Andor, Hamas, and Netanyahu

No significant spoilers here, only discussion of a couple of small quotes present prior to Season 2 episode 4 and the most broad and predictable plot direction afterwards. Still interesting for non-watchers, I hope.

Andor Wraps Up

Andor completed its second and final season this week, and did so quite spectacularly. The only negative is we see how good the show could have been had it been able to complete its original five-season plan, as each three-episode arc likely covers what would have been a full season. There will be many others writing on all kinds of aspects of the show, so I’ll just say, it was wonderfully crafted worldbuilding, visuals, music, story, character, and plot, and led up artfully to the earlier Rogue One movie in a way that added depth and quality there as well.

I’ll highlight just two key things:

“Rebels who you can count on to do the wrong thing.”

The Ghorman arc of season two of course parallels many modern conflicts of imperial extraction of resources and theft of land, involving insurgencies and the imposition of capitalist-imperial goals through force, espionage, propaganda, and the villainization of a targeted group. Many write on real-life parallels, such as here, here, and here, and I wrote on some of that recently as well.

I want to specifically draw a few quick connections to Palestine, particularly to the Empire’s Imperial Security Bureau's pursuit of “rebels who you can count on to do the wrong thing”.

First, the more obvious connections - like Ghorman, and colonized places around our world, Palestine is a land desired by the outside occupier for it’s value. Settlers occupy more and more land in Palestine, profiting and thriving on stolen land, while those whose land they steal live as second-class residents with a separate set of laws, a shrinking homeland, and now economic and social structures burned to the ground with basic aid rotting at the borders due to a blockade. The world/galaxy sees the violent actions of those resisting occupation and cheers the militarized occupation forces for bringing “security”.

One group is key to driving the Empire’s narrative and gaining galactic approval (or at least apathy) for their genocidal extraction project. In the early episodes, Dedra suggests the ISB needs to cultivate a group of rebels who you can count on to do the wrong thing, and a significant part of the middle part of the season involves her efforts to prop up the inexperienced and impulsive Ghorman front and instigate violent responses from them which will serve as justification for further military occupation and displacement of the population.

That’s exactly Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s playbook in Palestine. As outlined here, Netanyahu has actively propped up Hamas as the dominant political force in Gaza for years, at the expense of other, more mainstream, groups with whom deals for peace could have been reached. Hamas is a group of rebels that could be counted on to do the wrong thing, as seen on Oct. 7, 2023. The presence, rhetoric, and actions of Hamas have served as distraction from the scandals in Netanyahu’s government, given a popularity boost to hardline elements supporting crackdown on Palestine, like Netanyahu's party, and justified invasion, occupation, and displacement in Gaza and the West Bank, continuing a pattern across decades. Just as the Ghorman Massacre can be laid at the feet of the ISB and those looking to profit of Ghorman resources, October 7th and the continuing genocide in Palestine are on the shoulders of Netanyahu and those looking to settle and profit from Palestinian land.

Nemik’s Manifesto: The Trail of Political Consciousness

Nemik’s Manifesto is a central monologue of Season 1 and the underlying political theory running through Andor and it's connections to today. I’ll just quote it here for your reflection:

“There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this. Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And then remember this. The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege. Remember this. Try."

Though this refers to the violent uprisings against the Empire, I think it also aligns neatly with the creative grassroots organizing, peacemaking, and community-building of anarchism and the Kingdom of God, which I hope to explore more in newsletters to come.

Working Class History

Today in 1950: A general strike broke out in Nairobi, Kenya, then part of the British Empire. Workers walked out (ahead of union leaders’ plans), demanding freedom of jailed union leaders, wage incerases, subsidized housing, sick pay, paid vacation, and unemployment insurance. Unions called for “freedom for all workers and all the East African territories”. British authorities attacked the strikers with tear gas and brought in scab labor. Women organized logistics and distribution of food. Around 100,000 workers were on strike.

However, union leaders mysteriously ordered a return to work with only limited minimum wage increases agreed upon.

This moment instructively intersects with Andor, both in the power and possibility of mass movements and the tensions within movements, including the potential for co-opting, over-caution, and corruption among movement leaders.

Drawn from Working Class History, by the Working Class History collective and published by PM Press.

Learning about Kurdistan

Kurdistan has been in the news this week, with the dissolution of the long-standing Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Though this is a couple of years old, you can learn more about Kurdistan and particularly the Kurdish Women’s Movement in this podcast with Dilar Dirik, who has done ethnographic fieldwork there. You can also see her book linked at that site.