionary struggle by Black African tribal peoples against oligarchic Arab elites who traditionally have used them as a herd for slave labor, the Darfur War became a war of survival against the genocidal and horrific campaign of repression and ethnic cleansing which was the government’s response. It was a war of race and class marked by the worst aspects of both kinds of conflict, ending in April 2019 with the overthrow and arrest of the tyrant, first success of our Revolution in the Year of the Reckoning.

    In the words of Annum Masroor writing in Huffpost; “In the Darfur conflict, rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of oppression by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.

     The government responded with a scorched-earth assault of aerial bombings and unleashed militias known as the Janjaweed, who are accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes.”

    As written by Ishaan Tharoor with Sammy Westfall in The Washington Post’s newsletter, in an article entitled Behind chaos in Sudan is a broader global power struggle; “The battles that have raged for three days in Sudan have all the markings of a potential civil war. Dueling armed factions — the country’s military, led by Sudanese president and top commander Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and a major paramilitary force known as the Rapid Support Forces, led by Vice President Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — clashed in the capital of Khartoum and other cities.

     The fighting, triggered apparently by disputes over how to integrate the RSF into the military, has even involved airstrikes against rival targets and has impacted dense urban areas, leading to the deaths of more than 180 people, according to a U.N. official, with the toll expected to rise. It has also claimed the lives of three Sudanese people working for the U.N.’s World Food Program, while there were reports Monday evening of assaults on Western diplomats.

     The two feuding generals have cast a long shadow over Sudanese politics. They both built their careers waging a brutal counterinsurgency against an uprising in the country’s western Darfur region that began in 2003; the atrocities carried out against the rebellion are seen as acts of genocide. Dagalo, known universally as Hemedti, came to the fore as the leader of a notorious pro-government Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, which later morphed into the RSF.

     After being part of the military establishment that decided in 2019 to oust long-ruling dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Burhan and Hemedti would later collaborate in bringing down a fragile civilian-led government in 2021. All the while, their soldiers intimidated and brutalized Sudanese pro-democracy activists and dissidents and a constellation of foreign powers cultivated both as assets in their own regional games.

     Warlords in a country long-riven by militias and insurgencies, the two are now locked in a classic internecine conflict. “Both sides have bases across the country,” said Alan Boswell, head analyst for the Horn of Africa at the International Crisis Group think tank, to the Financial Times. “Both see this fight in existential terms. This is a pure power struggle for who will control Sudan.”

     Burhan and Hemedti were supposed to be stewards of a political transition back toward democracy, but they appear to have for their own reasons balked on that process. “The failure to form a government and the deterioration of the economic and security situation in the country, prompted the various military and civilian parties to sign a framework agreement in December 2022, which was widely accepted by civilians and important and influential parties from the international and regional communities,” explained a story in Asharq Al-Awsat, an influential Arabic-language daily.

     Instead, unable to come to terms with the forging of an apolitical army, the two leaders came to blows. Boswell said that “this war is already dashing any hopes for the quick restoration of civilian rule,” and added that it “risks sucking in many outside actors and spilling across Sudan’s borders if not arrested soon.”

     “Now, fighting could turn into a protracted conflict, with many fearing that the war could drag in regional patrons and neighbors such as Chad, Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia. In the end, nobody knows if the RSF or army will vanquish the other, but their quest could upend the region,” wrote Mat Nashed in New Lines magazine.

     While it may ripple across borders, the chaos in Sudan also is fueled, in part, by outside players. The interim regime dominated by Burhan and Hemedti has been propped up by billions of dollars in Emirati and Saudi financing. Egypt has stepped up its support of Burhan’s forces, while Russia, and in particular the influential Wagner Group mercenaries, has developed apparent ties and contacts with Hemedti’s forces. Sudanese fighters, particularly from Darfur, have ended up on the front lines of both the Saudi- and Emirati-led war effort in Yemen, as well as the conflict in Libya, where a thicket of regional powers, including the UAE, Qatar, Libya and Russia, were all involved.

     Various regional powers eye Sudan’s Red Sea coast including Russia, which has a potential deal in place to set up a naval base in Sudan that would give Moscow a path into the Indian Ocean. So, too, the UAE, which “hopes to protect its long-term strategic interests in Sudan, including the ability to project military and economic power into Yemen and the Horn of Africa from ports and other installations there,” noted a policy brief from the Soufan Center, a global security think tank. “In December 2022, coinciding with the Sudan framework agreement, the UAE and Sudan signed a $6 billion agreement for two UAE firms to build a new port on Sudan’s Red Sea coast.”

     Hemedti’s RSF reportedly control the bulk of Sudan’s lucrative gold mines, which has given him an apparent independent line of financing fueled by an illicit trade of smuggled ore that analysts say winds its way through the UAE and into Russian hands. Western analysts fear the expanding footprint of Wagner, which has cultivated ties with coup-plotting regimes in Mali and Burkina Faso, and carried out counterinsurgency operations in the Central African Republic. French officials, in particular, have warned of the Kremlin’s growing clout in the restive Sahel.

     “In the post Ukraine invasion-world, Hemedti’s more obvious relationship with Russian mercenary group Wagner has put him in the cross-hairs of international machinations across the Sahel,” wrote Kholood Khair, a Khartoum-based analyst. “For Cairo, the prospect of eliminating Hemedti is too good an opportunity to pass up, and the timing is right with western attention coalescing around halting the domino effect of former French colonies turning their backs on Paris in favor of Moscow.”

     Egypt, which has in recent years supported Saudi and Emirati regional initiatives, is a more conspicuous supporter of Burhan, who Cairo sees as a bulwark of stability and a potential ally in geopolitical squabbles with Ethiopia over the construction of a major dam on the Nile. On Monday, there were reports of Hemedti’s forces detaining a contingent of Egyptian soldiers deployed in Sudan, a move that risks further expanding the arc of the conflict.

     A host of foreign governments, including the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, urged a cessation in hostilities. But both generals have vowed to crush the other and show little sign of backing down. “Western nations have little leverage right now. Sudan has been largely isolated since Hemedti and Burhan seized power in a coup in 2021 that ended a short-lived civilian government,” my colleagues explained. “The debt-laden Horn of Africa nation desperately needs tens of billions of dollars to shore up its moribund economy, but deals are unlikely as long as the two men remain in power and fighting each other. Sudan’s economy tanked after the oil-rich south gained independence in 2011, and hyperinflation fed frequent street protests.”

     Bashir’s ouster led to Sudan, Africa’s third-largest nation, coming somewhat out of the cold. The U.S. State Department removed it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, while both Burhan and Hemedti carried out tours of various world capitals. But Khair and other figures in Sudanese civil society argue that, in the current desperate context, neither military ruler should be backed as a figure to stabilize the situation.

     “All the activists and civilians have been saying the whole time, do not trust these two. They are killers; they have been killing for 30 years,” Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem, a Khartoum resident and former journalist, told my colleagues. “This is who the international community has been placating.”

     As I wrote in my post of May 27 2022, Theatres of World War Three: West Africa, the Sahel, and Lake Chad Regions;      Here I offer insight and policy guidance into what I hope will be the last of the Theatres of World War Three; West Africa, the Sahel, and Lake Chad regions. Mali is the primary conflict now, but a general conflict rages throughout the whole region as Islamic State insurgencies contest with nations under the hammer of famine and drought, and Russia’s mercenaries exploit opportunities to seize dominion in defense of elite wealth and power.

     Sudan is a pivot point and interface between bounded realms of sub-Saharan Africa as discussed here, and Libya with whose fate it is closely aligned. To disambiguate the Sudan and Libyan Civil Wars from the general regional conflict, Libya being a unique war of colonial European interests as a wishbone pulled between Russia and Turkey for dominion of the Mediterranean, where sub-Saharan Africa, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Nigeria, is not yet a Great Powers proxy war and civil war but a struggle for power between variants of Islamic State Jihadist groups and the nations which control the resources they covet, with Russia leveraging this into regional dominion through the use of Wagner Group mercenaries as deniable assets.

     It is now the presence of the Wagner Group defending elite interests in fighting Islamic State insurgencies and operating the mines for the governments which have become their proxies and front organizations which defines this theatre of war.

     And it is the Wagner Group we must interrogate for insight into Russia’s plans and methods of world conquest and dominion when as in Syria there are willing surrogates to open the door of empire.

     All of this is possible because France has abandoned her former colonies to their fate, because of the brilliant and visionary Islamic State strategy of delegitimation through provocation and implication in war crimes, some real and some false flag operations by elite IS units in French uniforms in coordination with infiltration agents inside actual French entities, and skillful propaganda. In parallel with blackening the reputation of France, ISGS has been successfully building a viable trans-national state in the region.

     This means that the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, an independent operational arm of Islamic State West Africa Province created in 2015 with al-Sahrawi’s oath of allegiance to IS and split from al-Qaeda, and despite continued factional fighting between the two organizations, is now providing central Command, Intelligence, and Communications to jihadist insurgencies generally in its sphere of influence, as an emergent dominion to which Russia is the only balance. I describe this historical movement as the Syrianization of the conflict.

     There are other possibilities for future Africas without foreign empires and their proxy regimes of brutal and kleptocratic tyrants and endless violence for control of resources, and in the long game this requires the free and open sharing of resources among her peoples and states which are guarantors of our universal human rights and secular democracy as a counterforce to fascisms of blood, faith, and soil.

     To win the liberty of the peoples of Africa one must begin with food, water, medical aid, and safety; the first requirements of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The political follows the humanitarian. Freedom from hunger, disease, violence, and labor exploitation; liberate a people from these, and tyranny will find no point of leverage.

     Beyond this prescription I must give warning here; let us send no armies to enforce virtue, for the most likely result of challenging Russian influence in the region is another Great Powers war of imperial dominion between Russia and France which replicates that of Russia and Turkey in Libya. This will fail, because it plays directly into the hands of ISGS.

     If you fight an insurgency with conventional forces, you will lose. ISGS has demonstrated a genius for this kind of war, and in large part it is not the kind of war our armies are designed to fight. In this arena, victory on the battlefield is irrelevant, because the victory you must win is within the human soul. And here we win love and loyalty by standing with, not against, our fellow human beings. We must offer the better alternative in meeting the needs of the people, both material and otherwise.

     And in this arena we have clear advantage, for democracy is better than tyranny, equality as diversity and inclusion is better than tribalism, racism, and hierarchies of elite belonging and exclusionary otherness, truth is better than the lies and illusions of propaganda, justice is better than rule by the wealthiest robber baron or the most brutal and amoral bandit king, and a secular state is better than tyrannies of the authorized interpreters and enforcers of divine will, for who so ever stands between each of us and the Infinite serves neither.

     A common enemy of humankind is the weaponization of fear by authority in service to power, especially as identity politics and divisions of faith. Gott Mit Uns; it is our most ancient and terrible battle cry, for it permits anything.

    As Voltaire teaches us in his 1765 essay Questions sur les miracles; “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”

The Dam film trailer

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      First Year of the Sudan War, a Retrospective

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Sudan’s outsider: how a paramilitary leader fell out with the army and plunged the country into war – podcast

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‘Khartoum was lit with savage fire’: five Sudanese writers on the country’s nightmare conflict

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Monday briefing: Thousands killed, millions displaced – the conflict in Sudan, three months in

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‘All that we had is gone’: my lament for war-torn Khartoum – podcast

https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2023/aug/21/all-that-we-had-is-gone-my-lament-for-war-torn-khartoum-podcast?CMP=share_btn_link

Sudan conflict: Khartoum landmarks in flames as battles rage across country

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/18/sudan-fighting-conflict-landmarks-destroyed-battles?CMP=share_btn_url

How I survived in Sudan: ‘We had one lightbulb. For two terrifying months, we gathered round it as battle raged

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/sep/05/how-i-survived-in-sudan-khartoum-one-lightbulb-two-terrifying-months-we-gathered-round-battle-raged?CMP=share_btn_url

Oil-rich and extremely poor: inside the forgotten ‘Abyei box’ – a photo essay

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/oct/26/oil-rich-and-extremely-poor-inside-the-forgotten-abyei-box-a-photo-essay?CMP=share_btn_url

‘When will people decide to choose the path of life?’: a Sudanese father’s letter to his dead son

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/nov/28/sudanese-father-letter-to-his-dead-son?CMP=share_btn_url

Rape, murder, looting: massacre in Ardamata is the latest chapter in Darfur’s horror story

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/dec/15/looting-massacre-in-ardamata-is-the-latest-chapter-in-darfurs-horror-story?CMP=share_btn_url

‘They told us – you are slaves’: survivors give harrowing testimony of Darfur’s year of hell

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/dec/30/survivors-give-harrowing-testimony-of-darfur-sudan-year-of-hell?CMP=share_btn_url

Ukrainian special forces ‘in Sudan operating against Russian mercenaries’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/06/ukrainian-special-forces-sudan-russian-mercenaries-wagner?CMP=share_btn_url

‘Here, there is no future’: ethnic cleansing and fresh atrocities drive exodus of thousands from Darfur

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/22/sudan-chad-darfur-refugees-aid-europe-rsf-masalit?CMP=share_btn_url

        References

Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, Ben Kiernan

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2023/apr/17/civilians-describe-being-in-sudan-during-clashes-video?CMP=share_btn_link

The Washington Post newsletter

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/WhctKKXwtnbmNjGtbTSCxkLnSFzRLtmxXBWXlqccHbJWHSGCgNqfrQdvnGFqFZrfZjJsNSv

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2023/apr/16/fighting-between-sudan-military-rivals-breaks-out-in-khartoum-amid-power-struggle-video?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/may/16/the-spider-man-of-sudan-the-real-life-superhero-of-the-protest-movement-documentary?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/28/sudan-resistance-protests-bashir-regime?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/16/sudan-fighting-rages-for-second-day-despite-un-proposed-ceasefire?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/17/mohamed-hamdan-dagalo-the-feared-ex-warlord-taking-on-sudan-army-hemedti?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sudan-omar-al-bashir-icc-darfur-genocide-trial_n_5e42f968c5b69d496c904fe8

