On November 6, 2023, several hundred people showed up at the Port of Tacoma in Washington State to block access to a shipping vessel that was scheduled to deliver equipment to the Israeli military. This episode shares an account and analysis of the action published on November 10th as “Shutting Down the Port of Tacoma: Reflections from the Salish Sea.” Participants review the history of port blockades in the Puget Sound, share their experience at the protest, and seek to offer inspiration for continued transoceanic solidarity. {November 23, 2023}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:36}
  • Escalating Resistance {1:41}
  • Drawing on Decades of Port Blockades {4:03}
  • Gathering at the Port {7:23}
  • Evaluation {11:27}
  • Outro/PSA {17:36}

• This episode offers an audio version of Shutting Down the Port of Tacoma: Reflections from the Salish Sea.

• To read more about this action, see the reportback “The Boat That Wasn’t Blocked” on Puget Sound Anarchists.

• For background on a previous blockade action in the region, check out Episode 61 on The Olympia Train Blockade of 2017.

• The recent history of port shutdowns in the Northwest includes the Port Militarization Resistance movement blockades of the ports of Olympia and Tacoma to protest against the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006–2009; coordination between Occupy/Decolonize Seattle ILWU port workers in Longview that shut down the Port of Seattle among other ports in 2011–12; the Block the Boat action in 2014; the “Shell No” lockdown in 2015, Shell No. and the Block the Boat delay of an Israeli-operated ship for weeks in 2021.

• Our coverage of the war in Palestine so far includes “Strategizing for Palestinian Solidarity: Expanding the Toolkit From Demands to Direct Action” - also available as Episode 99 of the Ex-Worker; “From the Galilee to Gaza—A Voice From Palestine” – also available as Episode 98 – and ““A Nuclear Superpower and a Dispossessed People”: An Anarchist from Jaffa on the Escalation in Palestine and Israeli Repression”. For further background, see “A Coup d’État in Israel? The Bitter Harvest of Colonialism” (March 27, 2023) – also available as Episode 92 of the Ex-Worker - “The Revolt in Haifa: An Eyewitness Report” (2021), and “Contemporary Israeli Anarchism: A History” (2013).

• For classic strategic analysis, you can also read more about why we don’t make demands and what we mean by direct action.

On April 19, 2023, a Russian anarchist named Dmitry Petrov was killed in battle near Bakhmut, Ukraine. In this episode, we offer a eulogy remembering Dmitry as an uncompromising anarchist fighter who participated in an unbelievable amount of radical activity around the region. His extraordinary life spanned anarchist organizing as a teenager in Moscow; environmental defense, radical unionism, and refugee solidarity activism; years of underground direct action against police, military, and profiteers from gentrification; participating in the Maidan protests in Ukraine, uprising against dictatorship in Belarus, and the struggle against the Islamic State in Rojava; co-founding the Anarcho-Communist Combat Organization; and finally taking up arms against Russian imperialism in Ukraine. This episode combines an incomplete biography of his life in combat against all forms of hierarchy and domination, along with a translation of his text “The Mission of Anarchism in the Modern World,” a remembrance published by the Anarcho-Communist Combat Organization titled “Dima Ecolog’s Partisan Path”, and a song inspired by his direct action. Join us in commemorating the life of a powerful anarchist comrade who will be dearly missed. {November 7, 2023}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:36}
  • A Life in Combat {5:26}
  • Appendix I: The Mission of Anarchism in the Modern World {38:28}
  • Appendix II: “Dima Ecolog’s Partisan Path” {57:15}
  • Appendix III: “Black Blog Fighter” by Electric Partisans {1:09:55}
  • Outro {1:14:23}

• This episode offers an audio version of In Memory of Dmitry Petrov: An Incomplete Biography and Translation of His Work, published on May 3rd, 2023. It includes an account of his life and anarchist activity assembled by CrimethInc. operatives (be sure to check out the original article for all the links to the source material), along with Dmitry’s text, “The Mission of Anarchism in the Modern World,” a tribute from his fellow fighters from the Anarcho-Communist Combat Organization titled “Dima Ecolog’s Partisan Path” (here in the original Russian), and a song based in part on his activities called “Black Blog Fighter” by the Russian punk band Electric Partisans.

• A print version of this text in the form of a small book is available from Active Distribution in Europe. We hope to announce soon that copies will be available for purchase in the US via PM Press; we’ll update this link when that comes to pass.

