"What happened on October 7-a moment of resistance that disrupted the normalized colonial structures-is an opening for bigger possibilities in the imagination and practices. It's a confession that liberation is possible."
Of Weapons and Words presents six essays of contemporary political commentary and analysis produced by the radical left and revolutionary currents to offer a thought-provoking vision of Palestine and the wider region, translated from Arabic into English by the Aotearoa New Zealand-based collective Al-Rifaq Translations. Each essay responds to a key aspect of the Palestinian struggle, together showing that the time is ripe for a renewed internationalist ethos and orientation in political organising, as evidenced by the worldwide Palestine solidarity movement. Moussa Alsadah draws a historical parallel between the Algerian and Palestinian popular struggles for national liberation. Sari Orabi interrogates Israel's military and occupational strategy, known as the "Iron Wall" doctrine. Abdaljawad Omar draws on psychoanalysis to consider how the Palestinian resistance's breach of the siege on October 7 ruptured the Zionist unconscious. Nidal Khalaf tracks the history of the idea of the Palestinian State, oft-proposed as a "solution", which contradicts the core demands of Palestinian liberation. Amer Mohsen looks at the international discourse on resistance methods and practices, and their limits when considering the necessity of armed resistance. And in the final roundtable, Abaher El-Sakka, Lena Meari, and Mudar Kassis discuss the usefulness and limits of the analytic framework of 'settler colonialism' and turn to the language of fascism to understand this third wave of the Nakba. Of Weapons and Words presents six essays of contemporary political commentary and analysis produced by the radical left and revolutionary currents to offer a thought-provoking vision of Palestine and the wider region.
"October 7 closed the gap in radical discourse and smashed the glass between Palestine and the world. This book is an important collection of analyses emerging out of that revolutionary rupture, which returned the Palestinian liberation struggle to the forefront of radical politics. These essays, penned in Arabic, can now reach a global audience thanks to the critical work of Al-Rifaq Translations collective. Their intervention and these essays meet the urgency of this pivotal moment the Palestinian resistance has created."
"Material force defeats material force, Marx reminds us, before adding that theory becomes material when it grips and is gripped by the masses. From the word to the weapon, and onward to the weapon of the word, this essential and expansive dialectical spiral crystallizes in the book you hold here. In it, the unassailable steadfastness and dignity of the Palestinian armed struggle speaks volumes. Words are indeed weapons: lock and load."
"Of Weapons and Words offers astute and engaging reflections on the hopes, triumphs, and sorrows of Gaza before and after October 7, blending sharp analysis and critique of hegemonic powers with genuine celebration of Palestine's ideals. Deeply provocative, this book is an indispensable resource for anyone seeking to understand the day that shook the world."
"Of Weapons and Words consists of six brilliantly written and analyzed essays on various facets of the Palestinian struggle. The authors reject Palestinian statehood, explaining with passion and originality why 'liberation' is the only acceptable outcome of the long revolutionary process. Written from inside the struggle, the collective authorship manages to combine an inspiring assessment of the Palestinian movement with a critical dismissal of those, including Palestinian exiles, who complacently give poor advice from 'a safe distance.' This short book is mandatory reading not only for partisans of the Palestinian future, but also for those wh