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/16/africa/sudan-military-clashes-explained-intl/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/16/sudan-conflict-why-is-there-fighting-and-what-is-at-stake-in-the-region?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/17/opinions/sudan-revolution-to-civil-war-lynch/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/16/sudan-fighting-rages-for-second-day-despite-un-proposed-ceasefire

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/mar/22/sudan-military-brutally-suppressing-protests-global-action-needed?CMP=share_btn_link

            Sudan, South Sudan, and the Darfur War, a reading list

First Raise A Flag: How South Sudan Won the Longest War but Lost the Peace,

Peter Martell

South Sudan: The Untold Story from Independence to the Civil War, Hilde F. Johnson, Desmond Tutu  (Foreword)

War of Visions: Conflict of Identities in the Sudan, Francis Mading Deng

For Love of the Prophet: An Ethnography of Sudan’s Islamic State, Noah Salomon

The Darfur Sultanate: A History, R.S. O’Fahey

                      The Wagner Group in Africa

https://morningexpress.in/russian-group-wagner-expands-area-of-%e2%80%8b%e2%80%8binfluence-in-africa

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/23/russia-putin-wagner-group-mercenaries-africa

                          Sahel region and sub-Saharan West Africa

https://www.csis.org/blogs/examining-extremism/examining-extremism-islamic-state-greater-sahara#:~:text=The%20Islamic%20State%20in%20the%20Greater%20Sahara%20%28ISGS%29%2C,includes%20portions%20of%20Burkina%20Faso%2C%20Mali%2C%20and%20Niger.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/feb/03/while-the-focus-is-on-ukraine-russias-presence-in-the-sahel-is-steadily-growing?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/11/yevgeny-prigozhin-who-is-the-man-leading-russias-push-into-africa?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/20/russian-mercenaries-in-ukraine-linked-to-far-right-extremists?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/apr/28/almost-30-million-will-need-aid-in-sahel-this-year-as-crisis-worsens-un-warns?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/25/isis-linked-groups-open-up-new-fronts-across-sub-saharan-africa?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/07/contagious-coups-what-is-fuelling-military-takeovers-across-west-africa?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jun/12/militant-crackdown-in-sahel-leads-to-hundreds-of-civilian-deaths-report?CMP=share_btn_link

Mali

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/04/russian-mercenaries-wagner-group-linked-to-civilian-massacres-in-mali?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/russian-mercenaries-and-mali-army-accused-of-killing-300-civilians?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/04/russian-mercenaries-wagner-group-mali-analysis?CMP=share_btn_link

Burkina Faso

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/06/burkina-faso-ex-president-blaise-compaore-guilty-thomas-sankara?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/13/guardians-of-the-bush-brutal-vigilantes-policing-burkina-faso-islamist-militants-ethnic-conflict?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/11/thomas-sankara-trial-burkina-faso?CMP=share_btn_link

Nigeria

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/waves-of-bandit-massacres-rupture-rural-life-in-north-west-nigeria?CMP=share_btn_link

Niger

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/oct/30/african-apocalypse-review?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/06/ferocious-niger-battle-leaves-dozens-of-soldiers-and-militants-dead?CMP=share_btn_link

Chad

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/aug/14/president-deby-chad-greatest-threat-to-stability?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/26/we-wont-negotiate-says-new-chad-regime-as-armed-rebels-regroup?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/25/chad-dictators-death-spells-chaos-in-islamist-terrors-new-ground-zero?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/may/17/on-bad-days-we-dont-eat-hunger-grows-for-thousands-displaced-by-conflict-in-chad

                       North Africa, a reading list

North Africa: A History from the Mediterranean Shore to the Sahara, Barnaby Rogerson

In Search of Ancient North Africa: A History in Six Lives, by Barnaby Rogerson

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36341137-in-search-of-ancient-north-africa

The Sahara: A Cultural History, by Eamonn Gearon

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12254466-the-sahara

Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara, by Alisa LaGamma

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50130929-sahel

The Nomad’s Path: Travels in the Sahel, by Alistair Carr

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18464938-the-nomad-s-path

Horn, Sahel, and Rift: Fault-lines of the African Jihad, by Stig Jarle Hansen

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51062928-horn-sahel-and-rift

April 3 2024 Echoes of Guernica in Israel’s Total War: Case of the Aid Worker Bombing

Fast on the heels of the two week Israeli orgy of destruction of al Shifa hospital with its brutal murders, rapes, and torture of both doctors and patients, comes the twin horrors of Israel’s bombing of the World Central Kitchen food convoy and deaths of seven humanitarian aid workers and the bombing of a foreign consulate.

      This is Israel’s response to our victorious Red Sea Campaign of counter-blockade versus the Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which was a total failure for them both in military and political terms despite American drone bombings of liberation forces sites in Yemen.

    Here Genocide Joe tried and failed to kill us in defense of Israel’s blockade and policy of using famine and denial of medical aide in this campaign of genocide and ethnic cleaning of Palestine.

     This makes Biden the second American President who has tried to kill me personally, though Reagan was only Governor of California when he ordered the police to open fire on the students protesting the Occupation of Palestine and the University’s investments in Israel, Bloody Thursday May 15 1969 in People’s Park Berkeley.

     Though the American airstrikes on our drone launch sites did nothing whatever to discourage us and destroyed abandoned and unmanned locations (you didn’t think I’d use the same trick twice now did you?), one did blow up a shed where some lads had stored the spray paints they’d been using to decorate the local urinals with images of Biden and Netanyahu. We know who the enemy is.

     And because the enemies of humanity could not silence us and others who stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine as guarantors of our universal human rights, enemies who speak with the only language they understand, that of terror, cruelty, dehumanization, erasure, and brutal repression of dissent, they murdered a convoy of humanitarian aid workers bringing food to starving children. This was by design, and had the intended effect as World Central Kitchen has withdrawn from Gaza.

     Where did Israel learn the use of such terror?

     From Hitler and Franco, who tested and codified their new model of conquest named Total War and characterized by crimes against civilian populations in the destruction of Guernica, and both the Spanish Civil War and all the horrors that came afterward.

    O Israel, is this how you bring Tikkun Olam, Repair of the World?

    America, is this how we stand in solidarity and liberation struggle with the “huddled masses yearning to be free”?  

       As written by Sam Jones in The Guardian, in an article entitled Gaza aid convoy strike: what happened and who were the victims? Seven World Central Kitchen workers died after a strike on their vehicle in Deir al-Balah; “What do we know about what happened outside the Deir al-Balah warehouse in Gaza?

Seven aid workers trying to deliver much-needed food to Gaza were killed in an Israeli strike in the city of Deir al-Balah on Monday night. The Israeli government confirmed its military had carried out “an unintended strike”, hours after World Central Kitchen (WCK), an international charity that has brought hundreds of tonnes of food aid into Gaza, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were responsible.

     WCK said the workers – three Britons, a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, a Pole and an Australian – had been travelling in two armoured cars bearing the charity’s logo, and a “soft-skin vehicle”.

     “Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route,” the charity said in a statement.

     Israeli defence sources told Haaretz that the aid workers’ vehicles had been hit three times by missiles fired from a drone because of erroneous suspicions that a terrorist was travelling with the convoy.

     Haaretz also reported that some of the passengers left their vehicle after it was hit by the first missile and climbed into another car, which was then hit by a second missile. The third car in the convoy, which approached to pick up the occupants of the second car, was hit by a third missile. The strike killed all of the WCK workers in the convoy.

     WCK has paused its operations in the region while it decides on future activities.

    Who were the victims?

     The Guardian understands two of the three British aid workers to be James Henderson, 33, from Penryn, Cornwall, and John Chapman, 57, who was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The BBC reported the third Briton as James Kirby.

     The Australian government named one of those killed as Zomi Frankcom, a 43-year-old Melbourne-born aid worker. It said it confirmed her death with “overwhelming sadness”, adding that “her tireless work to improve the lives of others should never have cost Ms Frankcom her own”.

     Frankcom’s family described her as “a kind, selfless and outstanding human being [who] travelled the world helping others in their time of need”.

     The Polish victim was named by the country’s foreign minister as Damian Sobol.

     “Our brave compatriot, Damian Sobol from the city of Przemyśl helped those in need in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis is taking place,” Radosław Sikorski said in a video published on X.

     “He was killed in an attack for which the Israeli army claimed responsibility,” Sikorski added, saying he would hold a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz.

     Saif Issam Abu Taha, 25, was identified by relatives and hospital workers as the Palestinian aid worker killed.

     His brother, Ahmed Abu Taha, confirmed he had worked for World Central Kitchen as a driver since the beginning of the year. “He was a dedicated young man,” his brother said.

     Another brother described Taha to the New York Times as an enterprising man who spoke good English and had worked in his father’s business.

     The last time he saw his brother, he told the newspaper, he and others were so excited to about getting to unload the desperately needed food, it was “like they were going to a wedding.”

     On Tuesday, WCK named US-Canada dual citizen Jacob Flickinger as the final member of the group who was killed in the attack.

     What is World Central Kitchen and what has it been doing in Gaza?

     WCK was founded by a Spanish-American chef, José Andrés, in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It has since grown into a global charity that has provided food to refugees at the US border as well as working in Venezuela and Ukraine.

    Over the past few weeks, WCK has brought about 600 tonnes of food and aid to northern Gaza using a maritime aid corridor that was opened last month. The charity says it has so far provided Palestinians facing starvation with more than 43m meals that have been delivered by land, air and sea.

     How bad is the aid situation for Palestinians in Gaza?

     At the end of February, the UN said at least 576,000 people in Gaza – a quarter of its population – were “one step away from famine”. In mid-March, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – a group that includes the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization – said 1.1 million people, half of Gaza’s population, were facing famine.

     Martin Griffiths, the UN’s top relief coordinator, said on X at the time: “The international community should hang its head in shame for failing to stop it … We know that once a famine is declared, it is way too late.”

     Aid agencies’ efforts to get humanitarian assistance to where it is most needed have been severely hampered by a combination of logistical obstacles, a breakdown of public order and lengthy bureaucracy imposed by Israel. The number of aid trucks entering the territory by land over the past five months has been far below the 500 a day that entered before the war.

     How have people reacted?

     In a statement on Tuesday, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “Unfortunately over the last day there was a tragic incident of an unintended strike of our forces on innocent people in the Gaza Strip.” He continued: “This happens in wartime. We are thoroughly looking into it … and will do everything to ensure it does not happen again.”

     The IDF said it was “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident”.

     Andrés said he was heartbroken by his colleagues’ death and called on the Israeli government to “stop this indiscriminate killing … [and] stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon”.

     The British government summoned the Israeli ambassador over the deaths, which the UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said were “completely unacceptable”.

     Cameron added: “Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make major changes to ensure safety of aid workers on the ground.”

     The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the death of any aid worker was “outrageous and unacceptable” and said the government was seeking “a thorough and expeditious review” as well as “full accountability for these deaths” from the Israeli government.

     The Polish foreign ministry expressed its condolences to Sobol’s family, adding: “Poland does not agree to the lack of compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers.”

     The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said American diplomats had already spoken to the Israeli government and urged “a swift, thorough and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened”.

     Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, said she had been “horrified” to hear of the deaths, which included a dual Canadian-US citizen.

     “Canada expects full accountability for these killings and we will convey this to the Israeli government directly,” she said. “Strikes on humanitarian personnel are absolutely unacceptable.”

     Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he was appalled by the deaths and called on the Israeli government to “clarify the circumstances of this brutal attack as soon as possible”.

     As written by Bethan McKernan in The Guardian, in an article entitled Israel accused of targeting aid convoy ‘car by car’ as pressure grows over Gaza tactics; “Israel is facing mounting international pressure to justify its conduct in the war in Gaza as the bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in a drone attack were repatriated to their families.

     Seven members of World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed when a drone repeatedly hit their convoy of three cars, which were clearly identified as belonging to the charity, after it left an aid warehouse in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Monday night.

     WCK’s founder, the chef José Andrés, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had targeted the convoy “systematically, car by car”, even though they were in touch with WCK and were aware of the aid workers’ movements.

     “This was not a bad luck situation where, ‘oops’, we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” he told Reuters. “Even if we were not in coordination with the IDF, no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians.”

     Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the IDF have apologised for the killings, and said that an investigation was under way. Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Tuesday that Israel would open a “joint situation room” with international groups to enable better coordination of aid distribution.

     The circumstances surrounding the killings have renewed scrutiny of Israel’s targeting methods and decision-making process in ordering air and drone strikes. According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the convoy did not contain any suspected militants and had been travelling along a route pre-approved and coordinated with the Israeli military.

     More than 200 aid workers in the territory have been killed in nearly six months of conflict, along with scores of medical staff, journalists and civil response workers. The Guardian reported on Wednesday that IDF officials had permitted large numbers of Palestinian civilians to be killed in “dumb” bomb strikes targeting even low-level Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants, based on what intelligence sources said was an AI-driven system that in many cases risked “attacking by mistake”.

    The Palestinian death toll in the conflict reached 33,000 people on Wednesday, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. With many bodies still trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings, the true figure is likely to be higher.

     WCK named the seven victims as the Palestinian driver Saif Issam Abu Taha, 25; Britons John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who were working for the charity’s security team; and aid workers Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom, 43, an Australian national; Jacob Flickinger, 33, a dual American-Canadian citizen; and Damian Sobol, 35, a Polish national.

     Abu Taha’s remains were handed over to his family for burial in Gaza on Wednesday, and the other bodies were driven into Egypt through the Rafah crossing, now the Palestinian territory’s sole connection to the outside world, to be flown home.

     The victims’ governments, as well as Palestinian officials and Spain, Andrés’s birthplace, have demanded a full and transparent investigation, with some voicing particular anger at Netanyahu’s explanation that “this happens in wartime’’.

     All of the foreign victims come from countries friendly to Israel. WCK also deployed teams to help thousands of displaced Israelis in the wake of the 7 October attack by Hamas in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted, triggering the war.

     Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, called Netanyahu’s remarks “unacceptable and insufficient”. He said: “We are awaiting a much stronger and more detailed clarification, after which we’ll see what action to take.”

     Poland is understood to have launched its own investigation into Sobol’s death. Donald Tusk, the country’s prime minister, addressed Netanyahu and Yacov Livne, the Israeli ambassador to Poland, in a post on X, which said: “The vast majority of Poles showed full solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attack (on Oct 7).