• Here is a partial archive of Dmitry’s writings, public statements, and publishing projects:
  • A Collection of Dmitry’s Writings in English—courtesy of the Anarchist Library
  • Dmitry speaking at May Day 2009 in Moscow (starting at 5:23)
  • Dmitry speaking at the Ukrainian House (UkrDom) during the Maidan, in February 2014. (At this meeting, Dima spoke about the experiences of Russian protesters, drew parallels between the liberation struggle in both countries, and proposed the idea of ​​people’s power as an alternative to vertically organized power represented by professional politicians.)
  • You can read Dmitry’s reports from the 2014 uprising in Ukraine in full here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X
  • “Social revolution in Kurdistan”—A lecture with N.L. Gadaeva on March 30, 2017
  • Red and Black Devils—A news article about anarchist arsons in Ukraine
  • Life without a State: Revolution in Rojava—A book Dmitry participated in, published in 2017
  • Kurdistan: Real Democracy in Conditions of War and Blockade—Another book Dmitry participated in
  • Sarah: My Whole Life Has Been a Struggle—Another book Dmitry helped with

• For a discussion of the complexities of formulating an anarchist anti-war strategy that does not effectively cede the field to state militarism, you could begin with this article from the Russian-language anarchist website Autonomous Action, “In the Spirit of Sholem Schwarzbard - Addressing Confusion about the War in Ukraine”

• Dmitry Petrov was killed alongside two other anarchist fighters, Cooper Andrews and Finbar Cafferkey. You can read about Cooper’s motivations in his own words here and consult a eulogy from his comrades here. You can learn about Finbar’s lifelong activism here, read an interview with him here, and listen to a song of his here.

As the Israeli bombardment of Gaza intensifies, with over 10,000 deaths recorded to date, it is more urgent than ever for people everywhere to take decisive action to stop the war machine. In this episode, we share the strategic reflections of a collective of Jewish anarchists based in the US on Palestinian solidarity. The authors propose a shift from making demands to taking direct action, relying not on appealing to the consciences of politicians but on concretely interrupting the functioning of the businesses and agencies that are enabling the slaughter. After offering historical context to Israeli settler colonialism and Palestinian resistance, this article connects the movement to defend the Weelaunee Forest and Stop Cop City to Palestinian solidarity struggles, and describes approaches used by different collectives involving targeting war profiteers and law enforcement/military exchange programs. A publisher’s afterward reflects on the uses and limits of tertiary targeting through reflections on the SHAC model and the Green Scare. Tune in for vital strategic reflections on what we can do from wherever in the world we’re listening to take action against militarism, displacement, and death in Palestine. {November 7, 2023}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:37}
  • The Ceasefire in Gaza Starts Here {3:43}
  • 75 Years of War {6:06}
  • “Ceasefire now!” {10:33}
  • How to Start a Ceasefire {15:44}
  • Publisher’s Afterword: The Uses and Limits of Tertiary Targeting {19:50}
  • Outro/PSA {22:45}

• This episode offers an audio version of Strategizing for Palestinian Solidarity: Expanding the Toolkit From Demands to Direct Action, published on November 3rd, 2023.

• This episode includes the analysis of The Fayer Collective of Jewish anarchists. To learn more about their work, see their text “Finding Our Own Fire” and this article in Jewish Currents.

• Our coverage of the war in Palestine includes “From the Galilee to Gaza—A Voice From Palestine” – also available as Episode 98 of the Ex-Worker – and ““A Nuclear Superpower and a Dispossessed People”: An Anarchist from Jaffa on the Escalation in Palestine and Israeli Repression”. For further background, see “A Coup d’État in Israel? The Bitter Harvest of Colonialism” (March 27, 2023) – also available as Episode 92 of the Ex-Worker - “The Revolt in Haifa: An Eyewitness Report” (2021), and “Contemporary Israeli Anarchism: A History” (2013).

• For background on our discussion of tertiary targeting and direct action strategy, check out our critical assessment of The SHAC Model (2008) and the broader context of The Green Scare (2008).

• You can also read more about why we don’t make demands and what we mean by direct action.

