Radical action for Palestine: Here’s what to do

/ Hilary Agro

Are you struggling to know what to do about Palestine right now?

As an organizer, I have advice for you. Please share this list widely (here it is in Twitter thread format, no I will not call it ‘X’). You may copy any part of this article and share it freely.

Note: The work I do to put together resources like this and organize in my community takes a lot of time and energy, and I do it for free in my limited spare time as a grad student and mother of two small children. If you are grateful for my work and want to support me making more of it, your help is deeply appreciated and will go to feeding myself and my two little kids:

💲 Send money on PayPal
🍼 Send my baby some diapers (or me some books)
❤️ Support me on Patreon

I love you. Stay strong. Act always from care, not hate. Spend your energy wisely. Model the world you want to see ❤️

Are you in Toronto? Make sure to check out this section!

  1. THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD DO
  2. SPECIFIC ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP PALESTINE
  3. WHERE SHOULD YOUR MONEY GO?
  4. A NOTE ON PROTESTS
  5. SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
  6. THIS IS HOW WE WIN
  7. Additional considerations
  8. Toronto-specific resources

THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD DO

1) First, stay calm and focused.

Stop doomscrolling when you feel like dying. You know it’s bad right now and action is needed, that’s enough. You don’t need more news if it’s going to make you ill. Keep informed, but conserve your energy for action.

2) Do a search for Palestine rallies and socialist/communist/anti-imperialist groups in your area.

Go to rallies, and importantly, find out which organizations are currently mobilizing, and when their meetings are. If they’re led by BIPOC, attend them. Listen. Take notes. Talk to people. Share things you learn (nothing that incriminates any group, just educational info and organizing advice) on social media. Encourage your friends to come with you to these events. [If it’s not safe to protest or attend meetings in your area, go to step 4.]

3) Spend time around other people who really fucking care about what’s happening, and are taking steps to do something about it.

I spent the first week of the bombings in a very dark place. Utterly paralyzed by grief. Then, I dragged myself out of bed and went to a socialist action conference (with Spring, who I highly recommend if you’re Canadian), and spent two days around a bunch of other people who felt the same as me, but were taking steps to actually do something about it. It’s hard to even describe how life-giving this is. It’s the only true cure for the panic and doom you feel when reading about what’s happening. It is also the best defense against the harm from being gaslit by our political “leaders.”

4) Post on social media! But when engaging with people online, ask yourself: Am I more interested in helping Palestinians, or in venting my rage in impulsive ways?

If the latter, please consider logging off and taking care of yourself. Do not let Z*onists provoke and drain you. To be honest, as someone who’s been doing this work for a long time, it’s endlessly frustrating to watch leftists insult and swear at people instead of using that energy to educate, gain comrades and build the movement. Obviously some people can’t be reasoned with, but many more are simply uninformed, and approaching them in good faith gives you a better chance of changing their mind than going in hot with insults. If someone is being particularly obstinate then you’re wasting your valuable time and energy engaging with them anyway. Try to instead:

  • Share educational resources with people
  • Share about how you unlearned Z*onism
  • Boost engagement and voice your support on posts from activists, or news articles/posts about direct action
  • Comment with action ideas on viral posts
  • Ask influencers to talk about Palestine
  • Ask questions intended to make people think their positions through (here’s an example of how to do this with drug policy)
  • Do a search for people asking “what can we do”/”what can I do” and share this article with them, or anything from the action list here
  • Yell at politicians & shitty journalists if you’ve gotta yell at someone
  • Censor words like Palestine, Israel, Z*onist (eg. switching capital i’s and lowercase L’s, and using one of these guys ¡ for lowercase i’s

Practice emotional regulation, we’re building something here. ❤

Yes, I know that telling fascists to fuck off is cathartic, but I’ve seen way too many leftists waste their time arguing with brick walls, pounce on regular people asking real questions, or immediately and disproportionately escalate HARD. If screaming at each other online worked to build movements, we’d have transitioned to a post-capitalist paradise four days after the birth of the internet.

