Max1917
5th May 2010, 13:23
This is article from TAL fanzine.I am interested what opinion people have here about this?Do you think that anti-authoritarians are special group of antifascists?Are (anti-germans,anarcho-syndycalists,Black Block...etc) are so hostile toward left republicans and marxist-leninists?Do you think that conflict could escalate on position "No Nations,No Borders"?
DIVISIVE ANTI-FASCISM
Alerta, the ‘antifascist network’ of supporters groups is proclaiming itself to be an ‘anti-fascist movement’. The truth, however, is that Alerta is an anti-nationalist organisation dominated by a politically dogmatic clique who are influenced by the ideas of anarchism, anti-nationalism (for all but Israel), Zionism and ‘anti-Germanism'.
The ‘Anti-Germans’ are a weird cult among German leftists who are guilt-ridden with regard to the war crimes committed by the Nazis in the name of Germany during World War 2. They believe that in order to atone for the Holocaust the German left (and by default the rest of the European left) must support the state of Israel in all that it does, without criticism.
Those on the left who do choose to criticise the Israeli regime’s actions in Gaza and in developing new settlements in East Jerusalem, are denounced as being ‘anti-semites’ and ‘Hamas supporters’.
The most obvious exponents of the Anti-German/pro-Zionist position are to be found among some of the Alerta Network’s leadership, who hide their pro-Israeli politics under the guise of anti-nationalism. The slogan of this group is laughable - ‘No Nations - No Borders’. Try telling that to the Palestinians in Gaza who have been collectively punished by Israel for having the audacity to elect a leadership of their choice in democratic elections. They are now trapped in Gaza by the Israeli siege!
Regardless of what you think about the politics of Hamas - and you will find no-one at TAL who has much sympathy for the politics or the religious fundamentalism of the Hamas Movement - the Palestinians exercised their democratic right to elect their own government, as agreed by the United Nations and all of the participating groups and governments in the peace process, including Israel.
The Israeli government refused to recognise the newly elected Hamas Government of the Palestinian Authority and did all that it could to foment civil war in the West Bank and Gaza by basically attempting to punish, starve and bully the Palestinians into submission. Their actions in undermining the new government did indeed ignite civil conflict within the occupied territories, which effectively split the West Bank (under Fatah’s control) from Gaza (under Hamas control) . Once suitably divided, weakened and softened up, Israel then turned its attentions to the people of Gaza, collectively punishing them for exercising their democratic right to vote. Ultimately this led to last year’s terrorist bombardment and invasion of Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force. 1400 Palestinian lives were lost (approximatelyhalf that number were women and children).
The pro-Israel lobby will propagandise that this was an ‘eye for an eye’ and that they had to strike against Hamas in order to allay the fears of bombardment by rockets of its citizens living in southern Israel, but the truth is that, until that point, in the few months before the invasion, the rocket count from Gaza to Israel had decreased significantly. The facts are that around 140 Palestinians were killed for every Israeli citizen that died in the months before as a result of rockets fired from Gaza. This can hardly be viewed as a proportionate response by Israel, even if one did agree with the warped logic of the Israeli propaganda machine.
Make no mistake, Israel is a rogue state - every bit (and a bit more) dangerous to world peace as any of the so-called ‘axis of evil’ powers whose military capabilities are dwarfed by the resources and firepower of Israel. This is a state that wages ideological war in words and deeds. The recent ‘hit’ in Dubai of a senior Hamas leader by Mosad, is testament to how little importance Israel attaches to negotiating peace with the Palestinians. Israel chooses to assassinate its enemies, not to accommodate them or make peace with them.
But what does any of this have to do with an alleged ‘anti-fascist movement’?
Read on...
The dominant group within Alerta is the Ultras Sankt Pauli (USP), who are influenced variously by the politics of anarcho anti-nationalism and an illogically pro-Zionist element. One of the Ultras groups that the USP have gone out of their way to develop relations with are the Ultras Hapoel (The Red Workers) supporters of our recent Champions League opponents Hapoel Tel Aviv. Both groups proclaim their anti-nationalism and anti-fascism, but are loathe to say anything with regard to Israel, other than to demand support for it on internet forums such as the Green Brigade’s (our own ultras have ill-advisedly chosen to join Alerta, despite the fact that Alerta ideologically opposes those on the left who support anti-imperialism and progressive national liberation movements).