     “Today you are putting this solidarity to a really hard test. The tragic attack on volunteers and your [Netanyahu’s] reaction arouse understandable anger.”

     Joe Biden, who has provided strong diplomatic and military backing for Israel’s offensive, also offered a stern rebuke on Tuesday. The US president told reporters Israel had not done enough to protect aid workers and civilians.

     US rhetoric on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has strengthened of late, but critics say Biden has opted not to use Washington’s leverage as Israel’s principal arms supplier and most important international ally to bring it to the negotiating table, or get it to increase the flow of aid to the territory’s desperate population of 2.3 million.

     Famine is “projected and imminent” in the northern half of Gaza, a UN-backed report said last month, and according to Oxfam the number of people facing catastrophic levels of hunger across the territory as a whole has nearly doubled since December.

     At least 27 children have died of malnutrition, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

     Getting assistance to where it is needed most, particularly the northern half of the territory, has been made difficult by damaged roads, a lack of fuel, a breakdown of public order and what aid agencies have described as unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles imposed by Israel. The number of aid trucks entering the territory by land over the past six months has been far below the 500 a day that entered before the conflict.

     The UN said on Wednesday it had suspended movements at night in Gaza for at least 48 hours to evaluate security issues after the killing of the WCK staff.

     Israel has barred Unrwa, the main UN agency in Gaza, from making deliveries to the north after claiming several of its employees were involved in the Hamas attack that triggered the war. Other aid groups say sending truck convoys north has been too dangerous because of the military’s failure to ensure safe passage.

     Negotiations intended to establish a second truce and the release of the remaining hostages have faltered repeatedly since a week-long ceasefire at the end of November.

     The UN’s human rights council is expected to consider a draft resolution on Friday calling for an arms embargo on Israel, citing the “plausible risk of genocide in Gaza”. If adopted, it would mark the first time that the body has taken a position on the war.”

     And this is not merely one atrocity among countless others wherein the idea of our universal human rights is degraded and subverted by state terror and tyranny, especially as imperial conquest and dominion as it is in the Occupation of Palestine in its entire seventy year history and in the horrific Gaza War now; for Israel has done this by taking mercy, compassion, our duty of care for others and the human element in decision making out of the loop in the Calculus of Fear that is war, and handed it over to artificial intelligences which are encumbered by none of these things, a glimpse of the world to come.

     As written by Bethan McKernan Harry Davies in The Guardian, in an article entitled ‘The machine did it coldly’: Israel used AI to identify 37,000 Hamas targets: Israeli intelligence sources reveal use of ‘Lavender’ system in Gaza war and claim permission given to kill civilians in pursuit of low-ranking militants; “The Israeli military’s bombing campaign in Gaza used a previously undisclosed AI-powered database that at one stage identified 37,000 potential targets based on their apparent links to Hamas, according to intelligence sources involved in the war.

     In addition to talking about their use of the AI system, called Lavender, the intelligence sources claim that Israeli military officials permitted large numbers of Palestinian civilians to be killed, particularly during the early weeks and months of the conflict.

    Their unusually candid testimony provides a rare glimpse into the first-hand experiences of Israeli intelligence officials who have been using machine-learning systems to help identify targets during the six-month war.

     Israel’s use of powerful AI systems in its war on Hamas has entered uncharted territory for advanced warfare, raising a host of legal and moral questions, and transforming the relationship between military personnel and machines.

     “This is unparalleled, in my memory,” said one intelligence officer who used Lavender, adding that they had more faith in a “statistical mechanism” than a grieving soldier. “Everyone there, including me, lost people on October 7. The machine did it coldly. And that made it easier.”

     Another Lavender user questioned whether humans’ role in the selection process was meaningful. “I would invest 20 seconds for each target at this stage, and do dozens of them every day. I had zero added-value as a human, apart from being a stamp of approval. It saved a lot of time.”

     The testimony from the six intelligence officers, all who have been involved in using AI systems to identify Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in the war, was given to the journalist Yuval Abraham for a report published by the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call.

     Their accounts were shared exclusively with the Guardian in advance of publication. All six said that Lavender had played a central role in the war, processing masses of data to rapidly identify potential “junior” operatives to target. Four of the sources said that, at one stage early in the war, Lavender listed as many as 37,000 Palestinian men who had been linked by the AI system to Hamas or PIJ.

     Lavender was developed by the Israel Defense Forces’ elite intelligence division, Unit 8200, which is comparable to the US’s National Security Agency or GCHQ in the UK.

     Several of the sources described how, for certain categories of targets, the IDF applied pre-authorised allowances for the estimated number of civilians who could be killed before a strike was authorised.

     Two sources said that during the early weeks of the war they were permitted to kill 15 or 20 civilians during airstrikes on low-ranking militants. Attacks on such targets were typically carried out using unguided munitions known as “dumb bombs”, the sources said, destroying entire homes and killing all their occupants.

     “You don’t want to waste expensive bombs on unimportant people – it’s very expensive for the country and there’s a shortage [of those bombs],” one intelligence officer said. Another said the principal question they were faced with was whether the “collateral damage” to civilians allowed for an attack.

     “Because we usually carried out the attacks with dumb bombs, and that meant literally dropping the whole house on its occupants. But even if an attack is averted, you don’t care – you immediately move on to the next target. Because of the system, the targets never end. You have another 36,000 waiting.”

     According to conflict experts, if Israel has been using dumb bombs to flatten the homes of thousands of Palestinians who were linked, with the assistance of AI, to militant groups in Gaza, that could help explain the shockingly high death toll in the war.

     The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory says 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict in the past six months. UN data shows that in the first month of the war alone, 1,340 families suffered multiple losses, with 312 families losing more than 10 members.

     Responding to the publication of the testimonies in +972 and Local Call, the IDF said in a statement that its operations were carried out in accordance with the rules of proportionality under international law. It said dumb bombs are “standard weaponry” that are used by IDF pilots in a manner that ensures “a high level of precision”.

     The statement described Lavender as a database used “to cross-reference intelligence sources, in order to produce up-to-date layers of information on the military operatives of terrorist organisations. This is not a list of confirmed military operatives eligible to attack.

     “The IDF does not use an artificial intelligence system that identifies terrorist operatives or tries to predict whether a person is a terrorist,” it added. “Information systems are merely tools for analysts in the target identification process.”

     Lavender created a database of tens of thousands of individuals

In earlier military operations conducted by the IDF, producing human targets was often a more labour-intensive process. Multiple sources who described target development in previous wars to the Guardian, said the decision to “incriminate” an individual, or identify them as a legitimate target, would be discussed and then signed off by a legal adviser.

     In the weeks and months after 7 October, this model for approving strikes on human targets was dramatically accelerated, according to the sources. As the IDF’s bombardment of Gaza intensified, they said, commanders demanded a continuous pipeline of targets.

     “We were constantly being pressured: ‘Bring us more targets.’ They really shouted at us,” said one intelligence officer. “We were told: now we have to fuck up Hamas, no matter what the cost. Whatever you can, you bomb.”

     To meet this demand, the IDF came to rely heavily on Lavender to generate a database of individuals judged to have the characteristics of a PIJ or Hamas militant.

     Details about the specific kinds of data used to train Lavender’s algorithm, or how the programme reached its conclusions, are not included in the accounts published by +972 or Local Call. However, the sources said that during the first few weeks of the war, Unit 8200 refined Lavender’s algorithm and tweaked its search parameters.

     After randomly sampling and cross-checking its predictions, the unit concluded Lavender had achieved a 90% accuracy rate, the sources said, leading the IDF to approve its sweeping use as a target recommendation tool.

     Lavender created a database of tens of thousands of individuals who were marked as predominantly low-ranking members of Hamas’s military wing, they added. This was used alongside another AI-based decision support system, called the Gospel, which recommended buildings and structures as targets rather than individuals.

     The accounts include first-hand testimony of how intelligence officers worked with Lavender and how the reach of its dragnet could be adjusted. “At its peak, the system managed to generate 37,000 people as potential human targets,” one of the sources said. “But the numbers changed all the time, because it depends on where you set the bar of what a Hamas operative is.”

     They added: “There were times when a Hamas operative was defined more broadly, and then the machine started bringing us all kinds of civil defence personnel, police officers, on whom it would be a shame to waste bombs. They help the Hamas government, but they don’t really endanger soldiers.”

     Before the war, US and Israeli estimated membership of Hamas’s military wing at approximately 25-30,000 people.

     In the weeks after the Hamas-led 7 October assault on southern Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped about 240 people, the sources said there was a decision to treat Palestinian men linked to Hamas’s military wing as potential targets, regardless of their rank or importance.

     The IDF’s targeting processes in the most intensive phase of the bombardment were also relaxed, they said. “There was a completely permissive policy regarding the casualties of [bombing] operations,” one source said. “A policy so permissive that in my opinion it had an element of revenge.”

     Another source, who justified the use of Lavender to help identify low-ranking targets, said that “when it comes to a junior militant, you don’t want to invest manpower and time in it”. They said that in wartime there was insufficient time to carefully “incriminate every target”.

     “So you’re willing to take the margin of error of using artificial intelligence, risking collateral damage and civilians dying, and risking attacking by mistake, and to live with it,” they added.

     ‘It’s much easier to bomb a family’s home’

     The testimonies published by +972 and Local Call may explain how such a western military with such advanced capabilities, with weapons that can conduct highly surgical strikes, has conducted a war with such a vast human toll.

     When it came to targeting low-ranking Hamas and PIJ suspects, they said, the preference was to attack when they were believed to be at home. “We were not interested in killing [Hamas] operatives only when they were in a military building or engaged in a military activity,” one said. “It’s much easier to bomb a family’s home. The system is built to look for them in these situations.”

     Such a strategy risked higher numbers of civilian casualties, and the sources said the IDF imposed pre-authorised limits on the number of civilians it deemed acceptable to kill in a strike aimed at a single Hamas militant. The ratio was said to have changed over time, and varied according to the seniority of the target.

     According to +972 and Local Call, the IDF judged it permissible to kill more than 100 civilians in attacks on a top-ranking Hamas officials. “We had a calculation for how many [civilians could be killed] for the brigade commander, how many [civilians] for a battalion commander, and so on,” one source said.

     “There were regulations, but they were just very lenient,” another added. “We’ve killed people with collateral damage in the high double digits, if not low triple digits. These are things that haven’t happened before.” There appears to have been significant fluctuations in the figure that military commanders would tolerate at different stages of the war.

     One source said that the limit on permitted civilian casualties “went up and down” over time, and at one point was as low as five. During the first week of the conflict, the source said, permission was given to kill 15 non-combatants to take out junior militants in Gaza. However, they said estimates of civilian casualties were imprecise, as it was not possible to know definitively how many people were in a building.

     Another intelligence officer said that more recently in the conflict, the rate of permitted collateral damage was brought down again. But at one stage earlier in the war they were authorised to kill up to “20 uninvolved civilians” for a single operative, regardless of their rank, military importance, or age.

     “It’s not just that you can kill any person who is a Hamas soldier, which is clearly permitted and legitimate in terms of international law,” they said. “But they directly tell you: ‘You are allowed to kill them along with many civilians.’ … In practice, the proportionality criterion did not exist.”

     The IDF statement said its procedures “require conducting an individual assessment of the anticipated military advantage and collateral damage expected … The IDF does not carry out strikes when the expected collateral damage from the strike is excessive in relation to the military advantage.” It added: “The IDF outright rejects the claim regarding any policy to kill tens of thousands of people in their homes.”

     Experts in international humanitarian law who spoke to the Guardian expressed alarm at accounts of the IDF accepting and pre-authorising collateral damage ratios as high as 20 civilians, particularly for lower-ranking militants. They said militaries must assess proportionality for each individual strike.

     An international law expert at the US state department said they had “never remotely heard of a one to 15 ratio being deemed acceptable, especially for lower-level combatants. There’s a lot of leeway, but that strikes me as extreme”.

     Sarah Harrison, a former lawyer at the US Department of Defense, now an analyst at Crisis Group, said: “While there may be certain occasions where 15 collateral civilian deaths could be proportionate, there are other times where it definitely wouldn’t be. You can’t just set a tolerable number for a category of targets and say that it’ll be lawfully proportionate in each case.”

     Whatever the legal or moral justification for Israel’s bombing strategy, some of its intelligence officers appear now to be questioning the approach set by their commanders. “No one thought about what to do afterward, when the war is over, or how it will be possible to live in Gaza,” one said.

     Another said that after the 7 October attacks by Hamas, the atmosphere in the IDF was “painful and vindictive”. “There was a dissonance: on the one hand, people here were frustrated that we were not attacking enough. On the other hand, you see at the end of the day that another thousand Gazans have died, most of them civilians.”

     In Gaza, Israel has perfected the science of Total War by removing the human capacity for mercy and empathy from its cold equations in ways which their models Hitler and Franco could only have dreamed.

Gaza aid convoy strike: what happened and who were the victims?

Israel accused of targeting aid convoy ‘car by car’ as pressure grows over Gaza tactics

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/pressure-grows-on-israel-over-gaza-tactics-after-foreign-aid-worker-deaths

‘The machine did it coldly’: Israel used AI to identify 37,000 Hamas targets

Israeli intelligence sources reveal use of ‘Lavender’ system in Gaza war and claim permission given to kill civilians in pursuit of low-ranking militants

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/israel-gaza-ai-database-hamas-airstrikes

Aid groups demand Israel improve measures to keep their workers safe

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/04/aid-groups-demand-israel-improve-measures-to-keep-their-workers-safe

Israeli troops end Al-Shifa hospital raid, leaving behind bodies and trail of destruction

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israeli-troops-end-al-shifa-hospital-raid-leaving-behind-bodies-and-trail-of-destruction/ar-BB1kRWd5

Hebrew

3 באפריל 2024 הדים של גרניקה במלחמה הכוללת של ישראל: מקרה הפצצת עובד הסיוע

       בעקבות אורגיית ההרס הישראלית לשבועיים של בית החולים אל שיפא עם רציחות אכזריות, אונס ועינויים של רופאים וחולים כאחד, מגיעות תאומי הזוועות של הפצצת ישראל על שיירת המזון המרכזית של המטבח העולמי ומותם של שבעה הומניטריים. עובדי סיוע והפצצת קונסוליה זרה.