Palestinians don’t need you to waste time arguing with brick walls, they need you to get your country to stop funding Isr*eli genocide.

5) Take covid precautions.

Here is an article outlining a number of harm reduction measures you can take. You don’t have to be perfect – anything you do to help prevent catching or spreading covid is helpful to your comrades. You won’t be able to do much activism if you become disabled from Long Covid. Additionally, masking during protests helps protect you from the surveillance state.

6) Stay vigilant about anti-Semitism.

White supremacists are using the pro-Palestine movement to sneak anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and hatred into the mainstream, and that’s bad for a whole host of obvious reasons. It harms Jewish people, who are already being put even more at risk by the actions of IsraeI, and it distracts from the focus on the real sources of the genocide (settler colonialism, capitalism, Z*onism) and dilutes the strength of our messaging and solidarity-building. Jews are our cherished siblings, and many of them are at the forefront of the anti-occupation movement. Look out for anti-Jewish/fascist dogwhistles like “globalists,” “degeneracy,” anything about “controlling the world” etc, using the words Jews when talking about the actions of the state of Israel, or people cryptically using the words “them” a lot. Check your sources!

7) Learn about the wider context in which this is all happening: colonialism and capitalism.

This extends beyond Palestine. None of us are free until all of us are free. But a new world is possible–join us in building it! Here is an extensive list of educational resources.

SPECIFIC ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP PALESTINE

Now we’ll talk about a variety of actions you can choose from, based on your experience, skills, risk tolerance, and access to resources. Remember diversity of tactics: There is no one single thing that’ll do it. We need many people trying many different things. No matter who you are, you are an important part of this movement and can contribute!

  • Talk to people who love and trust you about Palestine. Don’t shame them for inaction, invite them to join you in learning. Invite them to actions with you.
  • Are you in a union? Organize to pressure your union leadership into releasing statements condemning the genocide.
  • Pressure your union into striking if you work for a company that supports Isr*el or can exert pressure on politicians.
  • Not yet unionized? Start the process NOW so you can wield collective power when you need to. Capitalists are not gonna play nice during this global revolution
  • Show public solidarity with Palestine and those who are putting their careers and freedom at risk to speak out and take action. Everywhere, all the time. Plaster social media with accurate information and calls to action! This is important to counter heavily funded Isr*eli propaganda campaigns. Again though, breadth of comments on many posts is more useful than miles long reply chains with a single jerk who’s wasting your time. DO NOT GET TRAPPED IN ARGUMENTS
  • Share advice with one another on how to best talk to friends and family (remember that emotional regulation is essential – see above)
  • Gather some online friends (4-10 people) into a Signal support group (use the disappearing messages function). Vent with each other, share successes and resources, and brainstorm different ways you can help. Even just sharing stories of a person who responded positively to something you shared that made them think, or of successful direct actions you came across, will help keep morale and motivation up
  • Share educational resources on social media
  • Print posters and put them around your neighbourhood. Here is an incredible repository!
  • Do you have graphic design skills, even basic ones? Turn this list and other educational resources into square images for sharing on social media.
  • Send physical letters and faxes to politicians demanding a ceasefire
  • Express support (on social media, in emails to their political parties) for politicians who have been punished for supporting Palestine (eg. Sarah Jama in Ontario)
  • Talk to your union about planning workshops explaining why Palestine solidarity is relevant to union struggles
  • Learn about police abolition. Police are the biggest impediments to successful protesting. They do not keep us safe, they exist to protect capital.
  • Boycott, divest, sanction (BDS)
  • Consider downloading the No Thanks Boycott app – it seems ok, though I have not done thorough research on its creators, so be aware
  • Learn about the variety of tactics people are using – some of them are very creative, and effective…
  • Skills for specific professions:
    • Are you a massage therapist, osteopath, cook etc, or other type of healer/care worker? Consider offering your services for free to Palestinian activists, all of whom are extremely burnt out at the moment.
    • Are you a therapist? Sign up for The Diaspora Psychologist project
    • Are you an outspoken, justice-obsessed, possibly neurodivergent person? Create a TikTok account now and start practicing yelling and joking into your camera about the things you care about. We need more voices to counter the well-funded propaganda! It doesn’t matter if you suck at it now, doing it is how you get better. I have 79,000 followers somehow and I promise you, my first TikToks were awkward garbage. If you care about other people and our planet and want to live in a better world, that’s all that matters – talk about that.
A shareable image with a QR code linking to this page