In Issue 42 of Tal Fanzine we carried an interview with the USP, with which we fundamentally disagreed politically, but which we printed with only that clarification and without reply. It is perhaps time to address ourselves to the exclusive politics of the USP...
In the interview the USP stated their view of nations and nationalism in the most puerile sense, only seeing the nation state as harmful rather than having any ability to make progressive change. If the USP were principled, revolutionary socialists we could perhaps accept their position. However, the USP do not even state their politics in left-wing terms. Instead they talk in airy-fairy, utopian language about how ‘the idea of nations clashes with the idea of all humans being equal ‘.
Of course, we at TAL fully endorse the internationalist politics of James Connolly whose ultimate aims became the political blueprint for for most socialists on these islands; i.e. that the working class has no nation and is bound together by common class interests which cross national borders and boundaries. This is also a common theme in the work of other great revolutionaries such as Che Guevara.
However, both Connolly and Che were men of tactical acumen as well as being political idealists. Both were prepared to ally their revolutionary socialist views with the political objectives of what they defined as progressive national liberation movements. Connolly was perhaps the most scathing of revolutionaries towards the politics of nationalism, yet he became the military commander of the Easter Rising, an insurrectionary struggle to gain Ireland’s freedom from British rule in which nationalists and socialists fought side by side.
Likewise, Guevara’s involvement in anti-colonialist struggles in Africa was a recognition that the politics of national and social liberation can combine to make political progress.
It is an irony that the most used and abused symbol of the groups within the Alerta Network is the image of Che, a revolutionary of deep conviction and principle who would surely never have countenanced working with such political dilettantes.
An honest grouping with their beliefs would cease using the iconic symbol of Che Guevara on their merchandise material, because it is clear that the USP do not stand in the tradition of Che when it comes to the issue of national liberation and self-determination.
The USP as a group do fight fascists, and they fight them very effectively and physically when the need arises. Alerta is also committed to fighting fascism in words at least, but some of its constituent groups have no political ideology whatsoever and define themselves as being ‘non-political’ (i.e. Ultra groups at Standard Liege and Bohemians Prague)
Whenever criticism is levelled at the politics of such groups we usually get a list of the do-gooding but politically futile charity work that they have carried out among refugee groups, or the number of meaningless ‘anti-racist football tournaments’ that they have organised.
However, political effectiveness is not measured by how much you do, rather it should be measured by what difference you make?
The danger represented by the divisive politics of the USP is in the detail of their ideology: By their own definitions of nationalism and fascism, they classify as 'fascist' and 'potentially fascist' national liberation movements and groups that are clearly not fascist. In other words, by means of their flawed political ideology, they place potential allies against fascism in the opposition camp.
When TAL made links with the St Pauli Fanladen nearly 20 years ago, it was run by people who understood and supported the national liberation movements of Ireland, Palestine and Euskadi. 1990 is not 2010 and the politics of the Fanladen appear to have radically altered where elements among its staff and the USP now support the common middle-class ideology of the German left that is a mixture of revisionist academic sociology ('the working class is dead') and anti-Germanism/pro-Zionism.
We have friends at St Pauli, both within and without the USP, who understand fully the politics of national liberation, but they are in the minority. Our friends have asked us to ‘respect’ the USP, but how can we show political respect for a group with whom we disagree profoundly on the issues raised by this article? The USP's dogmatic ideology means that their group can never show solidarity with progressive national liberation movements - because they do not believe that nationalism can ever have a progressive element to it. By adopting this position Alerta and the USP place themselves against anti-imperialism.
Anti-nationalism and the 'No Borders' position in the current political epoch is utterly Utopian. It’s designed to advance little, appeal to no-one and link to nothing. It renders the left's activities to little more than charity work and their actions to preserving the political status quo.
* Alerta may know who it wants to fight, but does it (and the groups that sign up to it) know what it is fighting for?
* Apart from a basic liberal anti-racist 'charitable' approach, what is Alerta about?
