Submission
The Social and Survival: On Becoming a Threat – Philly-based critique of anarchist subculture. Appeared as an article in Anathema Vol. 8 Iss. 2
Submission
The Social and Survival: On Becoming a Threat – Philly-based critique of anarchist subculture. Appeared as an article in Anathema Vol. 8 Iss. 2
from Unravel
Investigators say on June 4, the unidentified suspect allegedly spray-painted pro-Palestine graffiti on the side of the U.S. Department of Defense contractor building, which is located along Science Park Road, in Ferguson Township.
Authorities say the graffiti included several pro-Palestine phrases, such as”FOR THE MARTYRS,” “ESCALATE 4 RAFAH,” and “FREE PALESTINE.”
Federal officials say the suspect then allegedly attempted to enter the building but fled after being confronted by security.
Investigators say a few days later, during the early morning hours of June 9, the same individual returned to the building and again spray-painted graffiti, including the phrase “INTIFADA IS HERE,” and an inverted red triangle indicating the “rising” is here.
Authorities say the suspect then began pouring a flammable liquid near the building before lighting it and fleeing the scene.
Investigators note that the area around the building includes a compressed natural gas pipeline, a natural gas generator, and a nearby transformer.
Found on Mainstream Media
from Unravel
October 22, 2024
Someone defaced a memorial sculpture in front of the building by scrawling profanity on it, said Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.
The sculpture was a tribute to Israeli military commander Yonatan Netanyahu, the brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who led — and was killed during — the raid on Entebbe that rescued more than 100 hostages being held by terrorists at an airport in Uganda in 1976. Both brothers, Zarnighian said, were congregants at Mikveh Israel.
Police said the profanity written on the memorial statue was not antisemitic.
Congregation Mikveh Israel was founded in 1740 and bills itself as the synagogue of the American Revolution.
Found on Mainstream Media
from It’s Going Down
from Philly ABC
From Northumberland 2 Defense Committee:
Help us free our very sweet friends!
Two friends have been arrested and are being held on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges. Cara and Celeste are being held on $150,000 bail each. We are fundraising to pay their bail, for lawyers and legal fees including the cost of their ankle monitors, housing, transportation and other associated unanticipated costs related to legal repression.
Our two friends are accused of freeing hundreds of minks from a fur farm in PA. This farm kills tens of thousands of minks every season. The Fur Commission USA has launched an aggressive media campaign targeting and doxing our friends. One of our friends is being targeted with transphobic violence in jail. They are being held in solitary confinement, subjected to transphobic threats, and restricted from accessing phone except during limited hours.
Cara and Celeste are deeply caring people who frequently volunteer distributing food, clothing, and supplies to their communities. Cara also volunteers for a bike cooperative in MA, supporting people who need access to transportation in getting free bikes.
Please donate and share! We need to raise these funds quickly to get our friends safely home.
*the 400k is an estimate of the costs listed above. Any funds raised over that amount will go to unanticipated costs relating to the listed expenses and any leftovers after that will be rolled into another defense fund.
from Jersey Counter-Info
This list is not exhaustive, so it’s important to examine any restaurants that may be suspicious, as it can be difficult to identify what businesses are “safe”. The following information can help you figure out if a restaurant in question is Zionist owned and operated. Many Zionist/Israeli restaurants try to squeak by unnoticed by branding themselves as non-specific “Middle Eastern”, “Kosher”, and/or “Mediterranean” establishments, while stealing commonly used Arab and Palestinian Arab cultural images, recipes, and Arabic phrases which they profit off. While their menus typically feature a range of dishes, they often change the name of individual dishes, making their actual intentions and beliefs known. A prime example of this is “Arabic Salad”, which is re-branded as “Israeli Salad”, or “Israeli couscous”. More reading about the Zionist/Israeli tradition of cultural food theft can be found here. Checking out a restaurant’s social media content and websites can also illuminate whether or not they are owned/operated by Zionists.
1. Mia’s Meals- Located at 3 S Haddon Ave. Haddonfield NJ 08033
Mia’s Meals, which is owned and operated by Zionist Mia Eylon, is branded as a “Middle Eastern” falafel bar.