       זוהי תגובתה של ישראל לקמפיין המנצח שלנו בים סוף של מצור נגד מול המצור הישראלי של סיוע הומניטרי לעזה, שהיה כישלון מוחלט עבורם הן במונחים צבאיים והן במונחים פוליטיים למרות הפצצות המל”טים האמריקאיות על אתרי כוחות השחרור בתימן.

     כאן רצח העם ג’ו ניסה ולא הצליח להרוג אותנו בהגנה על המצור והמדיניות של ישראל של שימוש ברעב ושלילת סיוע רפואי במסע הזה של רצח עם וניקוי אתני של פלסטין.

      זה הופך את ביידן לנשיא האמריקני השני שניסה להרוג אותי באופן אישי, אם כי רייגן היה רק מושל קליפורניה כשהורה למשטרה לפתוח באש על הסטודנטים המוחים על כיבוש פלסטין וההשקעות של האוניברסיטה בישראל, יום חמישי הדמים 15 במאי 1969 בפארק העם בברקלי.

      למרות שהתקיפות האוויריות האמריקניות על אתרי שיגור המל”טים שלנו לא עשו שום דבר כדי להרתיע אותנו והרסו מקומות נטושים ובלתי מאוישים (לא חשבת שאני אשתמש באותו טריק פעמיים, נכון?), אחת פוצצה סככה שבה כמה בחורים אחסנו את צבעי הריסוס שבהם השתמשו כדי לקשט את המשתנות המקומיות בתמונות של ביידן ונתניהו. אנחנו יודעים מי האויב.

      ומכיוון שאויבי האנושות לא יכלו להשתיק אותנו ואחרים העומדים בסולידריות עם העם הפלסטיני כערבים לזכויות האדם האוניברסליות שלנו, אויבים שמדברים בשפה היחידה שהם מבינים, זו של טרור, אכזריות, דה-הומניזציה, מחיקה, דיכוי אכזרי של התנגדות, הם רצחו שיירה של עובדי סיוע הומניטריים שהביאו מזון לילדים מורעבים. זה היה בתכנון, והיה לו את האפקט המיועד שכן World Central Kitchen נסוג מעזה.

      היכן למדה ישראל את השימוש בטרור כזה?

      מהיטלר ופרנקו, שבדקו ותיקדו את מודל הכיבוש החדש שלהם בשם Total War ומאופיין בפשעים נגד אוכלוסיות אזרחיות בהשמדת גרניקה, וגם במלחמת האזרחים בספרד וכל הזוועות שבאו לאחר מכן.

     הו ישראל, ככה מביאים את תיקון עולם, תיקון עולם?

     אמריקה, האם כך אנו עומדים במאבק סולידריות ושחרור עם “ההמונים המצטופפים המשתוקקים להיות חופשיים”?

וזו לא רק זוועה אחת בין אינספור אחרות שבה הרעיון של זכויות האדם האוניברסליות שלנו מושפל ומתערער על ידי טרור ועריצות המדינה, במיוחד כפי שהכיבוש והשליטה האימפריאלית היא בכיבוש פלסטין בכל שבעים שנות ההיסטוריה שלה וב. מלחמת עזה הנוראה עכשיו; שהרי ישראל עשתה זאת על ידי נטילת רחמים, חמלה, חובת הזהירות שלנו לזולת והיסוד האנושי בקבלת החלטות מחוץ ללולאה בחשבון הפחד שהיא מלחמה, ומסרה אותו לבינה מלאכותית שאף אחד מהם אינו משועבד לו. הדברים האלה, הצצה לעולם הבא.

          בעזה, ישראל שיכללה את מדע המלחמה הטוטאלית על ידי הסרת היכולת האנושית לרחמים ואמפתיה מהמשוואות הקרות שלה בדרכים שהמודלים שלהם היטלר ופרנקו יכלו רק לחלום.

Arabic

3 أبريل 2024 أصداء غرنيكا في حرب إسرائيل الشاملة: حالة تفجير عمال الإغاثة

       وفي أعقاب العربدة الإسرائيلية التي استمرت لمدة أسبوعين لتدمير مستشفى الشفاء، بما رافقها من عمليات قتل وحشية واغتصاب وتعذيب للأطباء والمرضى على حد سواء، تأتي الفظائع المزدوجة المتمثلة في قصف إسرائيل لقافلة الغذاء التابعة للمطبخ المركزي العالمي ومقتل سبعة من العاملين الإنسانيين. عمال الإغاثة وتفجير قنصلية أجنبية.

       هذا هو رد إسرائيل على حملتنا المنتصرة في البحر الأحمر لمكافحة الحصار مقابل الحصار الإسرائيلي للمساعدات الإنسانية لغزة، والذي كان بمثابة فشل ذريع بالنسبة لهم من الناحيتين العسكرية والسياسية على الرغم من قصف الطائرات الأمريكية بدون طيار لمواقع قوات التحرير في اليمن.

     هنا حاول جو الإبادة الجماعية وفشل في قتلنا دفاعًا عن الحصار الإسرائيلي وسياسة استخدام المجاعة والحرمان من المساعدات الطبية في حملة الإبادة الجماعية والتطهير العرقي لفلسطين.

      وهذا يجعل بايدن ثاني رئيس أمريكي يحاول قتلي شخصيا، مع أن ريغان كان حاكما لولاية كاليفورنيا فقط عندما أمر الشرطة بفتح النار على الطلاب المحتجين على احتلال فلسطين واستثمارات الجامعة في إسرائيل، الخميس الدامي 15 مايو 1969. في بيبولز بارك بيركلي.

      على الرغم من أن الغارات الجوية الأمريكية على مواقع إطلاق الطائرات بدون طيار لم تفعل شيئًا على الإطلاق لتثبيط عزيمتنا ودمرت المواقع المهجورة وغير المأهولة (لم تعتقد أنني سأستخدم نفس الخدعة مرتين الآن؟) قاموا بتخزين رذاذ الطلاء الذي كانوا يستخدمونه لتزيين المبولات المحلية بصور بايدن ونتنياهو. نحن نعرف من هو العدو.

      ولأن أعداء الإنسانية لم يتمكنوا من إسكاتنا والآخرين الذين يتضامنون مع شعب فلسطين كضامنين لحقوقنا الإنسانية العالمية، الأعداء الذين يتحدثون باللغة الوحيدة التي يفهمونها، لغة الإرهاب والقسوة والتجريد من الإنسانية والمحو والإبادة. من خلال القمع الوحشي للمعارضة، قتلوا قافلة من عمال الإغاثة الإنسانية الذين كانوا ينقلون الطعام إلى الأطفال الذين يعانون من الجوع. لقد كان ذلك مقصودًا، وكان له التأثير المقصود حيث انسحب المطبخ المركزي العالمي من غزة.

      ومن أين تعلمت إسرائيل استخدام هذا الإرهاب؟

      من هتلر وفرانكو، اللذين اختبروا وقنّنوا نموذجهم الجديد للغزو المسمى “الحرب الشاملة” والذي اتسم بالجرائم ضد السكان المدنيين في تدمير غرنيكا، وكل من الحرب الأهلية الإسبانية وجميع الفظائع التي جاءت بعد ذلك.

     يا إسرائيل، هل هذه هي الطريقة التي تحضر بها تيكون أولام، إصلاح العالم؟

     أمريكا، هل هذه هي الطريقة التي نقف بها في النضال التضامني والتحرري مع “الجماهير المحتشدة التي تتوق إلى الحرية”؟

هذه ليست مجرد فظائع واحدة من بين فظائع أخرى لا تعد ولا تحصى، حيث يتم تدهور فكرة حقوق الإنسان العالمية وتخريبها من خلال إرهاب الدولة وطغيانها، لا سيما في ظل الغزو والهيمنة الإمبراطوريين كما هو الحال في احتلال فلسطين طوال تاريخه الذي يمتد لسبعين عامًا وفي حرب غزة المروعة الآن؛ لأن إسرائيل فعلت ذلك من خلال إخراج الرحمة والرأفة وواجبنا في رعاية الآخرين والعنصر البشري في صنع القرار من حلقة حساب التفاضل والتكامل للخوف الذي هو الحرب، وسلمتها إلى الذكاء الاصطناعي الذي لا يعيقه أي شيء. هذه الأشياء، لمحة عن العالم الآتي.

          وفي غزة، أتقنت إسرائيل علم الحرب الشاملة من خلال إزالة القدرة البشرية على الرحمة والتعاطف من معادلاتها الباردة على نحو لم يكن لنموذجيهما هتلر وفرانكو إلا أن يحلموا به.

April 2 2024 How American Imperialism Created Our Humanitarian Crisis at the Border: Consequences of Operation Condor

     Forty nine years ago this April, America launched Operation Condor, a global campaign to destabilize and repress socialist governments and movements, wage imperial conquest and dominion, impose and enforce capitalism as a hegemonic system, and authorize and institutionalize its apex predators and its elite hierarchies of wealth, power, and privilege.

      This remains relevant to us today because it is the origin of many of the push forces driving waves of refugees to our border, and the horrific humanitarian crisis and test of our democracy created by American imperialism.

     Migration is a word which conceals both the conditions which trigger it and our own complicity in creating them as consequences of our decades long policies of colonialism, anticommunist military adventurism, and economic, political, and cultural  warfare; ecological devastation with its drought, plagues, floods, and famine, the sixth age of extinction and the death of the seas, poverty, slavery, and social and political destabilization, an age of tyranny and state terror, genocide and ethnic cleansing, weaponized faith and its patriarchal sexual terror, and multigenerational wars.

     In terms of refugees fleeing to America for safety and survival as well as liberty and equality we are mainly speaking of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, though the hell zone of Columbia and Venezuela now accounts for many, and with the collapse of central authority in Mexico and its degeneration into a region of warlords, oligarchs, and feudal crime syndicates we have refugees from Mexico itself as well as the traditional seasonal laborers.

      Globally we have refugees of imperial wars of dominion, genocides, and civilizational collapse weaponized by tyrants to shift Europe toward fascist regimes, mainly by America’s key regional ally Turkey in Erdogan’s conflict with Russia for dominion of Syria and Libya from which came the Third World War now ongoing in ten theatres of conflict, a strategy established by the American model of Operation Condor which created conditions for the capture of the Republican Party in 1980 and then America with the Stolen Election of 2016 by the Fourth Reich.

     Migrant labor is slave labor; this is the great truth America has never confronted and must now answer for in the suffering masses at our border. Entire sectors of our economy run on it; agriculture in which labor becomes a strategic resource as we starve without it, but also child and elder care, hospitality, and some manufacture. America’s wealth and power is created for us by others to whom we export the real costs of production, others who must remain invisible and exploitable as unregulated illegal labor to wring every ounce of value from them for our elites. Thus we weaponize economic disparity in service to power and privilege, and create and maintain hierarchies of exclusionary otherness and white supremacy.

    In this crucial election year of world-historical significance, which I believe will determine the fate of humankind for the next several centuries and offers us possible futures of either an Age of Tyranny or a United Humankind, the issue of immigration will be among the binary choices which will continue to inform, motivate, and shape human being, meaning, and value.

     Interests of elite hegemonies of wealth and power converge here with those of racial privilege and white supremacy in historic toxicity, in parallel with the rise of the carceral state and militarized police as an instrument for the re-enslavement of Black citizens as prison labor and the repression of the Civil Rights Movement, and have done so from their origins. One such origin point is America’s appropriation, concealment, and instrumentalization of Nazi war criminals in the repression of dissent and the conquest of the world.

     The Fourth Reich of which Trump is a figurehead did not emerge from nothing like Athena from the head of Zeus, but was an invention of American imperialism. As such its history and character as a global threat to democracy can be studied in the crisis of refugees and migration to which it has given birth, and in the legacies of our nation’s use of fascism as an instrument of dominion in the Americas and everywhere on earth, for as we were using it to conquer others, it was using us to seize the United States of America and the world.

     As I wrote in my post of February 18 2020, Guatemala: Our Heart of Darkness;  As we abduct and lockdown refugees in concentration camps and secret prisons, and drive others back into a Mexico whose government is supine before the power of its criminal organizations, we must reflect on the causes of this historic mass migration from Central America’s Dry Corridor of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua; why is this happening, and what can be done to fix the problems which are driving it?

     Drought and famine caused by global warming and climate change are clear immediate causes and triggering stressors of the current migration, as articulated by José García Escobar and Melisa Rabanales in The Guardian; “Martina García grinds just enough maize kernels to make a handful of tortillas which she serves to her children and grandson for breakfast with a sprinkling of salt.

     García, 40, must ration the family’s last few sacks of tiny corncobs after drought and prolonged heatwaves linked to the climate emergency devastated crops across Guatemala.

     As a result, record numbers of subsistence farming families are going hungry: health officials registered more than 15,300 cases of acute malnutrition in children under five last year – up nearly 24% from 2018. It’s the highest number of acute malnutrition cases since 2015, when a severe drought destroyed harvests across Central America.

     Rural communities in the Dry Corridor – a region which stretches through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua – are bearing the brunt, with impoverished indigenous families like García’s in Jocotán, among the hardest hit.

     “I’m lucky if I can find pumpkin flowers,” said the emaciated García. “But we mostly just eat tortillas.”

     After an irregular rainy season and an unpromising harvest, almost 80% of maize grown in Guatemala’s highland region was lost, according to Oxfam. All that remains for many families are tiny corncobs studded with discoloured grains that look like rotten teeth.

     In October 2109, a baby in a nearby community died after not eating for many days. At least 33,000 children need urgent medical treatment due to acute malnutrition, according to Oxfam Guatemala.

     Central America is one of the world’s most dangerous regions outside a warzone, where a toxic mix of violence, poverty and corruption has forced millions to flee north in search of security.

     Now, drought, famine and the battle for dwindling natural resources are increasingly being recognized as major factors in the exodus.

     And it seems to be getting worse: 2019 was the driest year in a decade with only 65 days of rain, according to Guatemala’s National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology. Guatemala’s subsistence farmers depend on rainfall – which is increasingly erratic – and most lack alternative sources of water.

