Ronen.Dvarim — Deuteronomy – projects, pictures and words

I also vote for Hadash

Some of my friends asked why as a self declared anarchist, would not only step into a voting booth and vote, but also actively support a political party. I still hold a great fascination of anarchism in theory but also great frustration in practice. Clearly voting will not lead to radical change (especially in these elections) but neither does non-voting unless there are masses of non voters and pressure from bellow. Of course we should be creating that mass pressure — a social movement based on solidarity and direct action, but as long as this is not created – nonvoting is a blank political act.

I still sincerely believe that voting only allows a certain amount of change, yet never addresses that which really needs changing most: the idea of nation states, power and hierarchy and the core of Capitalism. We cannot bring forth drastic fundamental change in land, wealth, and resource distribution through elections. The fundamentals of the state will stay the same. But in these times of horrible war crimes, great financial insecurity, and in a society where fear and racism replaced reason, we have to open mindedly look if there is a choice worth making, whether the effect of voting is significant enough so it is worth the time and effort.

I believe Hadash/Aljabha – An acronym for “The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality”, is definitely worth the effort (is going to the poll really an effort?) and the small changes it can bring, until we destroy all states, is worth my support. In addition in these times of great racism and anti Arab sentiments, and since racism and segregation is one of biggest threats to the Israeli society these days, the symbolic act of voting for Hadash is of great importance.

A few reasons to vote for Hadash:

• The Palestinian-Jewish partnership is the only hope for a future in this region. Hadash is the only real Arab-Israeli party. There are none-Jews on other parties, but Hadash is the only one that has an equal partnership between Arabs and Jews on every level of the party.
• Hadash has the most progressive agenda of any political party in Israel, socially, environmentally, on labor rights, women’s rights on students and old people.
• Dov Hanin, I really like this guy. KM Hanin was the only Jewish parliament member to speak against the onslaught on Gaza from the very first day. He also did the same during the Lebanon war.
• Hadash as a party where out in the streets with the people protesting the war.
• Hadash is a Socialist-Democratic party, the only one in the Knesset.

Sure Hadash is a political party, and it is not perfect, by any mean. Sometimes it seems to me to be a little too Arab nationalist, the inner democracy of the party is very problematic and I’m still quite suspicious of communists. Their clear stand for a two state solution is also problematic when I think a one-state/no state solution should be more the direction we should be going, however, there is no political movement yet with any weight talking about these solutions and a two state solutions is still much better than the current state of occupation and growing apartheid.

So, for these difficult times and the challenges we have in the future, I believe that Hadash provides the best solutions.

links:

Hadash in Hebrew
Hadash (Aljabh) in Arabic

Hadash clip
Left vs Left

i will be showing Medinat Weimar at the Dissident Art exhibition in Montreal.
I won’t be there but check it out!

SEPTEMBER 5 – 28, 2008

VERNISSAGE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 5 – 9 PM
55 NOTRE-DAME WEST (METRO PLACE D’ARMES)

Diana Arce, Mathieu Beauséjour, Caro Caron, Howard Chackowicz, Kathryn Delaney, Ronen Eidelman, Freda Guttman, Gord Hill, Dayna McLeod, Jesse Purcell, Michael Rakowitz, The Shining Mantis, Jackie Sumell / Herman Wallace, Rick Trembles, Tania Willard

The Art + Anarchy Montreal 2008 collective is pleased to invite you to the opening of a new exhibition in Montreal, Dissident Art, on September 5th from 5 pm – 9 pm at 55 Notre-Dame West (in Old Montreal, metro Place d’Armes). The vernissage will feature performances by Diana Arce (Berlin), showcasing her political speech karaoke Politaoke in Montreal for this first time, and The Shining Mantis (New York), engaging in a spontanteous chalk-on-black-wall drawing war between the collective’s two members.

Returning after the success of the Art + Anarchy exhibition in 2007, which saw 230 local and international artists exhibit their work, this year’s exhibition represents a more curated turn with fifteen artists. From Caro Caron’s (Montreal) excellent artistic musings on the gentrification of Montreal’s artist neighbourhoods to the pairing up of artist Jackie Sumell (Brooklyn) and Herman Wallace, a Black Panther member whose life sentence is currently up for review, the exhibition offers variety in concept, style and contribution to the meaning of dissidence in art. In addition to the fifteen chosen artists, the exhibition will be offering a room in which unsolicited artists are invited to come hang their own political work.

For more information, please visit and list of events: www.artdissidentart.com.

I returned a week ago from Venice after spending 10 days following the powers. I went to Rostock to participate in the anti g8 demonstrations, them flew to Venice to the see the 52^nd art biennale. From Venice we joined activists from the area whom squatted a train that took us to Rome and participated at a big demonstration against George Bush who was visiting the Italian capital.

I was planning on writing many things about our adventures. I wanted to talk about the dissonance I felt in Venice coming straight from the anti g8 camp. i came from wonderful experience, from a great feeling of solidarity, demanding together with people from around the world a more equal world with less poverty and oppression. Then, arriving in at the Venice biennale that displayed art work with similar themes, but even more it displayed overwhelming wealth and the differences between those who have and those who have not.

But I came back exhausted and confused and realized that I need more time to get my thoughts an ideas straight. I left home with the idea that just like the g8 summit is the gathering of the political elite opened only to the wealthiest countries, in a similar way the Venice biennale is the g8 of the cultural elite witch in most cases come from the same countries as those who met in Heiligendamm. I still hold this idea, but of course the reality is more complex and it’s important to recognize and explore this idea deeper.

So hopefully in the near future I will expand more on these themes and my feelings that arose in Venice and at the demonstrations. I would also like to explore deeper the relationship between art, esthetics and creative resistance that was very present at the anti g8 demonstrations. i would also like to expand on the presence of street art and street artist at the bienalle, but this will have to wait a couple weeks when I have more time.

Meanwhile enjoy my flicker photo set from my travels. As always, remarks are most welcome.

I know this movie has around the net for a while, but I have to recommend this great documentry for anyone who has not seen it yet.

“The Free Voice of Labor: The Jewish Anarchists” is the story of one of the largest radical movements among Jewish immigrant workers in the 19th and 20th centuries, the conditions that led them to band together, their fight to build trade unions, their huge differences with the communists, their attitudes towards violence, Yiddish culture, and their loyalty to one another. The movie traces the history of a Yiddish anarchist newspaper (Fraye Arbeter Shtime – The Free Voice of Labor) publishing its final issue after 87 years. Narrated by anarchist historian Paul Avrich, the story is mostly told by the newspaper’s now elderly, but decidedly unbowed staff.