Eylon has utilized social media to brand the restaurant in a trendy way to attract different subsets of patrons including vegans. Looking deeper at the restaurant’s social media page also reveals explicit support for the Palestinian genocide and Israel.
Mia’s Meals is directly engaged in funding the Palestinian genocide.
3. Naf Naf Grill– Located at 1041 NJ Route 73 Marlton, NJ 08053
Naf Naf Grill is a smaller national chain restaurant, founded by Israeli Zionist Sahar Sander, that poses as a “Middle Eastern Grill”. There are locations in several states, including NJ. Nationally, Naf Naf Grill offers franchising opportunities to those who have the capital and poor ethics to do so.
Send tips and information: njhatewatch@protonmail.com
from ORCA
11/07/24 @ 6 P.M.
ORCA (Email below for location)
orca.philly@protonmail.com
More info on Rote Zora (use TOR)
https://anon.to/1rYpa8
Film is 1hr 15 min.
45 min – 1 hr discussion following film.
CW: Mention of SA and Trafficking
“Rote Zora” – Red Zora – was a German militant group of women, clandestinely organized in the 1970s and 80s within radical left circles. Its activities were directed against the everyday violence against women, against biogenetics and reproduction technologies, and worldwide exploitation of women as an expression of patriarchal rule. The group promoted female self-empowerment and a break with the peaceable, conciliating role attributed to women by society.
In reviewing the radical left, the role of women’s groups is often neglected. The documentary “Women for Gangs” not only makes up for that, it also shows that the groups’ main issues are highly topical. The film encourages women to form their own gangs today.
from ORCA
A Discussion of Subculture, Organization and Race in the Anarchist Space
There’s been a lot of discussion and critique of subculture within the anarchist space over the past few years in Philly. Our goal with this discussion is to think about and maybe come up with some answers about what subculture means for the anarchist space. Is it good? Is it bad? Who knows? Subculture relates to how people are socialized in capitalist society. Furthermore, our conversations about subculture often have an underlying critique about the whiteness or insularity of the anarchist space. Despite this, subcultures can often help anarchist organizational efforts that are oriented towards revolt. For instance, in recent years, anarchists in Philly have successfully utilized Muay Thai training and raves as spaces for people to connect with anarchist politics. What other subcultures can we build that create more on-ramps to anarchy? Or should we abandon subculture entirely? Who knows? Let’s figure it out together. Come prepared to have a real discussion and brainstorm about what we need to do to get organized, build affinity and fight back! Bring some food, some zines, and your homie!
Some texts that might be useful to read to prepare
-Towards Insurrection: Anarchist Strategy in an Era of Popular Revolt
-The Social and Survival: On Becoming a Threat from Anathema issue 8 volume 2
-Balagoon Boxing Club: A Social Insurrectionary Project
-The Secret is to Really Complain from Anathema Volume 10 Issue 2
from Mainstream Media
Sunbury, Pa. — Two Massachusetts suspects who released more than 600 mink earlier this month from a Northumberland County fur farm are involved in anarchist groups, according to FBI officials.
One of the suspects also was allegedly promised $50,000 to come to Pennsylvania to release the mink, according to police. More than 60 of the mink are still missing according to the farm owner.
According to an amended criminal complaint filed by PSP Stonington, police found that Christopher Jacob Legere (also known as Celeste) 25, and Cara Ashley Mitrano, 23, are part of the “Firehouse” and “Collective A Go Go” communes in Worcester, Massachusetts. The two suspects were charged for allegedly releasing 683 mink from Robert H. Stahl Sons in Rockefeller Township early the morning of Oct. 19.
Amended charges were filed to add one felony count each of eco-terrorism, corrupt organizations, burglary, and misdemeanors of theft and related charges. Both Legere and Mitrano had already been charged with felony counts of agricultural vandalism and misdemeanor cruelty to animals.
Police were called to the farm around 1 a.m. Oct. 19 after a camera sensor there was activated and alerted the owners of the break-in. Video footage showed Legere and Stahl inside the farm dressed in dark-colored clothing with head lamps. They appeared to be carrying bags and had their hoods up, according to the amended affidavit. The two suspects used bolt cutters to cut a lock off the fence and then released the mink. They also destroyed records on the pens.
