Anarchists Against the Wall

Logo of the group Anarchists Against the Wall

The Anarchists Against the Wall (AATW) ( Hebrew אנרכיסטים נגד הגדר; German translation of the Hebrew wording: Anarchisten gegen den Zaun ; partly also Anarchists Against Fences ) are a group in Israel that campaigns against the Israeli barriers in the West Bank . It was founded in 2003 and is described by the Jerusalem Post as the oldest anarchist group in Israel, although from 1958 to the 1980s with the Agudath Schochrei Chofesh around Abba Gordin, there was already a 150-member Yiddish-speaking anarchist group in Tel Aviv, which among other things the magazine brought out problems .

Positions

Activists of the International Solidarity Movement chained themselves to the foundation of the West Bank lock in 2006 as participants in the peaceful protests against the locks in Bil'in

The group refers to the barrier as the " apartheid wall" and claims that its only goal is the occupation and ultimately separation of Palestinian territories. The Anarchists Against the Wall categorically reject the occupation of the Palestinian Autonomous Territories , actively cooperate with parts of the Palestinian independence movement and do not rule out joint demonstrations with members of the militant Palestinian organizations PFLP and Fatah . They stress that their direct actions in the Palestinian Territories are carried out under the leadership of the local communities. Furthermore, they explain that they are not a homogeneous grouping, but a collection of individuals who represent different views. Any self-expression is subject to this restriction. Consequently, there is no uniform manifesto . Individuals describe themselves as anti-Zionist in contrast to the moderate Zionist left in Israel , which also makes it easier for them to work with Palestinian village assemblies.

history

The Anarchists Against the Wall were founded by Israeli activists during a protest camp in Mas'ha . The camp consisted of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists who wanted to oppose the barrier by occupying the land that the barriers would pass through in the future.

Forms of action

Action at the site of Beit Mirsim, October 2007

The group claims to protest with civil disobedience . The Anarchists Against the Wall use various forms of action, such as blocking construction works or participating in local Palestinian demonstrations . Other actions include the destruction of Israeli border security systems. An Israeli activist was slightly injured in the leg by the Israeli army during an operation aimed at breaking through the security fence . On August 11, 2006, an AATW activist was seriously injured. During a demonstration in Bil'in , an Israeli border police officer shot activist Limor Goldstein from a distance of 10 to 20 meters with a rubber-coated steel bullet and hit him in the head, causing brain damage. On February 3, 2007, major roads in Tel Aviv were blocked with barbed wire from the border fence.

Award

Awarded the Carl von Ossietzky Medal in 2008

The AATW, specifically its activists and representatives Adi Winter & Yossi Bartal , received the Carl von Ossietzky Medal in 2008 because, according to the laudation, it is “an example of the non-violent resistance against the separation wall erected by Israel on Palestinian land and for perseverance in various grassroots actions of Palestinians, Israelis and international supporters against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip ”. She practiced "a culture that anticipates a common future without exclusion and destruction" and demonstrates "consciously that living together in freedom and peace is possible".

literature

• Sebastian Kalicha (Ed.): Break through barriers! Israel / Palestine: nonviolence, conscientious objection, anarchism . Verlag Graswurzelrevolution , Nettersheim 2008, ISBN 978-3-939045-08-3
• Adi Winter: Libertarian resistance in Israel / Palestine in grassroots revolution, December 2009
• Uri Gordon , Ohal Grietzer (Eds.): Anarchists Against the Wall. Direct Action and Solidarity with the Palestinian Popular Struggle . 1st edition. AK Press , Edinburgh 2013, ISBN 978-1-84935-114-0 (English).

Web links

• Unofficial site Anarchists Against the Wall (AATW)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Interview with Anarchists Against The Wall . From: Feierabend No. 28, 2008. Mirrored on Anarchismus.at, accessed on June 17, 2017
2. ^ Hunter Stuart: Anarchy in the Jewish State. In: The Jerusalem Post . July 3, 2016, accessed June 15, 2017 . 
3. ^ Between Zion and the Wall «Radio Chiflado. In: radiochiflado.blogsport.de. November 26, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2017 . 
4. ↑ statement of the Speaker of AatW on her presentation in the KTS in Freiburg in December 2008
5. ↑ 50 years of occupation - 50 years of resistance. In: Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Israel Office. May 31, 2017, accessed June 14, 2017 . 
6. ↑ One blow to the brain by Dalia Karpel on haaretz.com; Retrieved July 2, 2009
7. ↑ ILMR press release from December 5, 2008 , accessed October 2, 2009