     Around one million Guatemalans – 15% of the population – are currently unable to meet their daily food requirements, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

     Amid the growing threat of famine, almost 265,000 Guatemalans migrants searching for work, safety and food security were detained at the US southern border in 2019 – a 130% increase on the previous fiscal year.

     Worsening hunger across the region is a factor in the rise in migrant caravans trying to reach the US overland, according to both analysts and migrants themselves.

     The caravans have been met with repression and hostility by Mexican and American authorities who accuse the migrants and refugees of political subversion and criminality.

     Hunger is not a new phenomenon in Guatemala: at least 60% of the population live in poverty, hundreds of thousands rely on food aid, and almost 50% of children suffer stunted physical and cognitive development due to chronic malnourishment.

     But experts warn that the additional burden of extreme weather is overwhelming these communities, which have been long ignored and repressed by the government.

     For García, the situation is desperate: food aid has yet to reach her canton, so once the maize runs out in March, she must find backbreaking work picking coffee – or else risk starvation. There’s no guarantee she’ll even find work, as a leaf-eating fungus known as roya – which thrives in warm conditions – has also devastated coffee crops.

     García, who’s weak from chronic hunger, said: “I’ll get paid $4 a day. But if I pick less than 46kg, I won’t get paid.”

     These conditions have worsened longstanding issues of endemic poverty and pervasive violence and criminality, legacies of historical colonialism and American imperialist and capitalist policies and interventions, which I have described in my post of September 4 2019;  There is an interesting connection between the chaos we created in Central America which is driving a mass exodus of immigration to our borders and the conspiracy theory of Islamic replacement of Europeans which inspires our greatest terrorist threat today; many of the white supremacists who ruled Algeria as a colony of France, mainly former Nazi soldiers who joined the Foreign Legion after the end of World War Two, were after its fall in 1962 hired by the government of the United States to rule El Salvador and Guatemala as puppet regimes to protect our corporate profits.

     With them came the same ideology and dream of a homeland and asylum for escaped Nazis, and a secure base of operations and launchpoint for the Fourth Reich, as with those who fled the fall of the colony of Algeria as a white ethnostate to France and blamed Charles de Gaulle for its abandonment, and whose descendants now form the core of Jean-Marie Le Pen’s National Front.

     Among the direct effects of the secret partnership between America and our former Nazi adversaries include:

     The 1954 seizure of Guatemala by Eisenhower’s CI.A., which replaced a Marxist who had seized land owned by United Fruit and redistributed it to Indian peasants with a furniture salesman from Honduras, Castillo Armas. During the course of this coup America bombed Guatemala City, killed 9,000 communists, disbanded the unions, drove off the squatters, drew up a blacklist of some 70,000 leftists, built death squads and secret prisons, gave torture and brigandage free reign, created an enduring political front, the MLN, and started making a profit from our plantations.

     The 1961 seizure of Guatemala by C.I.A. officer Willauer leading 200 men, a Harvard lawyer who had flown as Chennault’s first officer with the Flying Tigers in China. Guatemala was the staging area for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Throughout the 1960-63 period of a civil war which continued until 1996, America crushed a pro-Castro rebellion using six C.I.A. bombers, exiled Cuban shock troops, and Green Berets who used the opportunity to test counterinsurgency theories later used in Vietnam.

     The 1974 accession of an officer of Armas named Alarcon to the Presidency of Guatemala, who institutionalized the MLN, declaring “I am a fascist, and I have tried to model my party on the Spanish Falange.”  He was, of course, a C.I.A. agent. Nixon once brought him along on his annual pilgrimage to consult with what he called his spiritual advisor, the infamous Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.

     The 1982 seizure of power and Presidency of Rios Montt, an evangelical Sunday school teacher and personal friend of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who suspended the constitution, replaced the courts with secret tribunals, escalated the scorched earth warfare, torture, and disappearances of his predecessors, and one thing more. During this the most terrible period of civil war throughout Central America, when Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras were in fact a single nation ruled by remnants of the Nazis we had transplanted from French Algeria as American puppet regimes, and with the full authority of Ronald Reagan, Rios Montt weaponized Protestantism against encroaching Catholic Liberation theology.

     During the 18 months of the Mayan Genocide, in which his death squads killed 3,000 people each month and annihilated 600 villages, he also instituted a system of forced labor in concentration camps modeled on the Apartheid system of South Africa and ruled by terror using former British police and Protestant Orange Militia units hired from Belfast, a mercenary force who had splendidly legal Hong Kong passports courtesy of the Thatcher government.

     During over 35 years of civil war in Guatemala including Rios Montt’s genocidal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the native Indians, about half a million Indians were killed, over one million conscripted into military service and used against their own people, tens of thousands driven into Mexico as refugees, and most of the rest worked to death in the concentration camps. No American Army came to liberate them; they were not white, and no one cared so long as the profits flowed. Guatemala is America’s Belgian Congo; our heart of darkness.

     I think of this every day as I eat my morning banana, for each one is the living form of a silent cry, the ghost of a tear, the memory of atrocity and horror, a thing like many others of fragile beauty and fleeting pleasure won by brutality and the theft of hope, pain and blood and death made manifest. For the dead and for wrongs past I can do nothing; it is the living who must be avenged and the future that must be redeemed. 

     The 1981 founding of ARENA in El Salvador and the 1982-3 Presidency of Roberto D’Aubuisson Arrieta, son of one of the original French Algerian OAS/Afrika Corps legionnaires and immigrants and leader of death squads since 1972, when he was trained at the US School of the Americas, often called a school for war criminals. During the peak of the civil war in 1983-84, about 8,000 people were killed every month in El Salvador.

     The 1963-75 Honduran coup and military dictatorship of Arellano, for whose regime the term Banana Republic was coined, and of course the conduct of the Contra War beginning in 1980, which included the 1984 Honduran invasion of Nicaragua supported by 5,500 American troops.

     Together Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras were ruled for over a generation by America through our puppet tyrants and the ARENA and MLN parties we created. But there is more; much more, of which I will mention only four more brief examples here. 

     The 1964-85 rule of Brazil by the Arena Party and its legacy of torture and state terror which was ended by the total bankruptcy of the nation due to policies of privatization, deregulation, and corruption as exported by the Chicago Boys to Latin America generally as imperialist economic warfare.

      The 1976 military coup in Argentina and the civil war which followed, during which some 20,000 persons were disappeared. Of our earlier involvements; Peron had been a protégé of Franco and Mussolini, and Evita was assassinated not by us but by Vatican Intelligence with radiation poisoning due to Peron’s campaign against the Church. The Vatican also ran the Swiss escape route used by Otto Skorzeny and other SS officers at the fall of the Third Reich whom we later hired. The most brazen flattery I have ever heard directed toward Oliver North was to compare him to Skorzeny.

     The 1973 assassination of Allende in Chile and support of the monstrous Pinochet regime which killed as many as one in every hundred of its citizens.

     Regarding Mexico, we long ago seized Texas and California, drew a line in the sand to weaponize disparity and create a mass resource of illegal and therefore exploitable quasi slave labor, and now call aliens everyone on the wrong side of it who comes here to pick the fruit, wash the dishes, and clean the toilets that our own nephews and nieces, children and grandchildren, would laugh in your face at the suggestion they get their hands dirty doing themselves.

    Fascism is a sin of pride whose effects reverberate still, propagating outward in ever-widening circles as a force of contagion like the ripples of a stone cast into a pond. And we are all complicit in it, who call ourselves Americans.

    We must make a better future than we have the past.

                  Operation Condor and the Pinochet regime, a reading list

The Condor Years: How Pinochet And His Allies Brought Terrorism To Three Continents, John Dinges

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/168270.The_Condor_Years?ref=rae_0

Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America, J. Patrice McSherry

Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile, Mary Helen Spooner

Chile: The Pinochet Decade: The Rise and Fall of the Chicago Boys, Phil O’Brien,

Jackie Roddick

                        General Histories and Current Events

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent,

Eduardo Galeano, Isabel Allende (Introduction)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/187149.Open_Veins_of_Latin_America?ref=rae_19

The Heart That Bleeds: Latin America Now, Alma Guillermoprieto

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243148.The_Heart_That_Bleeds

Looking for History: Dispatches from Latin America, Alma Guillermoprieto

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/361877.Looking_for_History

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/07/guatemala-hunger-famine-flee-north.

https://jacobinmag.com/2020/11/operation-condor-cia-latin-america-repression-torture

https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/greg-grandin-empires-workshop-2021-edition-review-latin-america-us-policy

https://time.com/5951532/migration-factors

Spanish

2 de abril de 2024 Cómo el imperialismo estadounidense creó nuestra crisis humanitaria en la frontera: consecuencias de la Operación Cóndor

      Este abril se cumplen cuarenta y nueve años de que Estados Unidos lanzó la Operación Cóndor, una campaña global para desestabilizar y reprimir gobiernos y movimientos socialistas, emprender la conquista y el dominio imperial, imponer y hacer cumplir el capitalismo como sistema hegemónico y autorizar e institucionalizar a sus principales depredadores y sus jerarquías de élite. de riqueza, poder y privilegios.

       Esto sigue siendo relevante para nosotros hoy porque es el origen de muchas de las fuerzas de empuje que impulsan oleadas de refugiados hacia nuestra frontera, y de la horrible crisis humanitaria y prueba de nuestra democracia creada por el imperialismo estadounidense.

      Migración es una palabra que oculta tanto las condiciones que la desencadenan como nuestra propia complicidad en crearlas como consecuencia de nuestras décadas de políticas de colonialismo, aventurerismo militar anticomunista y guerra económica, política y cultural; devastación ecológica con su sequía, plagas, inundaciones y hambrunas, la sexta era de extinción y muerte de los mares, pobreza, esclavitud y desestabilización social y política, una era de tiranía y terror estatal, genocidio y limpieza étnica, fe armada y su terror sexual patriarcal y guerras multigeneracionales.

      En términos de refugiados que huyen a Estados Unidos en busca de seguridad y supervivencia, así como de libertad e igualdad, estamos hablando principalmente de Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras y Nicaragua, aunque la zona infernal de Colombia y Venezuela ahora representa a muchos, y con el colapso de la región central autoridad en México y su degeneración en una región de señores de la guerra, oligarcas y sindicatos del crimen feudal, tenemos refugiados del propio México, así como trabajadores estacionales tradicionales.

       A nivel mundial tenemos refugiados de guerras imperiales de dominio, genocidios y colapso de civilizaciones, armados por tiranos para hacer que Europa se dirija hacia regímenes fascistas, principalmente por Turquía, el principal aliado regional de Estados Unidos, en el conflicto de Erdogan con Rusia por el dominio de Siria y Libia, del que surgió la Tercera Guerra Mundial. Ahora en curso en diez teatros de conflicto, una estrategia establecida por el modelo estadounidense de Operación Cóndor que creó las condiciones para la captura del Partido Republicano en 1980 y luego de Estados Unidos con las Elecciones Robadas de 2016 por el Cuarto Reich.

      El trabajo migrante es trabajo esclavo; Esta es la gran verdad que Estados Unidos nunca ha enfrentado y por la que ahora debe responder ante las masas que sufren en nuestra frontera. Sectores enteros de nuestra economía funcionan con él; agricultura en la que la mano de obra se convierte en un recurso estratégico mientras nos morimos de hambre sin ella, pero también el cuidado de niños y ancianos, la hospitalidad y algunas manufacturas. La riqueza y el poder de Estados Unidos son creados para nosotros por otros a quienes exportamos los costos reales de producción, otros que deben permanecer invisibles y explotables como mano de obra ilegal no regulada para exprimirles hasta el último gramo de valor para nuestras elites. De esta manera utilizamos la disparidad económica como arma al servicio del poder y los privilegios, y creamos y mantenemos jerarquías de alteridad excluyente y supremacía blanca.

     En este año electoral crucial de importancia histórica mundial, que creo determinará el destino de la humanidad durante los próximos siglos y nos ofrece posibles futuros de una Era de Tiranía o de una Humanidad Unida, la cuestión de la inmigración estará entre las cuestiones binarias elecciones que continuarán informando, motivando y dando forma al ser humano, su significado y su valor.

      Los intereses de las hegemonías de riqueza y poder de las élites convergen aquí con los del privilegio racial y la supremacía blanca en una toxicidad histórica, en paralelo con el surgimiento del estado carcelario y la policía militarizada como instrumento para volver a esclavizar a los ciudadanos negros como trabajadores penitenciarios y la represión del Movimiento por los Derechos Civiles, y lo han hecho desde sus orígenes. Uno de esos puntos de origen es la apropiación, el ocultamiento y la instrumentalización por parte de Estados Unidos de los criminales de guerra nazis en la represión de la disidencia y la conquista del mundo.

      El Cuarto Reich del que Trump es una figura decorativa no surgió de la nada como Atenea de la cabeza de Zeus, sino que fue una invención del imperialismo estadounidense. Como tal, su historia y su carácter como amenaza global a la democracia pueden estudiarse en la crisis de refugiados y migraciones que ha dado origen, y en los legados del uso del fascismo por parte de nuestra nación como instrumento de dominio en las Américas y en todas partes del mundo. la tierra, porque así como la usábamos para conquistar a otros, ella nos estaba usando a nosotros para apoderarnos de los Estados Unidos de América y del mundo.

      Como escribí en mi publicación del 18 de febrero de 2020, Guatemala: Nuestro Corazón de Tinieblas; Mientras secuestramos y encerramos a refugiados en campos de concentración y prisiones secretas, y expulsamos a otros de regreso a un México cuyo gobierno está inactivo ante el poder de sus organizaciones criminales, debemos reflexionar sobre las causas de esta histórica migración masiva desde el Corredor Seco de Guatemala en Centroamérica. , El Salvador, Honduras y Nicaragua; ¿Por qué sucede esto y qué se puede hacer para solucionar el problema?

     ¿Problemas que lo están impulsando?

      La sequía y la hambruna causadas por el calentamiento global y el cambio climático son causas inmediatas claras y factores estresantes desencadenantes de la migración actual, como lo expresaron José García Escobar y Melisa Rabanales en The Guardian; “Martina García muele suficientes granos de maíz para hacer un puñado de tortillas que sirve a sus hijos y a su nieto en el desayuno con un poco de sal.