The farm owners told police they saw Legere and Mitrano take off in a Subaru Crosstrek. The Stahls followed in their vehicle and attempted to block the road to intercept them, but instead the Subaru accelerated and hit their car. One of the family members got a picture of the Subaru and noted it had a Massachusetts registration plate. The Subaru continued south on Airport Road, and the Stahls followed them for a distance onto Seven Points and Captain Bloom roads. The Stahls told police they saw the suspects toss a backpack, work glove, and dark colored sweatshirt out of the vehicle.
Both Legere and Mitrano were pulled over a short time later by police in Ralpho Township. Legere and Mitrano were arrested and taken to Northumberland County Jail and their car was impounded. Police searched the two suspects and found a hand-drawn map in Mitrano’s pants pocket with directions to the farm.
Trooper Jacob Hook applied for search warrants for the evidence that was tossed on the road, a purse that was found in the car, and the Subaru. He also applied for and was granted a search warrant for the clothes Legere and Mitrano were wearing at the time they were taken into custody, which police described as having a “strong musky odor.”
During the search, police found cutting tools, work gloves, crowbars, a lock-picking kit, and anarchist propaganda literature. There also were directions on how to navigate out of Pennsylvania to the state of Vermont and a map with an “X” on Airport Road where the suspects were to park. Arrows illustrated where the two were to walk through the woods to the farm. Hook also found stickers that said “officer down” with a smiling star giving a thumbs up, and some that said “policy proposal” and depicted a police car on fire, according to the affidavit.
Police intercepted a phone call Legere made from jail on Oct. 20 in which he spoke with an unidentified individual about $50,000 payment he was promised, according to the affidavit.
As of Sunday, 619 mink had been recovered and 64 were still missing, according to Hook. Three of the minks died post-recovery. Farm owner Mark Stahl told police that each mink costs $50 and that approximately 25% of the minks recovered will die of a disease, while the others will be left to die of starvation or be killed on roadways or by wild animals, according to court documents.
A similar incident occurred Sept. 17, 2023 in which unknown suspects broke into the fur farm and released hundreds of minks. No suspect has been charged for that incident as of yet. Police could not say if this most recent incident was connected to last year’s event.
Legere and Mitrano remain in Northumberland County Jail in lieu of $150,000 cash bail each. Both will have a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning Oct. 29 at the office of District Judge Rachel Wiest-Benner.
At three different worksites, WSA members wrote short invitations to take part in solidarity actions for the fight against wage theft; each invitation included an accessible intro to the history of the IWA-AIT. The Invitations were tailor-made to the co workers at each workplace.
One of the invitations read in part:
“Many of us here have been in the US workforce for years, even decades. We’ve had the experience of having a boss not pay us what we were due, or trying to withhold benefits. We’ve heard from our families’ bad experiences, or we’ve had friends or co-workers who’ve had to go through this. Now is an opportunity for each of us in our own work situation to educate ourselves about how to act in solidarity when these situations come up!
“The world’s oldest anarcho-syndicalist international, the IWA-AIT, invites us to be part of an international week of action against unpaid wages, Oct 16- 22. Several of us here are excited to be part of this, and we plan to do a workshop on how we can teach ourselves about this issue, how we can act in solidarity, and how we can be ready to advocate for our friends and family when things happen!”
from Making Worlds
Borders must be abolished. Borders produce and are produced by carceral, racist, classist, sexist, and xenophobic regimes. Border Abolition Now demands transformative politics to dismantle these systems of oppression.
Taking the key tenets of abolitionism and applying them to the debate around borders, join editor Brian Whitener and guests as they discuss and offer new tools for anyone working to defend freedom of movement for all.
Advance registration appreciated.
Brian Whitener is an Associate Professor of Spanish at the University at Buffalo and author of Crisis Cultures: The Rise of Finance in Mexico and Brazil. His other projects include The 90s; De gente común: Prácticas estéticas y rebeldía social, co-edited with Lorena Méndez and Fernando Fuentes; and the translation of Grupo de Arte Callejero’s Thoughts, Practices, and Actions with the Mareada Translation Collective.
