Conflict can destroy movements. We need to fight the system, not each other

Erica Garner & Kemi Alabi, The Guardian 

On 17 July 2014, New York Police Department officer Daniel Pantaleo killed my father, Eric Garner. More than 11 minutes of video footage show Officer Pantaleo placing him in an illegal chokehold, and people all over the world soon learned my father’s final words: “I can’t breathe”. Faced with yet another incontrovertible act of police brutality, angered viewers formed resistance groups – practically overnight – to demand justice.

Nirbhaya film: Solidarity is what we want, not a civilising mission

Kavita Krishnan, Daily O

I am beset with a growing sense of unease at the global publicity campaign surrounding the release of a film by Leslee Udwin called India's Daughter. The film's subject is the December 16, 2012 Delhi gang rape and the movement that followed it. The film is to be released on March 8, and we can discuss it after we have seen it. But I would like to flag some concerns about the "Daughters of India" campaign that is due to be launched in the wake of the film, and about the response to the film in India.

Making a Sow’s Ear from Palestinian Protest

Camalita Naicker, The Con

The recent decision by the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) to place a pig’s head in what was assumed to be the kosher section of Woolworths, and then, in fact, turned out to be the halal section, could be written off as a mere “fail of the week.”

But it is indicative of a far more serious and insidious politics being cultivated by Boycott. Divestment. Sanctions-South Africa (BDS-SA) who have proved unable and unwilling to run a disciplined and ethical campaign in solidarity with Palestinians.

Richa Nagar - Muddying the Waters

Victor Mukasa Speaks out against the misrepresentation of African activists in the USA

Statement of Opposition to the Failure of BDS South Africa to Condemn the Singing of "dubula e juda" ("shoot the Jew")

RHODES UNIVERSITY PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY FORUM (RUPSF)

Statement of Opposition to the Failure of BDS South Africa to Condemn the Singing of "dubula e juda" ("shoot the Jew")

On 28 August 2013 protesters gathered at the Daniel Zamir concert at Wits University as part of BDS South Africa’s campaign and sang songs containing the slogan "dubula e juda" ("shoot the Jew").

RUPSF supports the broad principles of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli state’s continued illegal occupation of Palestine precisely because we reject racism in any form. It therefore goes without saying that we are equally and unequivocally opposed to any expression of Anti-Semitism.

Constructing Mutuality: The Zapatistas’ Transformation of Transnational Activist Power Dynamics

by Abigail Andrews, 2010

This article examines the evolution of transnational Zapatista solidarity networks. Although scholars have described an emerging “mutuality” between the Zapatista movement and its allies at the level of international framing, this article considers how the Zapatistas forged this mutuality on the ground, through active redefinition of alliances with Northern supporters. It argues that the Zapatistas delimited who was included in their solidarity networks, set new terms for partnerships, and redefined legitimacy in their transnational alliances. In so doing, they asserted their autonomy from donors. They also fostered discourses and practices of mutual solidarity and Southern leadership, shifting the balance of power between North and South. The case both illuminates the possibilities for Southern movements to challenge Northern control from within and suggests potential pitfalls of doing so; by defying Northern NGOs’ influence, the Zapatistas may have risked their long-term viability.