      García, de 40 años, debe racionar los últimos sacos de diminutas mazorcas de maíz de la familia después de que la sequía y las prolongadas olas de calor relacionadas con la emergencia climática devastaran los cultivos en toda Guatemala.

      Como resultado, un número récord de familias de agricultores de subsistencia pasan hambre: los funcionarios de salud registraron más de 15.300 casos de desnutrición aguda en niños menores de cinco años el año pasado, casi un 24% más que en 2018. Es el número más alto de casos de desnutrición aguda desde 2015, cuando Una grave sequía destruyó las cosechas en toda Centroamérica.

      Las comunidades rurales del Corredor Seco –una región que se extiende a lo largo de Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras y Nicaragua– son las más afectadas, y las familias indígenas empobrecidas como la de García en Jocotán se encuentran entre las más afectadas.

      “Tengo suerte si puedo encontrar flores de calabaza”, dijo el demacrado García. “Pero la mayoría de las veces solo comemos tortillas”.

      Según Oxfam, después de una temporada de lluvias irregular y una cosecha poco prometedora, casi el 80% del maíz cultivado en la región montañosa de Guatemala se perdió. Lo único que les queda a muchas familias son pequeñas mazorcas de maíz salpicadas de granos descoloridos que parecen dientes podridos.

      En octubre de 2109, un bebé de una comunidad cercana murió después de no comer durante muchos días. Al menos 33.000 niños necesitan tratamiento médico urgente debido a la desnutrición aguda, según Oxfam Guatemala.

      Centroamérica es una de las regiones más peligrosas del mundo fuera de una zona de guerra, donde una mezcla tóxica de violencia, pobreza y corrupción ha obligado a millones de personas a huir al norte en busca de seguridad.

      Ahora, la sequía, la hambruna y la batalla por los menguantes recursos naturales se reconocen cada vez más como factores importantes del éxodo.

      Y parece estar empeorando: 2019 fue el año más seco en una década con solo 65 días de lluvia, según el Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrología de Guatemala. Los agricultores de subsistencia de Guatemala dependen de las precipitaciones –que son cada vez más erráticas– y la mayoría carece de fuentes alternativas de agua.

      Según el Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA), alrededor de un millón de guatemaltecos (el 15% de la población) actualmente no pueden satisfacer sus necesidades alimentarias diarias.

      En medio de la creciente amenaza de hambruna, casi 265.000 migrantes guatemaltecos que buscaban trabajo, seguridad y seguridad alimentaria fueron detenidos en la frontera sur de Estados Unidos en 2019, un aumento del 130% con respecto al año fiscal anterior.

      El empeoramiento del hambre en la región es un factor en el aumento de las caravanas de migrantes que intentan llegar a Estados Unidos por tierra, según analistas y los propios migrantes.

      Las caravanas han sido recibidas con represión y hostilidad por parte de las autoridades mexicanas y estadounidenses, que acusan a los migrantes y refugiados de subversión política y criminalidad.

      El hambre no es un fenómeno nuevo en Guatemala: al menos el 60% de la población vive en la pobreza, cientos de miles dependen de la ayuda alimentaria y casi el 50% de los niños sufren un retraso en su desarrollo físico y cognitivo debido a la desnutrición crónica.

      Pero los expertos advierten que la carga adicional del clima extremo está abrumando a estas comunidades, que durante mucho tiempo han sido ignoradas y reprimidas por el gobierno.

      Para García, la situación es desesperada: la ayuda alimentaria aún no ha llegado a su cantón, por lo que una vez que se acabe el maíz en marzo, deberá encontrar un trabajo agotador recogiendo café, o correr el riesgo de morir de hambre. No hay garantía de que encuentre trabajo, ya que un hongo que se alimenta de hojas conocido como roya, que prospera en condiciones cálidas, también ha devastado los cultivos de café.

      García, que está débil por el hambre crónica, dijo: “Me pagarán 4 dólares al día. Pero si recojo menos de 46 kg, no me pagarán”.

      Estas condiciones han empeorado problemas de larga data de pobreza endémica y violencia y criminalidad generalizadas, legados del colonialismo histórico y de las políticas e intervenciones imperialistas y capitalistas estadounidenses, que describí en mi publicación del 4 de septiembre de 2019; Existe una conexión interesante entre el caos que creamos en Centroamérica, que está provocando un éxodo masivo de inmigración a nuestras fronteras, y la teoría de la conspiración del reemplazo islámico de los europeos que inspira nuestra mayor amenaza terrorista hoy; Muchos de los supremacistas blancos que gobernaron Argelia como colonia de Francia, principalmente ex soldados nazis que se unieron a la Legión Extranjera después del final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, fueron contratados después de su caída en 1962 por el gobierno de los Estados Unidos para gobernar El Salvador y Guatemala como regímenes títeres para proteger nuestras ganancias corporativas.

      Con ellos vino la misma ideología y el mismo sueño de una patria y asilo para los nazis fugitivos, y una base segura de operaciones y punto de lanzamiento para el Cuarto Reich, como ocurre con aquellos que huyeron de la caída de la colonia de Argelia como etnoestado blanco a Francia y culparon a Charles de Gaulle por su abandono, y cuyos descendientes ahora forman el núcleo del Frente Nacional de Jean-Marie Le Pen. .

      Entre los efectos directos de la asociación secreta entre Estados Unidos y nuestros antiguos adversarios nazis se incluyen:

      La toma de Guatemala en 1954 por la CIA de Eisenhower, que reemplazó a un marxista que se había apoderado de tierras propiedad de la United Fruit y las redistribuyó entre campesinos indios con un vendedor de muebles de Honduras, Castillo Armas. Durante el curso de este golpe, Estados Unidos bombardeó la ciudad de Guatemala, mató a 9.000 comunistas, disolvió los sindicatos, expulsó a los ocupantes ilegales, elaboró una lista negra de unos 70.000 izquierdistas, construyó escuadrones de la muerte y prisiones secretas, dio rienda suelta a la tortura y el bandolerismo, creó una sociedad duradera. frente político, el MLN, y empezamos a sacar provecho de nuestras plantaciones.

      La toma de Guatemala en 1961 por la C.I.A. El oficial Willauer al frente de 200 hombres, un abogado de Harvard que había volado como primer oficial de Chennault con los Flying Tigers en China. Guatemala fue el escenario de la invasión de Bahía de Cochinos a Cuba. A lo largo del período 1960-63 de una guerra civil que continuó hasta 1996, Estados Unidos aplastó una rebelión pro Castro utilizando seis agentes de la CIA. bombarderos, tropas de choque cubanas exiliadas y boinas verdes que aprovecharon la oportunidad para probar teorías de contrainsurgencia utilizadas más tarde en Vietnam.

      El ascenso en 1974 de un oficial de Armas llamado Alarcón a la Presidencia de Guatemala, quien institucionalizó el MLN, declarando “Soy un fascista y he tratado de modelar mi partido según la Falange Española”. Era, por supuesto, un agente de la CIA. agente. Nixon lo llevó una vez a su peregrinación anual para consultar con lo que llamó su consejero espiritual, el infame criminal de guerra nazi Josef Mengele.

      La toma del poder y la presidencia en 1982 de Ríos Montt, un maestro evangélico de escuela dominical y amigo personal de Jerry Falwell y Pat Robertson, quien suspendió la constitución, reemplazó las cortes por tribunales secretos, intensificó la guerra de tierra arrasada, la tortura y las desapariciones de sus predecesores y una cosa más. Durante este, el período más terrible de la guerra civil en toda Centroamérica, cuando Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras eran de hecho una sola nación gobernada por restos de los nazis que habíamos trasplantado de la Argelia francesa como regímenes títeres estadounidenses, y con la plena autoridad de Ronald Reagan y Ríos Montt utilizaron al protestantismo como arma contra la invasión de la teología católica de la liberación.

      Durante los 18 meses del genocidio maya, en el que sus escuadrones de la muerte mataron a 3.000 personas cada mes y aniquilaron 600 aldeas, también instituyó un sistema de trabajos forzados en campos de concentración inspirados en el sistema de apartheid de Sudáfrica y gobernados por el terror utilizando a antiguos británicos. unidades de policía y de la Milicia Naranja Protestante contratadas en Belfast, una fuerza mercenaria que tenía pasaportes de Hong Kong espléndidamente legales, cortesía del gobierno de Thatcher.

      Durante más de 35 años de guerra civil en Guatemala, incluida la campaña genocida de limpieza étnica de Ríos Montt contra los indios nativos, alrededor de medio millón de indios fueron asesinados, más de un millón fueron reclutados para el servicio militar y utilizados contra su propio pueblo, y decenas de miles fueron expulsados a México. como refugiados, y la mayoría del resto trabajó hasta morir en los campos de concentración. Ningún ejército americano vino a liberarlos; no eran blancos y a nadie le importaba mientras las ganancias fluyeran. Guatemala es el Congo belga de Estados Unidos; nuestro corazón de oscuridad.

      Pienso en esto todos los días mientras como mi plátano matutino, porque cada uno es la forma viva de un llanto silencioso, el fantasma de una lágrima, el recuerdo de la atrocidad y el horror, algo como muchos otros de frágil belleza y fugaz placer conquistado. por la brutalidad y el robo de la esperanza, el dolor, la sangre y la muerte se manifiestan. Por los muertos y por los agravios del pasado nada puedo hacer; son los vivos quienes deben ser vengados y el futuro el que debe ser redimido.

      La fundación de ARENA en El Salvador en 1981 y la presidencia entre 1982 y 1983 de Roberto D’Aubuisson Arrieta, hijo de uno de los legionarios e inmigrantes originales del Cuerpo Africano/OEA argelino francés y líder de escuadrones de la muerte desde 1972, cuando fue entrenado en el Escuela de las Américas de Estados Unidos, a menudo llamada escuela para criminales de guerra. Durante el pico de la guerra civil en 1983-84, alrededor de 8.000 personas fueron asesinadas cada mes en El Salvador.

      El golpe de estado hondureño de 1963-75 y la dictadura militar de Arellano, para cuyo régimen se acuñó el término República Bananera, y, por supuesto, la conducción de la Guerra de la Contra a partir de 1980, que incluyó la invasión hondureña de Nicaragua en 1984, apoyada por 5.500 tropas estadounidenses.

      Juntos, Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras fueron gobernados durante más de una generación por Estados Unidos a través de nuestros tiranos títeres y los partidos ARENA y MLN que creamos. Pero hay más; mucho más, de los cuales mencionaré aquí sólo cuatro breves ejemplos más.

      El gobierno de Brasil de 1964-85 por el Partido Arena y su legado de tortura y terror estatal que terminó con la bancarrota total de la nación debido a las políticas de privatización, desregulación y corrupción exportadas por los Chicago Boys a América Latina en general como Guerra económica imperialista.

       El golpe militar de 1976 en Argentina y la guerra civil que le siguió, durante la cual desaparecieron unas 20.000 personas. De nuestras participaciones anteriores; Perón había sido un protegido de Franco y Mussolini, y Evita fue asesinada no por nosotros sino por la Inteligencia del Vaticano con envenenamiento por radiación debido a la campaña de Perón contra la Iglesia. El Vaticano también dirigió la ruta de escape suiza utilizada por Otto Skorzeny y otros oficiales de las SS durante la caída del Tercer Reich a quienes contratamos más tarde. El halago más descarado que he oído jamás dirigido a Oliver North fue compararlo con Skorzeny.

      El asesinato de Allende en Chile en 1973 y el apoyo al monstruoso régimen de Pinochet que mató a uno de cada cien de sus ciudadanos.

      En cuanto a México, hace mucho tiempo nos apoderamos de Texas y California, trazamos una línea en la arena para convertir la disparidad en un arma y crear un recurso masivo de mano de obra cuasi esclava ilegal y, por lo tanto, explotable, y ahora llamamos extranjeros a todos los que están en el lado equivocado y vienen aquí a elegir. la fruta, lavar los platos y limpiar los baños que nuestros propios sobrinos y sobrinas, hijos y nietos, se reirían en tu cara ante la sugerencia de que se ensucien las manos haciéndolo ellos mismos.

     El fascismo es un pecado de orgullo cuyos efectos todavía reverberan, propagándose hacia afuera en círculos cada vez más amplios como una fuerza de contagio como las ondas de una piedra arrojada a un estanque. Y de ello somos cómplices todos los que nos llamamos americanos.

     Debemos crear un futuro mejor que el pasado.

March 30 2024 Women’s Rights of Bodily Autonomy and Reproduction: the Case of Mifepristone

      A mail order abortion drug for home use which is safer than many non prescription drugs and decades of use after hundreds of FDA clinical trials, has been challenged in our Supreme Court by a radical and fractional shadow organization of anti-abortion radicals who wish to subvert democracy, the equality and rights of bodily autonomy and reproduction of women, the principle that medical decisions are between a doctor and patient, and the institution of the FDA in approving pharmaceuticals as safe for human use; a broad attack across American values and our social and institutional spheres.

     This assault on the public good and the citizenship and liberty of all women through multiple legislative and judicial fronts of action foregrounds and hinges on abortion and includes the vote and citizenship of women, but does not end there. Our rights as citizen and as human beings are parallel and interdependent and designed to reinforce each other; if rights of bodily autonomy and reproduction are lost, women become dehumanized chattel slaves, and this is the end goal of the Republican Party as an organization of patriarchal sexual terror and theocratic tyranny.

    Abortion is the key issue which will secure the next election for a Democratic Party President, because it is one we can win. The overwhelming majority of Republicans, both women and men, also favor a woman’s right to choose; if well played this will become a lever of change within the Republican Party which may one day liberate it from capture by Christian Identity fundamentalists who seized it in 1980 and from the Fourth Reich who in the Stolen Election of 2016 used it to capture our nation under the figurehead of a rapist President.

     What would such a world be like to live in? Margaret Atwood has given us a vision of our future under a patriarchal theocracy in The Handmaid’s Tale.

    The Handmaid’s Tale gives a voice to Bilhah, the Biblical Handmaid, revisions Little Red Riding Hood as an extension of Angela Carter’s The Company of Wolves, and tells the story of the Christian disempowerment of the Goddess and the dawn of the age of patriarchal theocracy as presented in the great film The Red Shoes.

