arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

ACTION IN LA PLACE BETHLEHEM

MANY FAMILIES CAME WITH THEIR CHILDREN TO SUPPORT THE RESISTANCE ON SUNDAY!!

WHY DO WE IN AEL SUPPORT THE RESISTANCE

Press Release 23 06 02

Brussels- AEL Brussels division organized today a familial gathering in support of the Palestinian resistance at the Bethlehem square in Brussels . Between 200 and 300 people (mainly women and children) took part in a peaceful show of solidarity with the Palestinian people and its resistance that is accused of terrorism by the EU.

Resistance songs, theatre sketches, slogans, testimonies, stands, it was a small but efficient and diversified gathering and the young AEL division in Brussels proved its creativity and sense of initiative. It needs courage to come out in support of the resistance especially when it is accused of terrorism and condemned by the government of the country you live in, but always a "brave few" open the way for the rest. It was no surprise to see that the brave few were mainly women who brought their children with them and participated zealously in all the activities, women do feel more than anyone else the suffering of mothers in Palestine when their children are slaughtered by Israeli tanks or F-16 warplanes, and at the same time they can also understand the pride of mothers when their children are resistance heroes defending their freedom and motherland.

The AEL will never stop its support to the Palestinian resistance in all its factions from left to right and from the secular to the religious. When the fight is for survival, ideology have to make place for solidarity and a front of all resistance factions have to be formed. We do not expect the Europeans to support the resistance, but at least they should realize that condemning it is condemning a people that is trying to stop genocide against it, and that is using any means under its disposal to do so. The choices that a resistance movement has sometimes to make can be difficult, but nonetheless they do prove necessary. Not resisting, and not building a balance of terror would mean security for the oppressor and its population and doom and extermination (or deportation) for the oppressed. Violence is not a solution but it can open a way to a solution because it can deter other violence. The naïve opinion that a war is always to be rejected has been historically proven wrong, if wars have not been fought against Hitler, or the Japanese militarism or the Napoleon megalomania the World would be a worse place today! If wars have not been fought against colonialism in Congo , Algeria , and South America millions of people would still be enslaved today. War is a difficult choice, but it is sometimes the only choice.

Israel , a criminal State that is illegally built upon Palestinian soil and that exists only through ways of deceit, ethnic cleansing, oppression, apartheid and genocide has to be stopped. And it has to be stopped by any means necessary.

If suicide bombings were not necessary, in the sense that other alternatives were available to the resistance, than they should have been solemnly condemned. But this is unfortunately not the case, the Palestinian people is unarmed and no protection is available to it against the blind terror of the Israeli state and war machine. Therefore the Palestinians have the right to use any kind of violence against the colonial power, its army, its politicians, its infrastructure and its settlers (colonizers). The murder of children should however be condemned under any circumstances and regardeless of the context, it is unacceptable out of our religious convictions as Muslims.

The killing of adults who are by their conscious choice living in an illegal colony (or illegally occupied city) on Palestinian ground and by doing so are actively participating in Israeli occupation and the oppression and systematical dismantling and extermination of a whole people is more than justified. Those settlers and colonizers should not be mistaken for "innocent civilians", most of the time they are armed and actively participating in the military effort of Israel . But even if they were unarmed, they are extremists who are cherishing a racist and murderous ideal "Zionism" and ACTING in function of that on daily bases. They make part of the crime of occupation-colonization and they should leave the land they occupy illegally and by force or face the consequences.

Once again, we do not expect anybody to accept our logic or that of the resistance in Palestine , but we hope that the EU and the rest will understand the consequences of criminalizing the resistance. As long as there is no JUSTICE, there would not and SHOULD NOT be peace

I'd like to comment on the part where you say you support every part of the resistance, be it left or right. What you're saying here is "win the war first" right? If not, correct me. But I'll take it that's what you are saying.

This is a fundamental mistake which has happened many times in the past. "Win the war first, politics are for later". No, because politics are put aside you might just lose the war. Or if you win, you're alternative might not be what you wanted. The Spanish Civil War and the Russian Revolution are good examples. I cannot understand how you can blindly support whoever fights against Israël.

Are all bombings in illegal colonies? I didn't think so, but I could be wrong. And even then I think it's wrong. You speak of violence against Israëls "army, its politicians, its infrastructure and its settlers (colonizers)." Sorry, but I don't see much attacks against the army, the politicians or the infrastructure. But hey, let's blame corporate media.
I support the Palestinian people, I do not support it's Authority with its power-games (although I'm realistic about an anarchist alternative) and I do not support killing civilians let alone kids. If it's not a moral issue for you, then realize that the killing of these civilians just gives the Palestinian cause a bad name. And however you feel about it, public relations are important in war.
Right now, I'm having serious doubts about your organisation however.

I wonder why you compare the wars mentioned with the conflict in Israël. It's quite different. There isn't a Palestianian state today for example and the Palestinian leader Arafat, I really don't support him by the way, has opressed parts of the "resistance". This "resistance" doesn't have a chance, militarily speaking, against the army of Israël. So this is a very different situation. Have people of your organisation thouroughly studied the effects of non-violent resistance in history? The result of non-violent opposition or "resistance" with litle violence have been spectacular sometimes. I can advise you to inform you well about the effects of social defense. And I would like to urge you to start opposing any kind of nationalism from the Right. If you want the far Right in Israël to get less popular, it's important.
Greetings..