Geo Maher is the Coordinator of the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition & Reconstruction in Philadelphia.
Viktoria Zerda (she/her) is a Mexican-Tejana, abolitionist attorney and clinical law professor at Rutgers Law School. Viktoria is currently based in West Philadelphia, but is originally from San Antonio, Texas.
from Philly ABC
Join us on Monday October 28th at 6:30pm at Wooden Shoe Books for the next session of our letter-writing series illuminating facets of Palestinian resistance movements. This month we’ll be discussing and writing to one of the pre-Oslo Palestinian political prisoners. There are approximately a dozen men, most of whom are serving life sentences for resisting the occupation forces, who have been imprisoned since before the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993. These men have been intentionally excluded by occupation forces from release deals. Many of them remain active from behind bars through writing essays and founding the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
Snacks and letter-writing supplies will be provided. We’ll tune in to some related podcasts while we’re writing. If you are unable to join us, you can write to Palestinian prisoners via Samidoun’s website.
from Philly ABC
Philly ABC extends our solidarity to Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, in response to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) falsely-premised sanctions against the organization announced on October 15th. As anarchists and abolitionists attuned to organizing against prisons and policing, we recognize this as the latest attempt to employ the tactic of fabrication to repress powerful social movements. Samidoun affirmed their commitment to remain steadfast in the struggle to free Palestinians from the atrocities of colonization and state-sponsored fascism:
As Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, we reiterate our support for the Palestinian people, the prisoners and the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic resistance, who are confronting the genocide and occupation on a daily basis. … Our response to this designation is clear: we will keep struggling to stop the genocide, stop imperialist support for Israel, until the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. … The repression is a sign of strength for the Palestinian movement and the international solidarity movement. This movement has mobilized the largest demonstrations for Palestine in history, has costed Israeli and Zionist companies billions of dollars in losses, it has united millions of people from across the world, and it has united virtually all social movements in every country for the Palestinian liberation struggle. …We affirm that we shall remain steadfast and committed to the Palestinian people, until victory, return and liberation.
We concur that this repression is a sign of strength. It’s a clear reaction to the surge of global support for resistance movements and efforts to confront Israel’s blatant fascism, in which both the U.S. and Canadian governments are complicit. It’s the type of flailing they do when shit is getting hot; when solidarity is getting real.
In light of their fascist agenda in Palestine, in response to international calls for solidarity, around 400 of us came together in Philly (and remotely) on the 25th anniversary of #RunningDownTheWalls
to support mutual aid in Gaza. Not only does Gaza qualify as the world’s largest open air prison, but every Palestinian held by the Zionist entity can be considered an anti-colonial political prisoner. It was the biggest crowd in the history of RDTW. A comrade from Samidoun spoke about the importance of amplifying the voices of Palestinian prisoners, to bolster our collective movements for their freedom as well as liberation more broadly. Just as we support Indigenous and Black liberation movements on Turtle Island and recognize captured combatants as prisoners of war, Palestinians have every right to fight for self-determination.
While hundreds of thousands across the globe continue to mobilize to stop the genocide of Palestinians―and continue to take action day after day to confront imperialist complicity in fascism and colonization―our enemies are deploying their bookies to collect on lost profits and find the next leg to break. We know that these sanctions are just one of many attempts, to quell the groundswell rising for the freedom of Palestine and the right to return. We know that these tactics aim to scare us away from supporting resistance movements and freedom fighters, and we know that it never works! It only ignites us. We know that solidarity is a threat, and threat it shall be, because no one is free until all are free.
Until every cage is empty,
Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross 🏴
from Mainstream Media
Residents of the house said a cell phone was taken and that the search warrant was issued in connection to a recent vandalism.
University of Pennsylvania police officers raided the off-campus home of several Penn community activists last week in connection to an alleged act of vandalism — a move that has deepened scrutiny into the Ivy League institution’s handling of dissent over the war in Gaza.