     Margaret Atwood’s parodies of Grimm operate on three levels; thematic, images and motifs, and narrative structure. In The Handmaid’s Tale, we have themes of family and especially female-female conflict, gender and sexual power asymmetries, and the initiation and heroic journey. Motifs and images include dismemberment, cannibalism, fertility, labyrinths and paths, and all manner of disturbing sexual violence. Plot devices include a variety of character foils, doppelgangers, disguises and trickery of stolen and falsified identity.

     Among Margaret Atwood’s Great Books, The Handmaid’s Tale is a universally known reference both because it has been taught for over a generation in every high school in America as a standard text and because of the extraordinary television series, arguably the most important series ever filmed. We teach it for the same reasons the show is popular; a visceral and gripping drama with unforgettable characters, a mesmerizing plot, and an immediate and accessible story which interrogates a universal system of oppression and also empowers resistance and illuminates our autonomy and self-ownership.

     It depicts the brooding evil and vicious misogyny of Christianity and Fascism as two sides of the dynamic malaise of authority as patriarchy and tyranny, sexual and racial terror institutionalized as religion and state, as drawn directly from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, but also from contemporary culture as it contains satires of identifiable public figures, organizations, and events. Serena is based on Phyllis Schlafly, and Gideon is the nation of Pat Robertson and the fundamentalists who seized control of the Republican Party in 1980 around the time of the novel’s writing; Margaret Atwood’s motive in part was to sound an alarm at the dawn of the Fourth Reich and its threat to global democracy.

     It remains to be seen whether the forces of tyranny or of liberty will prevail in the end. Each of our lives is a contest between these forces, our private struggles reflected in the society and human civilization we share.

     And this is the great lesson and insight of Margaret Atwood; each of us is both a Handmaid and a Serena, trapped within the skin of the other. She locates the primary conflict within ourselves, and transposes the Jungian conflict with the Shadow in terms of sex, gender, and power, while interrogating those same universal systems of oppression in our society and political institutions.  

     Whence comes this madness?

     As written by Jordan Smith in The Intercept, in an article entitled The Shadow Medical Community Behind the Attempt to Ban Medication Abortion; THE ALLIANCE FOR HIPPOCRATIC MEDICINE, a new anti-abortion umbrella group that is spearheading a sweeping federal challenge to medication abortion, incorporated in Texas just months before filing suit. The incorporation documents, obtained from the Texas secretary of state, provide further evidence that the plaintiffs cherry-picked a court they believed would be amenable to their arguments, an act of forum shopping that was orchestrated to land the case before Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointed darling of the far right.

     The Alliance incorporated in Amarillo in August 2022, bringing together five out-of-state anti-abortion groups: the Catholic Medical Association, the Coptic Medical Association of North America, the American College of Pediatricians, the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Three months later, the lawsuit was filed in the same Texas Panhandle city where Kacsmaryk hears all federal civil cases.

     The lawsuit alleges that in 2000, the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, wrongly approved mifepristone, the first of two drugs that make up the standard medication abortion protocol. The groups also argue that sending abortion medications through the mail violates federal criminal law. To advance their argument, the plaintiffs have assembled a raft of dubious evidence to allege that the FDA is anti-science and mifepristone is a wildly dangerous drug, despite decades of scientific research and hundreds of medical studies that demonstrate otherwise. They have dished it all up for a federal judge who, in just a short time on the bench, has developed a reputation for factitious legal opinions. A ruling in their favor could see medication abortion all but banned across the U.S., sparking a new round of chaos after the fall of Roe v. Wade and laying the groundwork for the dispute to land before the U.S. Supreme Court.

     Suspect Assertions

     Medication abortion is a two-drug protocol designed for use in early pregnancy termination. The first drug, mifepristone, blocks progesterone (a hormone needed to maintain pregnancy) and softens the uterine lining; the second drug, misoprostol, is taken 24 to 48 hours later and causes the uterus to contract, expelling the pregnancy.

     The regimen was developed in France in the late 1980s, but it wasn’t until 2000 that the FDA finally approved it for use in the United States. Medication abortion accounted for just 5 percent of abortions in 2001 but has steadily grown in popularity; today, medication abortion accounts for more than half of all pregnancy terminations in the country. The protocol is also commonly used for miscarriage management.

     The FDA has enforced a slew of restrictions tied to mifepristone that advocates and providers have long argued are medically unnecessary — including a rule that it must be dispensed in person, even though misoprostol is not taken until later at a place of the patient’s choosing. During the pandemic, the in-person dispensing rule was blocked, and in December 2021, the FDA announced that it was permanently lifting the requirement. The agency has since taken additional steps to expand access to medication abortion by allowing mail-order and brick-and-mortar pharmacies to dispense it to patients with prescriptions in states where abortion is legal.

     It was against this backdrop that the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, its partner organizations, and several individual doctors — represented by lawyers with the Christian-right Alliance Defending Freedom — filed suit in Texas, arguing that the FDA never should have approved mifepristone in the first place, let alone expand its use or loosen dispensing requirements.

     The filing is a jumbled mess of suspect assertions, cloaked in inflammatory and medically inaccurate language. The filing refers to medication abortion as “chemical” abortion and claims that mifepristone “starves the baby to death.” It alleges that medication abortion is far riskier than procedural abortion or carrying a pregnancy to term, which the plaintiffs argue “rarely” leads to threatening complications. They call mifepristone an “endocrine disrupter” that could threaten the normal development of adolescents who take it. And they assert that individuals suffering complications from medication abortion could “overwhelm” the health care system, leading to a flood of blood transfusions that “exacerbates the current critical national blood shortage.”

     These allegations are baseless. An endocrine disrupter is a chemical that mimics or interferes with the body’s hormones, such as PFAS, a class of toxic “forever” chemicals found in dozens of common products that has been linked to cancer and other illnesses. The notion that mifepristone — taken in a single dose — falls into this camp because it “briefly blocks progesterone receptors in the uterus is completely unfounded,” according to an amicus brief filed in the case by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and eight other leading U.S. medical groups. “There is no reason to think, nor is there evidence to show, that preventing the absorption of progesterone for a brief window would have any effects on adolescent development,” the brief states.

     The assertion that medication abortion is a risky and understudied endeavor recklessly approved by the FDA is equally spurious. To date, mifepristone has been used in more than 630 published clinical trials, including more than 420 randomized, controlled studies, which the amicus brief notes are the “gold standard of research design.” At less than 1 percent, the risk of serious complications is exceedingly low. The likelihood of any complication at all is about 5 percent; the most common is an incomplete expulsion, which may require a procedural abortion to complete. Meanwhile, the risk of death associated with carrying a pregnancy to term is 14 times higher than the risk associated with abortion.

     “Mifepristone’s safety profile is on par with common painkillers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, which more than 30 million Americans take in any given day,” according to the amicus brief. Procedures like wisdom teeth removal, colonoscopy, and plastic surgery have higher complication and death rates, as does the use of Viagra. “Put simply,” the brief states, “medication abortion is among the safest medical interventions in any category — related to pregnancy or not.”

     Behind the Scenes

     The fight over abortion has long featured a shadow medical community that exists to promote counterfactual narratives about risks associated with the procedure. To Mary Ziegler, a law professor and legal historian at the University of California, Davis, the fact that the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine was established to go after medication abortion isn’t surprising.

     “There’s a tradition of groups like this forming,” Ziegler said. Back in the 1990s, for example, a group called the Physicians Ad Hoc Committee for Truth sprang up for the purposes of advocating for a ban on dilation and extraction abortion, which anti-abortion forces dubbed “partial-birth abortion.” Once Congress passed the ban, the committee disappeared.

     While the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine itself is a new entity, presumably incorporated to bolster the pending lawsuit, the groups organized under it have been around for a long time. The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, known as AAPLOG, formed in the wake of the 1973 Roe decision, initially as an affinity group of anti-abortion physicians who belonged to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or ACOG, the country’s leading professional membership organization for OB-GYNs.

     Over time, AAPLOG began to push back against the medical and scientific establishment, developing a narrative that abortion was not only immoral, but also dangerous. The group focused more on disputing the “factual premises of things ACOG was saying, rather than just disputing the morality or ethics of those decisions,” Ziegler said. “Medical arguments against abortion bans were effective enough that they needed to be met with medical arguments for abortion bans,” she explained. “There’s an appetite for these organizations to have their own narratives.”

     AAPLOG has since split from ACOG and now has roughly 7,000 members compared to ACOG’s more than 60,000 (anyone can join the former, while the latter’s membership is limited to medical professionals). Despite its size, AAPLOG has successfully pressed its counternarrative in legislative and legal crusades to restrict or ban abortion, even when the scientific underpinning for its position is shaky.

     Take the work of George Delgado, one of the named plaintiffs in the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine lawsuit. A doctor in Southern California, Delgado developed so-called abortion pill reversal: the notion that a person who changes their mind about going through with a medication abortion after taking mifepristone (but before taking misoprostol) can interrupt the process by taking a large dose of prescription progesterone to reestablish the pregnancy. There is no evidence that the protocol is safe or effective; the only controlled study designed to interrogate it was halted based on “safety concerns” after three of 12 participants hemorrhaged and were taken to the hospital. Still, AAPLOG has deemed medication abortion reversal a “medically sound choice” and supported state efforts to mandate counseling on reversal for anyone seeking abortion.

     “When you have arguments about science that are not based that much in evidence, not only is it confusing and obviously can lead to really bad outcomes, but it’s also disenfranchising.”

     While the alternate narratives pushed by groups like AAPLOG may be politically powerful, they are also dangerous, offering the imprimatur of science without sound foundational support. “When you have arguments about science that are not based that much in evidence, not only is it confusing and obviously can lead to really bad outcomes, but it’s also disenfranchising,” Ziegler said. “Because normal people don’t know anything about these topics, right? They don’t know about the relative rate of complications of mifepristone. And so if what’s really going on here is a struggle over constitutional values and ethics and so on, we should be telling the truth about that.”

     The shadow medical community’s efforts to legitimize various abortion restrictions have been effective — like a requirement that abortion doctors maintain hospital admitting privileges, which groups including AAPLOG claimed was a best practice designed to ensure patient safety. Broadly speaking, such efforts worked in front of state lawmakers but typically failed at the Supreme Court.

     Now, with Roe in the rearview mirror and no immediately obvious need to keep pressing such pseudoscience, Ziegler suspects that groups like AAPLOG are still leaning into these arguments because their real aims — like establishing fetal personhood rights — “are still not popular,” she said. Anti-abortion ballot measures have repeatedly failed with voters, and a significant majority of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. “And so they’re having to take their claims to courts and to judges like Judge Kacsmaryk … and they’re having to rely on weird interpretations of FDA regulations.” This is “not a window into what they think is the most important,” she said, but “what they think will work.”

     A Slippery Slope

     Before being tapped to serve as the federal district court judge in Amarillo, Kacsmaryk worked at the religious-right First Liberty Institute, which, among other things, opposes the separation of church and state. Kacsmaryk has been vocal about his disdain for gay marriage, reproductive rights, and transgender people. In 2016, he signed onto a letter that called being transgender an “irrational … delusion” (the Catholic Medical Association, which is a party in the mifepristone lawsuit, was also a signatory). And he’s written that the sexual revolution was destructive, seeking “public affirmation of the lie that the human person is an autonomous blob of Silly Putty unconstrained by nature or biology, and that marriage, sexuality, gender identity, and even the unborn child must yield to the erotic desires of liberated adults.”

     While on the bench, Kacsmaryk has made a string of controversial rulings: He declared Biden administration protections for transgender workers unlawful; twice ordered the administration to enforce the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy; and attacked Title X, the only federal program designed to provide birth control to low-income and uninsured people.

In the Title X case, Deanda v. Becerra, Kacsmaryk sided with Texas father Alexander Deanda, who was challenging the program based on its guarantee of patient confidentiality. Deanda claimed that the program violated his rights as a parent raising his daughters according to “Christian teaching on matters of sexuality.” With Title X in place, he argued, he had no assurance that his daughters would be “unable to access … contraception” and other services that “facilitate sexual promiscuity.”

     Among the criticisms leveled at Kacsmaryk in the wake of his ruling in favor of Deanda was that he lacked power to consider the case in the first place. To bring a federal lawsuit, a plaintiff must show they’ve been injured by the law they’re challenging, but Deanda — who never alleged that his children attempted to avail themselves of Title X services — hadn’t been harmed. Deanda had no standing to bring the suit, in other words, and Kacsmaryk had no cause to hear it. Nonetheless, Kacsmaryk ruled that the Title X program as administered violated the “constitutional right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children.”

     In response to the pending mifepristone lawsuit, the federal government has argued that the FDA’s approval of the drug in 2000 was based on years of solid research, that the statute of limitations to challenge that approval has since run out, and that, like Deanda, the plaintiffs have no standing.

     The FDA argues that neither the medical associations nor the individual doctors bringing the suit have suffered any injury related to the drug’s approval. And indeed, the plaintiffs’ claims of injury are tenuous. While the doctors who are party to the lawsuit don’t provide medication abortion, they argue that they may one day find themselves in a situation where a person allegedly harmed by mifepristone comes to them for treatment, thus drawing their attention away from existing patients. And they say that these impaired patients may present with an incomplete abortion, which would conscript the doctors into providing services that violate their conscience. Meanwhile, the organizations argue that the approval of mifepristone has forced them to divert time and energy away from other priorities, like advocating for fetal personhood, forcing them to focus instead on “educating” their members about the dangers of medication abortion.

     To the FDA, this theory of legal injury is nonsense — and a slippery slope: Allowing the case to go forward would greenlight other baseless legal complaints, it argues in response to the Alliance lawsuit. “If FDA approved a new heart medicine, emergency physicians would have standing to challenge the approval on the theory that some patients would experience adverse events under the new treatment; in contrast, cardiologists would have standing to challenge the approval on the theory that some patients would no longer require their services.”