Why not try "win the war first" for a change? Because of internal quarrels the russian revolutin dind't turn out to be what it could have been, because of diffrences in political views and diffrent factions refusing to help one another on the battlefield the Spanish Civil War was lost. Because they allowed themselves to be devided and started fighting each other the native americans lost their battle against the settlers. Because of internal quarrels and diffrences in political opinions diffrent factions of the resistance against the nazi's (where even dencounciations where used to prove one's own right)they lost a lot of their striking power, because of diffrences in opinion within the PLO (e.g. between Fatah and PFLP) they lost their image of being a united front against Israeli occupation. This lead to the first intifada and allowed the Israeli's to sponsor Hamas, thus causing further devision within the Palestinian resistance.
Let's try "united we stand" for a change.

And what about us? If we start siding with one ore another faction of Palestinian resistance, we lose our own striking power to support the Palestinian people and we feed the internal devisions, which is in the interest of only one group, the Zionists.
Either we support the Palestinians all the way or we don't.
It is not up to us to decide how Palestinians should organise their resistance movements. I myself have my own prefrences and other groups for witch i have less sympathie and i admit it is based on political grounds. But i am not a Palestinian (although i feel as if i where), i don't have to live overhtere, so it is not up to me to decide what is right for them or how they should feel about that or how they should react.
I am aware of the fact that my lillywhite skin and my European origin doen not give me the right to judge others.
The end of the colonialst and imperialist era based on ethnic or cultural superiority is long overdue. Killing it in our own hearts and minds first would be a good place to start.

The Spanish Civil War was lost BECAUSE they wanted to win the war first! Yes, there is a lot to be said about who should have worked with who, but the Revolution was made a War when the USSR (and the Republican government) told the people the revolution was for after the war, when in fact these were the same things.
Of course it's not up to me to decide how the Palestinians should fight, but I WILL judge them by their actions. The end does not justify the means!
Greets, peter

Dear Peter, I do not think that you have the right to judge the palestinians on any level, not even on their use of force and kamikaz technikes against Israelies. First you have to be a palestinian, living in Palestine, humiliated on daily basis, having to stay in a refugee camp while your house in Haifa or yaffa or akka is occupied by a jewish family that arrived from Brooklin or Kiev. You have to lose some of your children killed by israeli bombs or snipers, or at least a brother or a cousin or a friend. you have to see that no one is helping you, that you have no weapons to defend yourself against your mighty enemy, that no one is even willing to accept the compromise you are willing to accept and that is 22% only of your homeland (i.e. the 1967 borders) ... You have no job, no future, no hope... BUT YOU DO NOT WANT TO GIVE UP!!!!!!!! you have honour, and dignity and BALLS!!!!!!!!!!! so what do you do? if you are that person what do you do???? sign a petition? organize a pick nick with gush shalom ???? look for the true marxist analysis of the situation???? think about why the spanish civil war was lost???????? CARE about some pseudo-intellectuals who are looking at your suffering and analysing it as if it was a football match????? no, if you would have a bit of dignity and blood running in your vains you will Fight back, and if you do not find the means to fight you will attach some Dynamite to your waist and YES you will blow anything that moves and that you can associate with te tragedy you and your people are living TO PIECES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I KNOW I WOULD!!!! but then again I'm just another moslim who is criminal by nature and have violence in her genes...... so just ignore what i just wrote....

Nadia, i really appreciate your comment ... but i don't think 'balls' are needed to resist, and lot of women proves it on daily basis in Palestine! ;)

Cheerz
=^_^=

Thanks Nadia.

Some people should think before they speak, and even more listen to those involved.

That is what indymedia should be about, but some people are afraid of being confronted with reality.

greetings

han

but nonetheless I will say what I said or meant to say (hey, maybe I suck at writing comments).
The Palestinians have the right to fight back, I support them and encourage them to fight back. I do not condemn violence as such. Heck, who said the anarchists were putting this movement into bad daylight again? (which is not a comment to you Nadia). I also do not condemn suicide-attacks. Who am I to say what people should or should not do with their own bodies. I am saying that I condemn attacking civilians, even if they are the oppressors. Attack the soldiers, the infrastructure, etc.
Also, I'll bloody well choose who I do judge and do not judge. What you're saying is that I'm not allowed to condemn them. Judging can be positive or negative. It is not because these people live far away from me, that I will give them my unconditional support. Also, according to such a logic I can't say anything anymore about people oppressed far away.

So, in short, I DO have the right to judge, but you can think I'm judging wrong. I do not condemn their use of force nor their suicide-techniques. I will condemn their use of violence against civilians.
If I wouldn't have the right to judge this, as you say, then I would also not have the right to judge the bombing of the school bus. Do you support the killing of children?!
Some people have difficulties taking a look from a distance apparantly. I also received a mail from some Israëli-supporter-wanker (I think) saying I posted something good about the Mideast. Then he rambles some pro-Israël mumbo-jumbo. I don't quite understand it, but it seems to me that some people are having difficulty putting things in perspective (and I know you'll say this about me too) and AGAIN we have the black-and-white look at the issue. Palestinians: unconditionally good, Israël: baaaaaad.

"but then again I'm just another moslim who is criminal by nature and have violence in her genes...... "
Well I will ignore that.