• The authors connect Palestinian solidarity to the movement to Defend the Weelaunee Forest and Stop Cop City. For our coverage of that movement, see Episodes 85, 86, 96, and 97 of the Ex-Worker for audio coverage; you can also read “The City in the Forest,” chronicling the first year of the movement; “The Forest in the City”, chronicling the second year of the movement; “Balance Sheet,” exploring the strategies that different currents in the movement have employed; and “Living in an Earthquake,” on the most recent wave of repression and resistance.

As the Israeli military escalates its slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and societies around the world fracture and clash over the conflict, we want to amplify anti-authoritarian voices from within the territory to share their experiences and analysis. In this short but moving account, we present the perspective of a Palestinian living in the north of Palestine, who speaks about different aspects of life under colonization and about the struggle for liberation through grassroots organizing and solidarity. {November 1, 2023}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:34}
  • A Voice From the Galilee in Palestine {2:18}
  • “Who’s a Terrorist?”—The Manufacture of Consent {6:18}
  • The System versus the People {8:20}
  • PSA / Outro {10:27}

• This episode is an audio version of the article “From the Galilee to Gaza: A Voice From Palestine”, originally published on October 17, 2023.

• For more coverage of Palestinian struggles and Israeli anarchist analyses and solidarity efforts, see ““A Nuclear Superpower and a Dispossessed People”: An Anarchist from Jaffa on the Escalation in Palestine and Israeli Repression” (October 8, 2023), “A Coup d’État in Israel? The Bitter Harvest of Colonialism” (March 27, 2023), “The Revolt in Haifa: An Eyewitness Report” (2021), and “Contemporary Israeli Anarchism: A History” (2013).

Prosecutors in Georgia have charged activists protesting against a planned police militarization facility known as "Cop City" with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has indicted 61 people on RICO charges. In this episode, we explore the ramifications of this more or less unprecedented stage of repression. {Oct 6, 2023}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• This episode is an audio version of the September 5th article “Understanding the RICO Charges in Atlanta.”

• For more information, check out this video recording of an online seminar organized by the National Lawyers Guild: Understanding the RICO Indictments Against Stop Cop City Activists.

• For more background on the ways that this law has been wielded as a tool of repression against social movements, see “On the Political Use of RICO Charges.”

• For further coverage and analysis of the last year of struggle in the forest in Atlanta, check out the articles Balance Sheet: Two Years against Cop City–Evaluating Strategies, Refining Tactics {February 28, 2023}, which evaluates the strategic hypotheses that the movement has produced and tested over the past two years and reflects on the risks and possibilities of the next phase of the struggle; Defending Abundance Everywhere: A Call to Every Community From the Weelaunee Forest {March 2, 2023}, a collection of short essays that draws on the struggle to defend the forest to reflect on the abundance that exists in our communities and in the more-than-human world; Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol Are Guilty of Murder: The Evidence and the Motive {April 20, 2023}, which exposes the truth about the police’s killing of Tortuguita in the forest; and “Living in an Earthquake: The Fight against Cop City Confronts Unprecedented Repression” {June 1, 2023}, which explains the latest rounds of repression and domestic terrorism charges.

• For more Ex-Worker Podcast audio coverage of the movement, check out Episode 85, “Stop Cop City / Defend Weelaunee Forest, Part I: History and Analysis”, which presents an audio version of our April 2022 article The City in the Forest: Reinventing Resistance for an Age of Climate Crisis and Police Militarization; Episode 86, “Stop Cop City / Defend Weelaunee Forest, Part II: Accounts and Solidarity”, which narrates the August 2022 article Beneath the Concrete, The Forest: Accounts From the Defense of the Atlanta Forest; Episode 96, which narrates the February 2023 account The Forest In The City: Two Years Of Forest Defense In Atlanta, Georgia.

• Stay up to date on the latest developments, calls to action, and more by following Stop Cop City Soliidarity – which includes a very helpful target map to help plan actions against the project’s supporters and funders – the Atlanta Community Press Collective, StopCop.City, Defend the Atlanta Forest linktree, and the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.

• The Ex-Worker is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network, an English-language anarchist radio and podcast network run by radical media makers. You can find episodes from other anarchist podcasts covering the struggle to defend the forest in Atlanta and Stop Cop City, including The Final Straw Radio, This is America, from It’s Going Down, and more.