     A Zombie Law

     In a response filed in early February, the Alliance Defending Freedom lawyers brushed off the government’s arguments about standing — the doctors and organizations bringing the suit had “standing six ways from Sunday,” they asserted. They doubled down on their fearmongering, arguing that medication abortion had never been studied under “real-world conditions,” and that the doctors bringing the suit actually “treat and care for countless victims of this dangerous drug regimen.”

     The plaintiffs also leaned into allegations that allowing medication abortion to be mailed to patients violates the 19th-century law known as the Comstock Act, which outlawed sending anything considered “obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile” through the mail, including contraceptives and “every article or thing” that could be used for abortion. Over the years, judicial and congressional actions have largely neutered the act, and in late December, the Department of Justice penned an opinion noting that the law does not apply where abortion is legal or when the sender doesn’t intend that the recipient would use the drugs illegally. But the Comstock Act is still on the books, a zombie law that the Alliance plaintiffs are trying to raise from the dead.

     The End of Roe

     If Kacsmaryk agrees that the Comstock Act applies to medication abortion, the impact could be far-reaching. The act forbids the mailing of any device that may be used for abortion, which would include countless medications and routine gynecological instruments. It could also impact the availability of misoprostol, which absent mifepristone, can be used alone to accomplish an abortion. It is not as effective as the two-drug regimen but has for decades been used safely for that purpose; the Alliance lawsuit does not attack FDA approval of misoprostol.

     A hearing in the case has yet to be scheduled. Meanwhile, a coalition of 12 states, led by Washington and Oregon, filed their own lawsuit last week asking another federal judge to rule that mifepristone is safe and effective and that its FDA approval is “lawful and valid.” The states are asking the judge to eliminate all remaining FDA-imposed restrictions on mifepristone, which they argue impermissibly impede access to the drug.

     On February 24, Vice President Kamala Harris met with reproductive rights advocates and medical experts, including from ACOG and the American Academy of Family Physicians. The Alliance lawsuit is not just an attack on “women’s fundamental freedoms,” she warned. “It is an attack on the very foundation of our public health system.”

     “Those who would attack … the ability of the FDA to make a decision” about approving a drug like mifepristone “ought to look in their own medicine cabinets to figure out whether they’re prepared to say those medications … should no longer be available to them,” she said. “Because that is what we are talking about.”

     Where are we in this fight now?

     As written by Moira Donegan in The Guardian, in an article entitled Even the US supreme court was baffled by conservatives’ attack on abortion pills; “It is a testament to how weak the plaintiffs’ case is that the justices seemed so skeptical. Erin Hawley, a lawyer for the far-right antifeminist litigation shop Alliance Defending Freedom and the spouse of the conservative US senator Josh Hawley, usually gets a much warmer reception at One First Street. But in Tuesday’s oral arguments in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v FDA – a lawsuit which seeks to challenge FDA approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, and specifically to reverse regulatory changes that made the drug more easily accessible – she was on the defensive.

     The three Democratic appointees, along with the Republican justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Roberts, all signaled at least some skepticism of her clients’ claims to legal standing. Amy Coney Barrett, the Trump appointee known for her maximalist religious commitments, struggled to help Hawley establish a convincing merits case to restrict access to the drug. And the far-right extremists Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas spent their question time signalling their support for the Comstock Act, a long-obscure and once-forgotten 1871 statute that some anti-choice lawyers say could be used to ban abortion nationwide by executive order.

     Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine has always been a strange case, one whose path to the court was marked by controversy, strained argument and dramatically lowered legal standards. For one thing, the plaintiffs, a group of anti-abortion doctors who make outlandish and empirically disproven claims about the supposed dangers of mifepristone, hand-picked their own trial judge. They filed their lawsuit in the northern district of Texas, a federal court in Amarillo that has only one judge: Matthew Kacsmaryk, a young Trump appointee with a history of militant anti-choice activism who has become famous for his extreme deference to anti-abortion litigants.

     Kacsmaryk ignored the fact that the physician plaintiffs could not show any injury that would entitle them to sue, and promptly issued a national injunction revoking FDA approval of the drug – an unprecedented judicial intervention that threatened to end access to a medication that is used in more than half of US abortions.

     Above him, the far-right fifth circuit, in an opinion authored by the aspiring supreme court nominee James Ho, upheld the FDA’s initial approval of the drug but ruled that interventions in 2016 and 2021 that had made it more accessible were illegal, a move that would have made the pills dramatically more difficult to get in a post-Dobbs world. In his opinion, Ho not only bypassed the case’s initial standing problems, but made bizarre arguments justifying the right of virtually anyone to sue over abortion medication – including for what he called “aesthetic injuries” – that is, the harm allegedly done by abortion medication to people who are deprived of the opportunity to look at more babies.

     At the supreme court, it was the FDA’s post-2016 moves to lower barriers of access to mifepristone that were supposedly at issue. And in theory, this should have been catnip to the revanchist supreme court, which has in recent years enthusiastically taken up legal challenges meant to erode abortion access, curtail civil rights, and weaken federal agencies like the FDA. But with the court’s approval at an all-time low in the wake of Dobbs, and with a looming November election to be determined in a large part by public outrage over women’s rights, even the court’s most enthusiastic enemies of abortion access and federal regulation found themselves with limited appetite to allow plaintiffs to limit access to a safe and popular drug nationwide.

     And so it was that on Tuesday, the supreme court rediscovered an area of the law that it has recently been content to ignore: standing doctrine. The minor, inconvenient fact that the plaintiffs have experienced no injury and have no legal right to sue had been hand-waved away in the district court and at the fifth circuit, but it became an issue of prolonged attention in the oral arguments at the supreme court.

     Elena Kagan noted that the plaintiff’s theory of standing was “highly probabilistic”, meaning that it relied on a series of hypotheticals and contingencies about potential harms that might happen, somehow, at some indeterminate point in the future, to someone, somewhere.

     Ketanji Brown Jackson issued some of her most pointed questions since joining the court – a high bar – over the asymmetry between the plaintiff’s stated injury of a hypothetical future conscience harm and their proposed remedy for that injury – a nationwide restriction on the way all American women can use the drug. Jackson was joined in this line of thought by the Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch, her sometimes odd-couple ally, who asked the anti-abortion camp why they had filed such a broad petition, instead of a narrow one, in a tone I can only describe as scolding.

     Roberts signaled a preoccupation with the standing question; even Kavanaugh, a justice with little skill in making a point, asked a question that seemed aimed at getting a fact of established law on the record: don’t these physicians already have a legal right to decline to perform abortions? Hawley answered in the affirmative.

     The court seems poised to throw out the case on standing grounds; if the opinion is written by a conservative, it will likely operate as something of an instruction manual, describing the kind of case that the conservative legal movement could bring that would successfully overturn the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. A future case – just not this one.

     But oral arguments on Tuesday did make news: they signaled the first time that the anti-choice movement’s preferred strategy for banning abortion nationwide has cheerleaders on the supreme court. The case that the court heard on Tuesday was specifically not supposed to concern the federal Comstock Act, a long-unenforced law left over from the Victorian era that imposed a ban on sending contraception or abortion implements through the mail or trading them via interstate commerce. But both Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas brought up the act, which plaintiffs mentioned in their briefs and which was the focus of several amici curiae who submitted in the case.

     Since Dobbs, anti-abortion litigants have been advancing a novel, never-before-enforced idea that the Comstock Act could be interpreted broadly to functionally ban all abortions nationwide – as well as several kinds of birth control and possibly implements that are also used in other kinds of routine gynecological care, like speculums and curettes. Alito signaled with his questions that he felt the act applied to the FDA, who had failed to heed its prohibitions when they approved the drug; Thomas suggested that mifepristone’s manufacturer had violated it when selling and advertising abortion medication.

     These interpretations will likely not be controlling opinion in this lawsuit. But they signal how this court may rule under a future Republican administration. After all, if Republicans want to enforce the Comstock Act as a nationwide total abortion ban, they don’t need to win control of Congress. All they need is the White House.”

     Why is this important, and what is this like in the lives of women?

     As written by Clea Skopeliti in The Guardian, in an article entitled Women who used abortion pills on US supreme court mifepristone case: ‘It’s maddening’; “Mercy’s periods had always been very regular, so when she missed one in 2016, she immediately took a pregnancy test. It was positive, and she managed to get an appointment at an abortion clinic the next day.

     Despite being able to act quickly, she was in her seventh week of pregnancy by the time she could take abortion pills in Ohio – a state that was, at the time, debating banning abortion from the moment embryonic cardiac activity is detected (usually around six weeks). Ohio has since enshrined abortion rights in its state constitution following a referendum.

     After the supreme court heard oral arguments this week in its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v Wade almost two years ago, Mercy reflected on her experience of accessing a medical abortion. There have been fears that the case – the US Food and Drug Administration v Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine – could curtail access to medication abortions, though legal experts say it does not appear to be going well for anti-abortion doctors.

     When she arrived at the clinic, Mercy, 22 at the time, faced harassment. “There were protesters outside the building. They had signs and a billboard with a chopped-up baby on it. They screamed at me as I entered the building. It felt very threatening and judgmental – I would bundle myself up in hoodies to obscure my identity.”

     During a follow-up appointment, she arrived just before the clinic had opened, and hid behind nearby bushes to dodge the protesters. “I was terrified,” she said. “I felt like a sitting duck.”

     Despite facing intimidation from protesters, Mercy, now 29, knew she was not ready to be a parent.

     “I wanted it, but it wasn’t planned,” she said. “I wasn’t able to have a kid at the time – I was a student and had trouble affording things. There’s no way I could have supported a baby.”

     Amid debates about “heartbeat” bills, Mercy had been aware there were unavoidable delays. At her first appointment, the providers at the abortion clinic were unable to find the embryo with ultrasound and the appointment was rescheduled for a week later. Mercy was then required to wait 24 hours between seeing the ultrasound and obtaining the abortion, but due to her class schedule and clinic opening times, she had to wait another week.

     The staff at the clinic were compassionate and non-judgmental, she remembers, saying: “They were fantastic to me. It was one of the most empowering experiences I’ve ever had. They reassured me it wasn’t my fault, I’d taken precautions and things happened.”

     Her experience taking abortion pills in her seventh week went smoothly. She took the mifepristone in the clinic, and misoprostol later, along with a single dose of an antibiotic, which the doctor told her might make her drowsy. She said: “I just curled up on my bed and went straight to sleep. I don’t know how bad the cramping might have been, but by the time I woke up the next morning it was like I was having a heavy period.”

     She described her experience as being “really straightforward and non-traumatic”.

      “I was glad to be in a place that I considered safe, without others’ judgment and to be able to process it,” she said.

     Caitlin, 35, underwent a medical abortion at a hospital in California the day after the news leaked that the supreme court would be overturning Roe v Wade in 2022.

     “It was a very somber experience, and the doctor prescribing me the medication was clearly incredibly upset,” she remembers.

     “My nervousness about the abortion was overshadowed by the leak. In some ways it helped with nervousness – like we were all in this experience together – but it was emotionally painful. I realised that in California, it was going to affect me much less than people in other parts of the country – but depending on who’s in power in the US, it could turn into a country-wide thing. I wondered: is this the last time I have this operation? I may never want or need it again, but I want to have the option,” she said.

     Following an ultrasound, which she declined to see, Caitlin took the mifepristone pill in the hospital, and the misoprostol at home. She was nine weeks pregnant. “It was pretty painful,” she said. “It’s a lot for your body to go through. I thought, no one’s doing this because they want to.” But she was glad to be at home with support from her partner and roommate.

     She said she had been “manically refreshing” the news for updates on the supreme court mifepristone case.

     “I’m really nervous about the outcome. I really appreciate the ingenuity of the providers who send medication to the states where abortion is illegal. We’ve been forced to get creative. I’m not surprised conservatives are trying to reverse the work’s that been done,” she said. “I see the anti-abortion movement here to be another way to subjugate people in poverty.”

     Kelly, 46, has had three medication abortions over the years. Her first was in early 2001, shortly after mifepristone had been authorized for use by the FDA in 2000. After unsuccessfully trying to access the morning-after pill in Salem, Oregon, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Portland, where staff confirmed she was pregnant. “It was an accidental pregnancy at 23, I didn’t have a permanent job – and I knew from a young age I didn’t want children,” she said.

     Her experience in 2001 – and 2016 and 2017 – of accessing mifepristone at Planned Parenthood in Portland was straightforward, with “very clear instructions” from the clinic. She was prescribed a painkiller to help with the heavy cramping that accompanies the second pill, misoprostol.

     Kelly felt that being able to take abortion pills at home made the process easier. “Medical settings give me a lot of anxiety – to do it at home felt more comfortable. My partner made me food, I got to sit on the couch and be in my own bathroom,” she said.

     “In my later two abortions, I was very settled in my career, but again didn’t want kids. I’ve never had any regrets, never any mental health issues as a result. I’ve been set on not having children.”

     Reflecting on the supreme court case, Kelly said: “As a lifelong feminist, I am shocked that were in this level in the US. We’re just at a point where access to abortion has been turned on its head in the US. Mifepristone is completely safe. Thankfully, it looks like they’re not going to rule in favour [of restricting access] – but the fact it could be [restricted] is maddening.”

The Handmaid’s Tale series trailer

Moments in History That Inspired The Handmaid’s Tale

Margaret Atwood Speaks on The Handmaids Tale

The Red Shoes 1948 film trailer

Join the Women’s March

https://www.womensmarch.com

THE SHADOW MEDICAL COMMUNITY BEHIND THE ATTEMPT TO BAN MEDICATION ABORTION

Even the US supreme court was baffled by conservatives’ attack on abortion pills

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/27/us-supreme-court-anti-choice-abortion-pills-case

Women who used abortion pills on US supreme court mifepristone case: ‘It’s maddening’: Three women share their stories of getting medication abortions, and their thoughts on that access being curtailed

              Margaret Atwood, a reading list

Cat’s Eye, Margaret Atwood

Life Before Man, Margaret Atwood

Interlunar, Margaret Atwood

The Edible Woman, Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood’s Fairy-Tale Sexual Politics, Sharon Rose Wilson

The Red Shoes: Margaret Atwood Starting Out, Rosemary Sullivan

Brutal Choreographies: Oppositional Strategies and Narrative Design in the Novels of Margaret Atwood, J. Brooks Bouson

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