Jewish
Gutman, [Gotman] Iosif I. aka Iosif the Emigrant, 1890-1920
A short biography of Russian Jewish anarchist Iosif the Emigrant who was a strong advocate of close cooperation between the anarchist movement and the Makhnovists
“A short, slender man of thirty, with lustrous dark eyes set wide apart, and a face of peculiar sadness. The expression of his eyes still haunts me: now mournful, now irate, they reflect all the tragedy of his Jewish descent. His smile speaks the kindliness of a heart that has suffered and learned to understand”. The Bolshevik Myth, Alexander Berkman.
Review of Return: the case against Zionism - The Red Menace
Review of the March 1989 issue of the anti-zionist magazine Return.
Return are a group who "hope to become a focus and a voice for those Jews and others who are opposed to the Israeli state and its policies". This magazine is based on a conference they held in London last year.
A review of Joe Jacob's "Out of the Ghetto" - Red and Black Notes
Review of Out of the Ghetto Joe Jacobs, London: Phoenix Press, 1991 (originally published in 1977). For a review of this book by Al Richardson, see here - http://libcom.org/library/review-joe-jacobs-out-ghetto-al-richardson. A chapter from Out of the Ghetto is here - http://libcom.org/library/battle-cable-st-1936-joe-jacobs
It might seem curious to be reviewing a book that was posthumously published more than twenty years ago. Curiouser still, that in this age of the dismissal of the working class as a force for change this book deals exclusively with working class, predominately Jewish, life in the East End of London in the years between the first and second world wars.
Sacha Piotr (Sascha Pjotr) aka Alexander Shapiro aka Sergei 1889/1890-1942(?)
A short biography of the obscure figure of Ukrainian anarchist Sacha Piotr-real name Alexander Schapiro, active in the Ukraine, Russia, Belgium, France and Germany. He fought with the anarchists in Spain and was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz. Father of the gifted mathematican Alexander Grothendieck.
Alexander Schapiro was born into a Jewish family with a Hasidic background in Novozybkov in the Ukraine on October 11th 1889 or 6th August 1890. This is the date given by his son Alexander, but it is not clear whether this was by the Julian or Gregorian calendar! In addition the Red Cross report of 1957 on him give two different birth dates, one of 10/11/1889 and one of 11/10/1889!
Denial networks: on crisis and continuity in the 9/11 truth movement
This article addresses the prevalance of conspiratorial explanations for the events of 9/11. The author breaks down the appeal of the truth movement, and explains how the mode of production requires constant expansion, in an empty mimicry of capitalist production. There is also a section dealing with the vital participation of far-right activists in the genesis of the 'truth' movement and their lasting contributions which many leftists mouth today.
How is it possible that increasingly elaborate conspiracy explanations for the events of September 11th 2001 continue to find appeal amongst a growing population of otherwise rational people, despite the day's events being witnessed by millions and despite these theories being consistently debunked and embarrassed?
Anti-semitism and the left - redux
This has been a hot topic on the forums of late, prompted in part by the spate of discussions in relation to Israel's assault on the Gaza strip. Here I'll try to pull together some of the arguments and provide a bit of background to try and understand the phenomenon.
Discussion of anti-semitism and the left is frought with difficulty, not least because of the efforts of right-wing groups like the Anti-Defamation League to paint all criticism of Israel as anti-semitic, and thus silence dissent.
The Israel lobby? - Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky responds to the work of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt and argues against the idea that a lobby of pro-Israel interests effectively controls US foreign policy.
Their book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy claims that the lobby leads the US into acting against its national interest, and that the Iraq war was a result of the lobby's influence.
Anti-semitism in Adbusters, 2004
A quite appalling article from Adbusters magazine entitled "Why won't anyone say they are Jewish?" listing 50 influential neoconservatives and highlighting Jews in the list with black dots - well, at least they don't use yellow stars.
We reproduce the article for reference only. The list of names is attached at the bottom of the article.
Why won't anyone say they are Jewish?
The death of the "Israel Lobby?"
Will the news that the US vetoed Israeli plans to strike Iran's nuclear infrastructure put to bed the myth of the "Israel lobby"? I'd like to think so, but I doubt the comfort provided to some by such a view of the world will cease its appeal.
The news that president Bush vetoed Israeli plans to attack Iranian nuclear facilities whilst visiting the country in May should, with some luck, permanently put to bed the belief shared by conservatives, liberals and leftists alike in the “Israel Lobby”, and its grip on US interests.
Anti-semitism and National Socialism - Moishe Postone
No functionalist explanation of the Holocaust and no scapegoat theory of anti-Semitism can even begin to explain why, in the last years of the war, when the German forces were being crushed by the Red Army, a significant proportion of vehicles was deflected from logistical support and used to transport Jews to the gas chambers. The specificity of the Holocaust requires a much more determinate mediation in order even to approach its understanding.
Anti-Semitism and National Socialism
By Moishe Postone