Around 6 a.m. on Oct. 18, residents said a dozen armed campus officers stormed their West Philadelphia home in tactical gear, corralling the pajama-clad residents at gunpoint. People who live in the house said police brought one resident, whom they did not identify, to the station for questioning and that their “personal device was seized on suspicion of vandalism.”
While no one has been charged or arrested, the group described the search as an unprecedented and “traumatic” show of force against pro-Palestinian activists on campus.
“This is a disgusting escalation from the University, and comes after a year of disciplining, arresting, and brutalizing their own students who organize for Palestinian liberation, and they made the deliberately traumatizing and threatening decision to invade our home,” the house residents said in a joint statement. The group provided written answers to The Inquirer, but declined to be individually identified as they have not been charged and feared further reprisal.
Penn police confirmed that officers executed a search warrant on Friday in connection with a vandalism incident, but did not specify details about the case or the underlying vandalism. Penn police defended the action by saying that, in the last four months, the university has experienced about a quarter million dollars in damages from vandalism, including broken glass and graffiti.
“Any legal action taken by the UPPD is based on the violation of laws in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, not the policies of the university,” said Kathleen Shields Anderson, vice president of Penn’s division of public safety.
While Penn did not elaborate on the alleged vandalism, the search warrant nonetheless marks an escalation in the school’s handling of the fallout from the war overseas. It also comes at the time when the university faces pressure to crack down on antisemitic speech as well as activity critical of Israel on campus. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian student protests over the war continue to roil the campus and administers over what activists describe as biased and uneven treatment.
Penn police did not provide a copy of the warrant and the record has yet to be filed with the courts as of Thursday, meaning details of the investigation may remain unclear unless or until charges are filed.
A spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner confirmed that the prosecutor’s office approved the search warrant based on an ongoing investigation led by Penn police. If the search leads the university to pursue criminal charges, the district attorney “will carefully review the evidence submitted by the appropriate law enforcement authorities and make a fair and just determination,” said spokesperson Dustin Slaughter.
It was not clear where the off-campus house was located nor how many people live there. The group described themselves as “members of the Penn community,” of varying ages.
Last week, Penn police and Philadelphia police officer entered the home, awoke the residents and moved the group into the living room “at gunpoint,” the group said in a statement. The Philadelphia Police Department declined comment and deferred questions to Penn police.
Residents described the early-morning sting as “the most severe act of university repression of pro-Palestine activism since last October” as well as “a staggering show of force unheard of at any other university.” The group said it has consulted with lawyers.
Anderson maintained that throughout the execution of the warrant, officers “took care to explain to all involved what was occurring and to treat them with respect.”
As with other campuses, vandalism has been a routine flashpoint at Penn since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, with messages calling for “Ceasefire” or “Free Gaza” scrawled on campus buildings across the region. Penn has been the site of a concentrated — and controversial — series of defacements, including several incidents within the last month alone, according to the student-run Daily Pennsylvanian.
More vandalism occurred this week, including one that said “Kill Zios” and another that said, “KILL YOUR LOCAL ZIO NAZI,” the student newspaper reported Thursday.
In July, doors and windows were damaged at the Pennovation Center, which houses the company Ghost Robotics, which is involved in the production of equipment used by the military and which critics have targeted in the wake of Israel-Hamas war.
But on a large, urbanized campus, few vandalism cases result in exhaustive police investigations, let alone warrant executions.
Yalile Suriel, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota who studies higher education and the militarization of campus police forces, said such departments only began conducting search warrants in recent decades, as universities dramatically expanded their law enforcement footprint. Many university departments now serve as supplemental extensions of the local police department — but often with less accountability.
“Unlike state institutions, where at least there is a sense of transparency and public record, private institutions and their police operate largely away from public view,” she said.
Suriel said that most high-profile raids that make the news involve narcotics on campus, though she could not recall another case like this focused solely on vandalism.
Public outcry over the raid has grown in recent days — with some describing the raid as a gratuitous show of force considering the nature of the alleged crime.
State Rep. Rick Krajewski, who represents parts of West Philadelphia, called it “completely unacceptable and disturbing that a dozen officers armed with tactical gear and assault rifles threatened the safety of unarmed young people who are not only students, but our neighbors.”