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On Campus Action and the Unity of the Fields (2/2):

More importantly, they serve as a means to further the demands of the anti-colonial movement in the west beyond solely divestment (which as it pertains to fossil fuels, can and has been circumvented by financial instruments) and into the real isolation of the zionist entity from the normalization it enjoys on western university campuses. Especially in the United States, universities have deep ties to the zionist-aligned national institutions, be they defense companies or investment through endowment. As part of this project, their tendency to suppress genuine revolutionary movements inevitably creates real fields of confrontation in the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

In light of the emergence of these new fields, which have been sustained through the principled refusal of some encampments to negotiate for scraps, it is imperative that other encampments hold to this principled stance, and that Gaza Solidarity Encampments adopt and adhere to the Unity of the Fields.

The Unity of the Fields is a concept championed by the Palestinian resistance through its history of waging the struggle against imperialism on multiple fronts. Despite the various ideologies, short-term objectives, and locations of the factions participating in the struggle, the crux of this philosophy is that all can work towards one common goal without being placed under the same structure of governance. Unity of the Fields does not entail establishing a bureaucracy, though groups may remain in contact with one another to coordinate operations. Rather, it leverages the instant exchange of information available to us today to take facts on the ground and purpose them as “signals.” For instance, when news is confirmed that negotiations have ended between the Palestinian resistance and mediators, the resistance in Lebanon may intensify its strikes to apply pressure. When Lebanon is bombed heavily, Yemen or Iraq may respond with force.

Similarly, we must recognize that US campus authorities especially are suppressing Palestinian liberationist action as parts of one system and on the orders of the same benefactors. Columbia University took violent action against encampment participants, aiming to instill fear among students across the country. However, it backfired and led to the proliferation of new camps within hours. Gaza Solidarity Encampments must act with the same unity: When one encampment is stormed – and we all receive notice of this in real-time – other encampments must escalate their efforts in lockstep. When one encampment achieves a real victory, the others should learn from that victory, apply its lessons to their own, and leverage that victory as pressure against their own repressive administrations. In this way, 100 separate and independent encampments can act as one supersystem, erasing the spatial and temporal divide that has been imposed on them.

Gaza Solidarity Encampments did not emerge with the intention of starting a confrontation of this nature; their demands have been righteous, realistic, clear and principled. Regardless of this intention, however, confrontation has been imposed on them and they must rise to meet the challenges. We have the privilege of witnessing in real-time the most successful resistance movement of contemporary history, and with it a blueprint for how we can operate to achieve success. Without uniting the fields, individual encampments can be isolated and picked off, and the disgusting status quo which leaves blood on the hands of university administration maintained. With Unity of the Fields, we combat an oppressive system with a liberationist system, undermining illusory divisions while increasing the cost of sponsoring genocide in Gaza.

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