WHERE SHOULD YOUR MONEY GO?

Money and aid aren’t getting into Palestine right now. Here are some other places it can be of use. Donate to:

We have to make it safe for people to do activist work. This is as true of Palestine solidarity work as it is for abolition and other forms of activism. Surround organizers with love, protection and material support. When we provide that, we incentivize more people to take action.

  • Buy meal gift cards for organizers from your local Palestinian or other activist groups. Or just give them money. They are exhausted. If you know any personally, go clean their apartment for them. Wash their dishes. Do their laundry. This is genuinely essential mutual aid!
  • Support independent social media culture & education workers (aka content creators), especially Palestinian, Black and Indigenous creators
  • Subscribe to independent anti-capitalist news organizations

A NOTE ON PROTESTS

Many people say that protests are most effective when they are DISRUPTIVE. “They should make powerful people extremely uncomfortable, and disrupt the flow of capitalism,” one organizer told me. “Make them fear our power, not the other way around.”

Disruptive tactics people have used:
(I am not condoning or suggesting any of this. I am just sharing what’s been done.)

  • Blockading the entrances to weapons manufacturers
  • Blocking major ports, rail lines, highways
  • Protesting at politicians’ offices or other places they frequent

Those who don’t like these tactics should be aware that if the genocide continues, people may start destroying corporate property, sabotaging infrastructure, hacking into websites, etc. That would be… bad. So, better go sign some petitions really hard if you want to avoid that.

Remember that public-facing movement organizers are vulnerable. They can’t tell you to break the law, even if they know it’s more effective. More radical direct action is organized carefully, without relying on prominent leaders and well-known activists

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

  • If organizing via group chat, use Signal with disappearing messages turned on
  • Wear masks to protests to protect yourself from cameras, and protect yourself and others from covid
  • Personal risk assessment: Do not participate in risky actions if you are not currently in a position to weather possible charges. If you are BIPOC (especially if you are Black, Indigenous or Palestinian/Arab) you are at higher risk, if you are entangled in the criminal injustice system you are at higher risk, if you have kids you are at higher risk

They can’t put everyone in jail, but they sure will try. Assess whether you can take on that risk right now, considering things like how effective/important the action might be, your ability to keep doing this work in the future etc.

THIS IS HOW WE WIN

Here’s a list of examples of successful actions. It’s very important to share small victories, so we remind ourselves that we can make a difference! This wave of solidarity is becoming a tsunami, bit by bit.

Additional considerations

  • One of the most important things you can do going forward is to learn about colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and how those things intersect. What’s happening in Palestine is part of a broader series of entangled systems of hierarchical power. All our struggles are connected–when we learn about these connections, we realize that fighting for our friends and neighbours means improving all of our lives, collectively. Building networks of solidarity is what will get us through this current tumultuous transition into a post-capitalist world. We keep us safe. Read this book ASAP!
  • Prepare to be disappointed in politicians and anyone else who’s wealthy or powerful, no matter how progressive they seem. With a few exceptions (almost always artists of some kind), rich and/or powerful people got that way by blinding themselves to the suffering of others. The system works for them. Do not expect them to be allies. The systems that gave them power are the obstacles in the way of our collective liberation. No idols, no gods, no masters.

Toronto-specific resources

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