This episode continues the Ex-Worker Podcast’s coverage of the movement to Stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta, Georgia. In this episode, we present an audio version of The Forest In The City: Two Years Of Forest Defense In Atlanta, Georgia, originally published February 22, 2023, which continues the chronology of the movement whose origins we reported in episodes 85 and 86. In this eloquent and nuanced narrative, you’ll hear a detailed account of the movement’s second year, from the frenzy of activity in spring 2022 through the third and fourth weeks of action, waves of backlash and repression, and the tragic murder of forest defender Tortuguita, up to the eve of the March 2023 week of action. In addition to a chronology of developments and actions, the article shares insights learned by participants in the movement about relations with the media, the significance of music and the arts in social struggles, the importance of optimism and confidence, the risks of specialization, and many more aspects of revolutionary strategy. We encourage all of our listeners to learn what you can from this account, and to take action to support forest defenders and fight back against Cop City and its world. To learn more, be sure to check out the show notes and links, and stay tuned for forthcoming audio versions of more of CrimethInc.’s coverage of the struggle. {May 25, 2023}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:37}
  • The Forest in the City: Two Years of Forest Defense in Atlanta, Georgia {3:13}
  • The Stakes of the Fight {3:37}
  • Taking the Initiative {9:05}
  • The Spring Was Ours {11:29}
  • Third Week of Action (May 2022) {13:47}
  • Hell is Empty, All the Devils Are Here {16:52}
  • They Don’t Understand Who We Are {20:31}
  • They Tried to Break Us: Post-Week Raid {25:05}
  • Full Court Press {28:30}
  • Speaking for Ourselves {30:00}
  • Momentum Breeds Resistance {39:23}
  • The Tree People {41:18}
  • New Openings {43:40}
  • Luring Them In {46:42}
  • The Fourth Week of Action {49:12}
  • The Sound of Music {49:46}
  • Weelaunee People’s Park {51:59}
  • The Kids Will Have Their Say {57:14}
  • Fall {1:02:48}
  • Gridlock and Innovation {1:05:49}
  • Preparing for a Clampdown {1:11:45}
  • The Repression {1:13:36}
  • We Are All Forest Defenders {1:16:06}
  • Destruction in Weelaunee People’s Park {1:19:02}
  • Regaining Confidence {1:21:24}
  • Injunction Overruled {1:24:40}
  • January 18, 2023 {1:26:38}
  • The Shooting {1:29:21}
  • Tortuguita Vive, la Lucha Sigue {1:32:02}
  • Indomitable Resistance {1:35:30}
  • Is Everything Coming to a Head? {1:42:55}
  • Blood in the Water {1:45:23}

• This episode offers an audio version of the article The Forest In The City: Two Years Of Forest Defense In Atlanta, Georgia, originally published February 22, 2023. Please note that this audio version does not include the article’s Appendix, which offers a day-by-day chronology of events with links to media coverage; we thought that including this in the audio version would feel redundant for listeners, and the episode is already nearly two hours long! If you’re interested, you can consult the original article to read this and check out the links it includes.

• For further coverage and analysis of the last year of struggle in the forest in Atlanta, check out the articles Balance Sheet: Two Years against Cop City–Evaluating Strategies, Refining Tactics {February 28, 2023}, which evaluates the strategic hypotheses that the movement has produced and tested over the past two years and reflects on the risks and possibilities of the next phase of the struggle; Defending Abundance Everywhere: A Call to Every Community From the Weelaunee Forest {March 2, 2023}, a collection of short essays that draws on the struggle to defend the forest to reflect on the abundance that exists in our communities and in the more-than-human world; and Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol Are Guilty of Murder: The Evidence and the Motive {April 20, 2023}, which exposes the truth about the police’s killing of Tortuguita in the forest.

• For more Ex-Worker Podcast audio coverage of the movement, check out Episode 85, “Stop Cop City / Defend Weelaunee Forest, Part I: History and Analysis”, which presents an audio version of our April 2022 article The City in the Forest: Reinventing Resistance for an Age of Climate Crisis and Police Militarization, and Episode 86, “Stop Cop City / Defend Weelaunee Forest, Part II: Accounts and Solidarity”, which narrates the August 2022 article Beneath the Concrete, The Forest: Accounts From the Defense of the Atlanta Forest.

• Stay up to date on the latest developments, calls to action, and more by following Stop Cop City Soliidarity – which includes a very helpful target map to help plan actions against the project’s supporters and funders – the Atlanta Community Press Collective, StopCop.City, Defend the Atlanta Forest linktree, and the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.