* Does the USP have any links to working class politics, or do they like most of the autonomous German left believe that the working class no longer exists?
* Who do they seek to influence and what effect do their actions have on the communities where they live?
* What difference do the political actions of the USP and Alerta make?
DIVISIVE ANTI-FASCISM
Alerta, the ‘antifascist network’ of supporters groups is proclaiming itself to be an ‘anti-fascist movement’. The truth, however, is that Alerta is an anti-nationalist organisation dominated by a politically dogmatic clique who are influenced by the ideas of anarchism, anti-nationalism (for all but Israel), Zionism and ‘anti-Germanism'.
The ‘Anti-Germans’ are a weird cult among German leftists who are guilt-ridden with regard to the war crimes committed by the Nazis in the name of Germany during World War 2. They believe that in order to atone for the Holocaust the German left (and by default the rest of the European left) must support the state of Israel in all that it does, without criticism.
Those on the left who do choose to criticise the Israeli regime’s actions in Gaza and in developing new settlements in East Jerusalem, are denounced as being ‘anti-semites’ and ‘Hamas supporters’.
The most obvious exponents of the Anti-German/pro-Zionist position are to be found among some of the Alerta Network’s leadership, who hide their pro-Israeli politics under the guise of anti-nationalism. The slogan of this group is laughable - ‘No Nations - No Borders’. Try telling that to the Palestinians in Gaza who have been collectively punished by Israel for having the audacity to elect a leadership of their choice in democratic elections. They are now trapped in Gaza by the Israeli siege!
Regardless of what you think about the politics of Hamas - and you will find no-one at TAL who has much sympathy for the politics or the religious fundamentalism of the Hamas Movement - the Palestinians exercised their democratic right to elect their own government, as agreed by the United Nations and all of the participating groups and governments in the peace process, including Israel.
The Israeli government refused to recognise the newly elected Hamas Government of the Palestinian Authority and did all that it could to foment civil war in the West Bank and Gaza by basically attempting to punish, starve and bully the Palestinians into submission. Their actions in undermining the new government did indeed ignite civil conflict within the occupied territories, which effectively split the West Bank (under Fatah’s control) from Gaza (under Hamas control) . Once suitably divided, weakened and softened up, Israel then turned its attentions to the people of Gaza, collectively punishing them for exercising their democratic right to vote. Ultimately this led to last year’s terrorist bombardment and invasion of Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force. 1400 Palestinian lives were lost (approximatelyhalf that number were women and children).
The pro-Israel lobby will propagandise that this was an ‘eye for an eye’ and that they had to strike against Hamas in order to allay the fears of bombardment by rockets of its citizens living in southern Israel, but the truth is that, until that point, in the few months before the invasion, the rocket count from Gaza to Israel had decreased significantly. The facts are that around 140 Palestinians were killed for every Israeli citizen that died in the months before as a result of rockets fired from Gaza. This can hardly be viewed as a proportionate response by Israel, even if one did agree with the warped logic of the Israeli propaganda machine.
Make no mistake, Israel is a rogue state - every bit (and a bit more) dangerous to world peace as any of the so-called ‘axis of evil’ powers whose military capabilities are dwarfed by the resources and firepower of Israel. This is a state that wages ideological war in words and deeds. The recent ‘hit’ in Dubai of a senior Hamas leader by Mosad, is testament to how little importance Israel attaches to negotiating peace with the Palestinians. Israel chooses to assassinate its enemies, not to accommodate them or make peace with them.
But what does any of this have to do with an alleged ‘anti-fascist movement’?
Read on...
The dominant group within Alerta is the Ultras Sankt Pauli (USP), who are influenced variously by the politics of anarcho anti-nationalism and an illogically pro-Zionist element. One of the Ultras groups that the USP have gone out of their way to develop relations with are the Ultras Hapoel (The Red Workers) supporters of our recent Champions League opponents Hapoel Tel Aviv. Both groups proclaim their anti-nationalism and anti-fascism, but are loathe to say anything with regard to Israel, other than to demand support for it on internet forums such as the Green Brigade’s (our own ultras have ill-advisedly chosen to join Alerta, despite the fact that Alerta ideologically opposes those on the left who support anti-imperialism and progressive national liberation movements).
