A-Infos (en) Italy, FAS, Sicilia Libertaria #461 - Rethinking Sovereignty and Liberation between Palestine and Israel: The Stateless Solution (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains one of the most protracted, 
violent, and complex geopolitical issues of the modern era. Over the 
years, various possible solutions to the issue of the Zionist occupation 
of Palestine (and Western support) have been proposed, but no action to 
date has led to humane, respectful, and just outcomes, only to further 
brutality and bloodshed. The ongoing genocide in Gaza and the ongoing 
violence in the West Bank, unfolding before our eyes, are yet another 
example of the failures of all those national and international 
institutions (ICC, UN, etc.) that offer a façade of democracy but 
actually serve only the interests of the powerful, oligarchs, and rogue 
states, never the people.

Over the years, traditional state-centered narratives have often been 
challenged by alternative visions rooted in concepts of sovereignty, 
self-determination, and liberation. Today, I would like to bring to 
these pages a reflection from a Jewish perspective that I believe has 
aspects akin to anarchist philosophy and can be added to the historic 
tradition of alternative proposals to states.

Academic and historian of religions of Jewish origin, Professor Daniel 
Boyarin published the book "The No-State Solution" in 2023. This book 
presents a provocative theological and philosophical argument 
questioning the legitimacy of the nation-state model, arguing that it 
perpetuates violence, exclusion, and hierarchy-elements incompatible 
with the ethical ideals rooted in Jewish teachings-and instead proposes 
a vision rooted in community and spiritual kinship.

Boyarin explores the idea that Jewish history and theology, especially 
as reflected in rabbinic traditions, offer a model for a society beyond 
the nation-state. He argues that Jewish communities historically 
operated according to principles of communal kinship, spiritual law, and 
mutual responsibility, often outside the bounds of imperial or colonial 
sovereignty. He contrasts the nation-state with a spiritual community 
based on shared values, mutual aid, and ethical responsibility, rather 
than territorial sovereignty. Boyarin draws extensively on rabbinic 
texts, emphasizing the concept of *Am Yisrael* (the People of Israel) as 
a spiritual community rather than a territorial nation. He interprets 
Jewish teachings as emphasizing law, community, and ethical 
relationships over territorial claims. This interpretation challenges 
the Zionist narrative that equates Jewish identity with a territorial 
homeland, proposing instead a vision of Jewish existence rooted in 
shared spiritual and ethical bonds, a nation without borders. Boyarin 
critically examines Zionism's establishment of a Jewish state and its 
consequences, including forced exodus and violence against Palestinians; 
He advocates a society in which community bonds and shared values 
replace the need for sovereign borders, envisioning a decentralized, 
non-hierarchical community that emphasizes mutual aid, ethical 
responsibility, and spiritual kinship.

Recalling the analyses of Erich Fromm, Boyarin's critical approach 
explores the devastating consequences of nationalism, an ideology that 
has often manifested itself as a divisive rather than unifying force. 
Indeed, nationalism is not merely a response to an identity crisis but a 
vehicle for power, often employed by authoritarian regimes to justify 
the marginalization of minority and dissenting communities.

Boyarin's perspective, though steeped in spiritual and religious 
aspects, is very close to the visions of anarchism. In the 
Israeli-Palestinian context, anarchists criticize both the state 
apparatuses of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, as well as 
the oppressors of Hamas, calling them sources of violence, repression, 
and territorial control. They argue that the state's monopoly on 
violence and sovereignty perpetuates conflict, displacement, and 
inequality. From an anarchist perspective, solutions involve promoting 
autonomous communities based on shared needs and mutual aid, free from 
dependence on centralized authorities. This could mean supporting 
grassroots initiatives, cooperative structures, and non-hierarchical 
networks that empower local populations. Anarchists emphasize 
international solidarity across borders, opposing nationalism and 
state-centered solutions. They argue that true liberation involves 
transcending national identities and building a global movement rooted 
in shared human needs and values. Freedom is not conceived as a simple 
act of rebellion against the state, but as a practice of active and 
collective construction, capable of generating spaces for resistance and 
creation.

Considering Boyarin's ideas, combined with anarchist activism and 
philosophy, one could imagine a future in which Palestinian and Israeli 
communities develop cooperative and non-hierarchical networks, 
emphasizing coexistence based on mutual recognition, cultural exchange, 
and shared governance, without dependence on formal state structures.

It is clear that, unfortunately, the implementation of a stateless model 
inspired by anarcho-cultural-spiritual (Jewish and Muslim) encounters 
significant obstacles, including entrenched militarized state systems, 
external geopolitical pressures, a history of entrenched violence, and 
severe nationalist narcissisms. Many critics also argue that stateless 
communities may have difficulty defending themselves from external 
threats. Anarchist approaches often emphasize community defense, but the 
scale and complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict pose serious 
challenges.

There are interesting examples in the Levant and the Middle East, a 
notable one being the governance model adopted in Rojava, an autonomous 
region in northern Syria, where local communities have organized 
themselves into a system of confederal federalism based on local 
assemblies and neighborhood councils, without the mediation of political 
parties. This model of decentralized and participatory governance is 
inspired by the ideas of Murray Bookchin and Abdullah Öcalan and 
represents a concrete example of how communities can govern themselves 
without the need for centralized states or dominant political parties.

The intersection of Boyarin's "The Stateless Solution" and anarchist 
thought offers a compelling perspective for reimagining not only the 
future of Israel and Palestine but of many other realities around the 
world. By questioning the legitimacy of sovereignty and emphasizing 
community bonds rooted in ethics and mutual aid, both perspectives 
advocate a society founded on human sharing rather than territorial 
conquest. While practical implementation remains fraught with 
challenges, these ideas push us to reconsider the foundations of 
justice, community, and liberation in one of the world's most enduring 
conflicts.

Today, contemporary anarchism has the opportunity to establish itself as 
a dynamic and multifocal practice, a valid alternative to obsolete, 
violent, and corrupt models of state sovereignty. It expands its 
capacity to adapt and respect ever-changing social, historical, 
environmental, cultural, and political contexts, basing its actions on 
local and international solidarity.

Gabriele Cammarata

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
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