• The Ex-Worker is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network, an English-language anarchist radio and podcast network run by radical media makers. You can find episodes from other anarchist podcasts covering the struggle to defend the forest in Atlanta and Stop Cop City, including The Final Straw Radio, This is America, from It’s Going Down, and more.

On February 6, 2023, two powerful earthquakes hit southern Turkey and Northern and Western Syria, inflicting tremendous damage and killing tens of thousands of people. But there was nothing “natural” about this disaster: the lethal combination of negligence and repression imposed on the people of the region by the authoritarian regimes of the Turkish and Syrian states is directly responsible for the misery. This episode offers an audio version of the article “Disasters of State: The Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria”, originally published on March 16, 2023. It includes two texts, the first from supporters of the movements for liberation in the regions of Bakur and Rojava and the second from supporters of the revolution in western Syria. These offer different vantage points on how the Turkish and Syrian governments not only failed to protect their subjects but used this catastrophe as an opportunity to consolidate power and target their adversaries via neglect, blockading, and even bombing. Against the opportunism and violence of the state, we are inspired by the international grassroots mobilization with which communities around the world have responded to the earthquake. But in order for these efforts to succeed, we have to understand both the earthquakes and the state as aspects of the same catastrophe and take action against both of them. {May 23, 2023}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:37}
  • Disasters of State: On the Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria {2:16}
  • Statement about the Earthquakes from the Bay Area Mesopotamia
  • Solidarity Committee {4:59}
  • In Syria, the Sieve of an Earthquake {12:57}
  • Back to a Revolution {16:30}
  • The Denial of Politics {19:39}
  • Confronting the Ba’ath Regime and Its Supporters {24:03}

• This episode is an audio version of the article “Disasters of State: The Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria”, originally published on March 16, 2023. The article includes a statement from the Bay Area Mesopotamia Solidarity Committee, and translation of a text by Hamza Esmili and Montassir Sakhi courtesy of some of our comrades from the Syrian Cantina in Montreuil.

• Some of the solidarity projects recommended by our comrades that you can donate to in support of relief efforts include: The White Helments, Molham Volunteering Team, Association Revivre, and Mehad.

• CrimethInc. has published many articles on the revolution in Rojava, the Syrian Civil War, struggles against the Turkish state, and the political dynamics of the region in recent years. To read more, we recommend: “War in Ukraine: Ten Lessons from Syria” {2022}, “One Year Since the Turkish Invasion of Rojava: An Interview with Tekosina Anarsist on Anarchist Participation in the Revolutionary Experiment in Northeastern Syria” {2020}, “The Roots of Turkish Fascism and the Threat it Poses” {2019}, “Why the Turkish Invasion Matters: Addressing the Hard Questions About Imperialism and Solidarity” {2019}, “Interview with the Internationalist Commune in Rojava” {2019}, “The Nationalists and the Jihadists Together, and Against Them Only Autonomous Resistance” {2019}, “The Threat to Rojava: An Anarchist in Syria Speaks on the Real Meaning of Trump’s Withdrawal” {2018}, “The Struggle is not for Martyrdom, but for Life” {2017}, “The Syrian Underground Railroad: Migrant Solidarity Organizing in the Modern Landscape” {2017}, [“Rojava: Democracy and Commune” https://crimethinc.com/2016/05/19/rojava-democracy-and-commune) by Paul Z. Simons {2016}, “Understanding the Kurdish Resistance: A Historical Overview and Eyewitness Report” {2015}; “Turkish Anarchists on the Fight for Kobane” {2015}, and “Postcards from the Turkish Uprising” {2013}. We’ve also got a poster featuring Trump and Erdogan you can download.

• Several past episodes of the Ex-Worker have discussed the situation in the region, focusing on the movements building autonomy in Rojava as well as the political context in Turkey, Syria, and elsewhere in the region. To listen to more, check out Episode 36, “The Rojava Revolution” {May 2015} and Episode 39, “The Rojava Revolution, Part II” {July 2015}; and the four episode “Defend Rojava!” series in October 2019, including #66, “The Turkish Invasion”, #67, “Understanding the Kurdish Resistance”, #68, “The So-Called ‘Ceasefire’ and What’s At Stake”, and #69, “More Interviews on Revolution and Solidarity”.

• Our friends at The Final Straw Radio have also produced several episodes in recent years on Rojava, Syria, and Turkey.