In Issue 42 of Tal Fanzine we carried an interview with the USP, with which we fundamentally disagreed politically, but which we printed with only that clarification and without reply. It is perhaps time to address ourselves to the exclusive politics of the USP...
In the interview the USP stated their view of nations and nationalism in the most puerile sense, only seeing the nation state as harmful rather than having any ability to make progressive change. If the USP were principled, revolutionary socialists we could perhaps accept their position. However, the USP do not even state their politics in left-wing terms. Instead they talk in airy-fairy, utopian language about how ‘the idea of nations clashes with the idea of all humans being equal ‘.
Of course, we at TAL fully endorse the internationalist politics of James Connolly whose ultimate aims became the political blueprint for for most socialists on these islands; i.e. that the working class has no nation and is bound together by common class interests which cross national borders and boundaries. This is also a common theme in the work of other great revolutionaries such as Che Guevara.
However, both Connolly and Che were men of tactical acumen as well as being political idealists. Both were prepared to ally their revolutionary socialist views with the political objectives of what they defined as progressive national liberation movements. Connolly was perhaps the most scathing of revolutionaries towards the politics of nationalism, yet he became the military commander of the Easter Rising, an insurrectionary struggle to gain Ireland’s freedom from British rule in which nationalists and socialists fought side by side.
Likewise, Guevara’s involvement in anti-colonialist struggles in Africa was a recognition that the politics of national and social liberation can combine to make political progress.
It is an irony that the most used and abused symbol of the groups within the Alerta Network is the image of Che, a revolutionary of deep conviction and principle who would surely never have countenanced working with such political dilettantes.
An honest grouping with their beliefs would cease using the iconic symbol of Che Guevara on their merchandise material, because it is clear that the USP do not stand in the tradition of Che when it comes to the issue of national liberation and self-determination.
The USP as a group do fight fascists, and they fight them very effectively and physically when the need arises. Alerta is also committed to fighting fascism in words at least, but some of its constituent groups have no political ideology whatsoever and define themselves as being ‘non-political’ (i.e. Ultra groups at Standard Liege and Bohemians Prague)
Whenever criticism is levelled at the politics of such groups we usually get a list of the do-gooding but politically futile charity work that they have carried out among refugee groups, or the number of meaningless ‘anti-racist football tournaments’ that they have organised.
However, political effectiveness is not measured by how much you do, rather it should be measured by what difference you make?
The danger represented by the divisive politics of the USP is in the detail of their ideology: By their own definitions of nationalism and fascism, they classify as 'fascist' and 'potentially fascist' national liberation movements and groups that are clearly not fascist. In other words, by means of their flawed political ideology, they place potential allies against fascism in the opposition camp.
When TAL made links with the St Pauli Fanladen nearly 20 years ago, it was run by people who understood and supported the national liberation movements of Ireland, Palestine and Euskadi. 1990 is not 2010 and the politics of the Fanladen appear to have radically altered where elements among its staff and the USP now support the common middle-class ideology of the German left that is a mixture of revisionist academic sociology ('the working class is dead') and anti-Germanism/pro-Zionism.
We have friends at St Pauli, both within and without the USP, who understand fully the politics of national liberation, but they are in the minority. Our friends have asked us to ‘respect’ the USP, but how can we show political respect for a group with whom we disagree profoundly on the issues raised by this article? The USP's dogmatic ideology means that their group can never show solidarity with progressive national liberation movements - because they do not believe that nationalism can ever have a progressive element to it. By adopting this position Alerta and the USP place themselves against anti-imperialism.
Anti-nationalism and the 'No Borders' position in the current political epoch is utterly Utopian. It’s designed to advance little, appeal to no-one and link to nothing. It renders the left's activities to little more than charity work and their actions to preserving the political status quo.
* Alerta may know who it wants to fight, but does it (and the groups that sign up to it) know what it is fighting for?
* Apart from a basic liberal anti-racist 'charitable' approach, what is Alerta about?
* Does the USP have any links to working class politics, or do they like most of the autonomous German left believe that the working class no longer exists?
* Who do they seek to influence and what effect do their actions have on the communities where they live?
* What difference do the political actions of the USP and Alerta make?