Category Archives: anarchism

Progress, Devolution, Disaster

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, migrant defense, Neutrality and Complicity

Notes on Migrant Defense Work in New Jersey

When Resistencia en Acción started its campaign for a municipal resolution in favor of the ITA back in June, we were hoping not only to pass a pro-ITA resolution in Princeton, but to re-ignite what had begun as a statewide movement in favor of such resolutions. At least a dozen municipalities had passed pro-ITA resolutions before Princeton did, and I’m happy to say that a statewide pro-ITA movement has in fact taken off in New Jersey since late summer. Continue reading →

Against Palestinian Disarmament

Posted on by under anarchism, Fatwas, Palestine

I’m not one to give anyone specifically military advice, and I have neither the time nor the inclination to comment on the fraud of Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Only one thing really needs to be said, and said at top volume: under no circumstances should any Palestinian militant group disarm for anyone or anything. That goes for Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, the Lion’s Den, and anyone else with a weapon and the will to use it. Do not disarm. Do NOT disarm. To disarm is to commit mass suicide by placing yourself in the hands of confirmed liars and psychopaths. Things are bad, but nothing could be worse than that.

Continue reading →

Kiosks and Cowardice

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, cancel culture, Fatwas, moralism, Neutrality and Complicity

I wrote this in May, but forgot to post it. I happened to notice it today while cleaning out old files. It seems a fitting start to the academic year.

In Princeton, where I live, there are two kiosks on Nassau Street, the main drag, on which people put up up flyers of various sorts, sometimes announcements of cultural events, sometimes flyers of a more political nature. Most but not all of the political flyers tend to the left of the political spectrum, and some of these target either the municipality or the University. The kiosks are deeply resented by elites at both institutions, who regard them, with predictable hauteur, as “eyesores.” Despite determined public opposition, the local town council has voted to demolish the kiosks and replace them with something that it can (in the words of one proponent) “control.”

They’re still there for now. The stated rule governing them is that flyers are taken down on the first of every month. Today is the 22nd of May. And yet, as I walked through town this morning and then this evening, I found all of the flyers systematically taken down on both kiosks. Continue reading →

Is It Time to Bomb Columbia University?

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, cancel culture, moralism, Neutrality and Complicity, Notes on the Anti-War Movement, Palestine

I had a conversation the other day with a friend who just started law school at Columbia. This person told me that on the first day of orientation, the first-year law students were visited by officials from Columbia’s so-called Office of Institutional Equity (OIE). According to OIE, the chant “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free,” is presumptively to be understood as advocacy of genocide, as discrimination against Jews, and therefore as a violation of Title VI. Anyone who chants it thereby becomes a candidate for reprimand, suspension, and/or expulsion. So they were instructed not to chant it. A couple of things can be said about this, I think. Continue reading →

Resistance and Retaliation

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, migrant defense

Notes on Migrant Justice

In two posts here, I’ve taken issue with the idea that Princeton’s recent passage of (or even mere discussion of) the ITA Resolution has induced ICE to raid the town and detain people. The basic premise behind this claim is that ICE operations target municipalities that express opposition to ICE. The further implication is that if you want to avoid ICE operations where you live, you have to tone down your public opposition to ICE, and adopt a “quiet” form of dissent. It can’t be stressed enough how dangerously out of touch with reality this claim is. If put into practice, it would mean the end of public opposition to ICE at a time when public opposition is clearly working, and is all we have. Continue reading →

Resistance in Action (7)

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, migrant defense

Resistencia en Acción Rapid Response Emergency Fund

There’s a lot more to say about Rapid Response to ICE detention, which I hope to say here soon, but for now, I wanted to announce Resistencia en Acción’s Rapid Response Emergency Fund in the hopes of getting some contributions from readers. The preceding link takes you to the donation form on zeffy.com. You can also get to the link by going to Resistencia’s Facebook page, and scrolling down to the post for August 21, 11:50 pm.

Continue reading →

Resistance in Action (6)

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, migrant defense

Thoughts on Rapid Response

In the last 24 hours or so, there have been three major ICE raids in my vicinity in central New Jersey, meaning in the vicinity of where I live or work: one in Hightstown (yesterday, at Franklin & Westerlea), one in Edison (yesterday, 45 Patrick Ave), and one in Trenton (today, 36 Bayard St). The Hightstown raid led to the detention of one person; the Edison one, now being described as one of the biggest since Trump took office, led to the detention of 29. My initial impression is that the Trenton raid was thwarted, and didn’t lead to any detentions; ICE lacked a judicial warrant in that case, and was refused entry into the premises.* Continue reading →

Resistance in Action (5)

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, migrant defense

A Response to John Heilner

Toward the end of the August 11 Princeton Council meeting at which Princeton’s ITA Resolution was adopted, John Heilner, a Princeton resident, offered a comment that has now been transcribed in the August 13 issue of TapInto Princeton and in the August 13 issue of Town Topics (updated on August 18). Though Mr Heilner’s comment has not to my knowledge elicited very much public comment, I think it demands comment. To put the matter bluntly, I regard his comment as both incoherent and irresponsible, and am amazed that a Council that has spent the better part of the last six months lecturing us about matters of facticity and tone has received it with such apparent equanimity. Continue reading →

Resistance in Action (4)

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, migrant defense

More Botched Reporting from Town Topics 

In an earlier post here, I took issue with Town Topics’s defective reporting on the ITA municipal resolution campaign in Princeton. In quoting exclusively from members of the Princeton Council in its reporting on the July 28 Council meeting, I argued, the paper functioned essentially as a PR mouthpiece for the Council rather than as an expression of bona fide journalism. I sent a shorter version of that post as a letter to the editor of Town Topics, but it wasn’t printed. The paper’s most recent reporting on the August 11 meeting makes an attempt of sorts to remedy the problem, but still falls woefully short.  Continue reading →

Resistance in Action (3)

Posted on by under activism, anarchism, migrant defense

Second Statement to the Princeton Council on the ITA Resolution

This is my second statement to the Princeton Municipal Council on the issue of the ITA Resolution (August 11). For my first one (July 28), go here. For recent news coverage of the adoption of the resolution, go here and here. I’m in the middle of writing up a more comprehensive account of the press coverage of the campaign for the Princeton ITA resolution, and will post it when I can. 

Hi, my name is Irfan Khawaja. I live in Princeton.

I wanted to thank you for the wording of this resolution. I’ve read them all, and the resolution you’ve adopted is probably the best of the bunch.   Continue reading →