• An excellent book to read more about the early years of the Rojava Revolution is A Small Key Can Open a Large Door {2016}.

In December 2022, a wave of popular protests led by campesino and Indigenous movements swept across Peru, including a nationwide mobilization in the capital. In response, the government has decreed a state of emergency, and the police have killed more than 60 people and injured thousands. For a direct view of these events, we spoke with Peruvian anarchists, hoping to get perspective on the aspects of this movement that exceed state politics. This episode narrates The Uprising in Peru, an interview conducted by comrades in Latin America with participants in Periodico Libertária, an anarchist publication based in the territory of Peru, originally published on February 19th. The comrades discuss the centrality of campesino and indigenous participation in the uprising, the brutality and racism of the police and their connection to the former dictatorship, the failures and opportunism of the political left, regional tensions across the Peruvian state, and different forms that anarchism takes in the region. (April 20, 2023)

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction: The Uprising in Peru {0:37}
  • Interview with Periodico Libertária {4:25}
  • Conclusion {25:33}

• This episode is an audio version of The Uprising in Peru: Anarchists Discuss the Revolt Against Police Violence and the State of Emergency, published on February 19, 2023.

• We interview members of Periodico Libertária, an anarchist publication based in the territory of Peru.

• Some references made in the interview for which you might want some additional context: the terruqueo, an anti-leftist discourse used by sectors of the Peruvian government to portray their opponents as terrorists; Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), a Maoist guerrilla group active in Peru; here’s a link to an anti-authoritarian, anti-colonial take on the group from the 1990s.

In France, a powerful protest movement has erupted against the government in response to an attempt to raise the retirement age. Millions have gone on strike and poured into the streets in the most substantial unrest in France since the Yellow Vest movement. President Emmanuel Macron and his henchmen have attempted to crush this movement by escalating police violence to lethal extremes. In this episode, we share two recently published texts on the movement against Macron’s pension reform in France. In France: The Movement Against The Pension Reform—On The Threshold Of An Uprising?, published on March 22nd, we present an introduction and a translation of a French text, which explore the roots of the movement, an overview of its first phase, and an analysis of the issues at stake—which, our correspondents argue, goes beyond the democratic process or social benefits to a rejection of work itself. In France in Flames: Macron Attempts to Crush the Movement against the Pension Reform with Lethal Violence, published on March 30th, we offer a chronology of the events of the previous week, including a translation of an account by one participant in the brutally repressed demonstration at Sainte-Soline on March 25th and a statement from the parents of another who remains in a coma. As anti-government struggles with very different characters rage across the globe, from Peru to Iran to Israel, we’re doing our best to transmit reports from anarchists on the ground about what’s happening, about the possibilities and risks they present, and about how we can think critically about the currents of liberation inside of them. (April 15, 2023)

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Episode Introduction {0:37}
  • France: The Movement Against The Pension Reform—On The Threshold Of An Uprising? {2:22}
  • Bedtime for the Macron Regime? {12:04}
  • Alone against All {13:14}
  • The Best Retirement Is Attack {16:31}
  • A Critique of Violence {19:34}
  • Learning the Lessons of Repression {22:13}
  • Power Is Logistical—Let’s Block Everything {27:40}
  • Towards Infinity and Beyond {33:05}
  • Ex-Worker PSA {34:40}
  • France in Flames: Macron Attempts to Crush the Movement against the Pension Reform with Lethal Violence {35:05}
  • The General Strike of March 23 {36:45}
  • The Strike Continues {39:19}
  • March 25: Bloodbath in Sainte-Soline {40:23}
  • Reportback From Sainte-Soline {44:34}
  • Communiqué from the Parents of Serge on March 29, 2023 {48:29}
  • The Strike Continues {50:16}
  • Conclusion {58:15}

• This episode narrates two articles: France: The Movement Against The Pension Reform—On The Threshold Of An Uprising? (March 22nd) and France in Flames: Macron Attempts to Crush the Movement against the Pension Reform with Lethal Violence (March 30th).

• This episode includes a translation of an anonymous report-back from the March 25 protest at Sainte-Soline, and a statement from the parents of Serge, who was critically injured by police violence at the protest.

• To understand the context for social upheavals in France today, you may want to check out our coverage from recent years, of the Yellow Vest movement of 2018–19—see The Yellow Vest Movement in France: Between Ecological Neoliberalism and Apolitical Movements (November 2018) and The Movement as Battleground: Fighting for the Soul of the Yellow Vest Movement—and of the movements that preceded it, as described in our 2017 article, From the Loi Travail to the French Elections: A Retrospective on Social Upheaval in France, 2015–2017.

• Our French correspondents argue that what’s really at stake in the protests around the retirement age is a mass rejection of work itself. Well, we’ve had some things to say about work, too, if you want to read or listen.

• Our friends at Ill Will Editions offer some of the most insightful English-language coverage of social upheavals in France; this episode quotes from their article The Trap of Sainte-Soline.

• The episode makes reference to the text “Why All Cops Are Bastards”. For more audio resources on similar themes, check out classic Ex-Worker episodes 5, “Still Not Loving Police” and 6, “Making Police Obsolete”.

• For additional context, check out this article of strategic reflections on the spontaneous demonstrations of March 18 in Paris.

• If you want to support rebels in France, check out this comprehensive list of solidarity funds from across the country and this anti-repression solidarity fund.

In this episode, the Ex-Worker presents an audio version of A Coup D’Etat In Israel? The Bitter Harvest Of Colonialism, originally published on March 27th. The article assesses the recent attempts by Israeli President Benjamin Netanhayu to strip power away from the judiciary, a power grab that has precipitated the largest protest movement in modern Israeli history. As our correspondent from the region argues, however, the crisis has emerged out of a conflict between competing elites and their respective colonial models. The article provides in-depth context behind the social rifts and political developments that led to the current showdown, and highlights the structural exclusions that make Jewish democracy in Palestine—i.e., ethnocracy—possible. While different sectors within the state of Israel clash over its future and a “reactionary international” supports the most extreme right-wing Zionist currents, determined Palestinian resistance to escalating genocidal violence on the other side of the wall shows that the struggle has many sides. Tune in for an in-depth anarchist analysis of a complex and critical struggle for the future of the Middle East and beyond. (April 12, 2023)

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Ex-Worker Introduction {0:01}
  • Episode Introduction {0:36}
  • A Coup D’Etat In Israel? The Bitter Harvest Of Colonialism {2:17}
  • The Context Behind The “Coup” {4:56}
  • A Field Guide to Ethnic Cleansing {20:39}
  • Meanwhile, on the Other Side of the Wall {31:37}
  • Conclusion {36:21}

• This episode offers an audio version of the article A Coup D’Etat In Israel? The Bitter Harvest Of Colonialism, originally published on March 27th.

• Since this article was published, some important developments have taken place. In an extreme provocation denounced by Muslim leaders across the world, Israeli police invaded Al-Aqsa mosque on the first day of Passover and during the middle of Ramadan, beating up worshippers and arresting 450; in response, attacks on Israelis took place through rockets launched from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria into Israeli cities, followed by Israeli attacks on Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Despite the threat that Netanyahu might attempt to use this escalation to silence the protests and unite Israelis around fear of a common enemy - a common tactic around elections and at times of social unrest - the protest movement remains strong, with some 100,000 demonstrators surging into the streets of Tel Aviv on the past two Saturdays. Also, the Israeli Minister of Defense who Netanyahu fired has been restored to his post.

• You can see documentation of the violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque here and here, as well as some context for the events. This interview with Mohammed El-Kurd at Democracy Now offers a useful summary of the situation.

• For more of our coverage from the region, see the May 2021 article The Revolt in Haifa: An Eyewitness Report. Further background on anarchist interventions in the region can be found in our 2013 article Contemporary Israeli Anarchism: A History.

• Our critical dialogues about democracy provide useful background to the discussion of Israeli democracy in this episode. For more audio content, check out the Ex-Worker’s episode introducing the anarchist critique of democracy and our audio zine of From Democracy to Freedom. There’s also a quote on democracy from To Our Friends by the Invisible Committee, which is also available as an audiobook.

• The episode makes references to several historical events you might want to read more about, including the Wadi Salib revolts, the Black Panthers in Israel,

• There are also references to Alfredo Bonanno’s text Palestine, Mon Amour and Emma Goldman’s views on Zionism.

• The Ex-Worker is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network, an English-language anarchist radio and podcast network run by radical media makers. You can find episodes from other anarchist podcasts exploring the situation in Israel from a radical perspectives, including the Dresden Anarchist Network, the Final Straw, and more.