ضرورة التضامن

From award-winning author Sarah Shulman, a veteran social activist and outspoken critic of Israel's war on Gaza, comes this fascinating book that analyzes the psychological and social challenges inherent in solidarity movements, and what this means for the future. For those seeking to combat injustice, solidarity with the oppressed is one of the highest ideals, but it is not without complications. In this poignant and inspiring book, award-winning author and cultural critic Sarah Shulman delves into the complex and often misunderstood concept of solidarity, offering a new vision of what it means to engage in this work, and why it matters. To understand solidarity, Shulman says, we must recognize its underlying illusions. The oppressed dream of salvation, and for someone to intervene even though it may not seem to be in their immediate interest, and for the oppressor to be exposed and punished. Those who stand in solidarity with the oppressed miss another illusion: that their intervention is effective, that it will cost them nothing, and that they will be rewarded with friendship and gratitude. This is not always the case, however, to realize our full potential as human beings in our relationships with others, we must continue to strive toward these common goals. Within this framework, Shulman examines a range of case studies, from the struggle for abortion rights in post-Franco Spain, through anti-AIDS activism in New York in the 1990s, to the current wave of university protest movements against Israel's war on Gaza, and her personal experience as a lesbian artist who grew up in male-dominated cultural sectors. Drawing parallels between the struggles of gays, Palestinians, feminists, and artists for justice, Shulman challenges the traditional concept of solidarity as merely a union between equals, arguing that in today's world of globalized power structures, true solidarity requires the cooperation of bystanders and perpetrators in conflict with the marginalized and oppressed. This work comes at a cost, and is not always effective. However, without it we condemn ourselves to a world devoid of progressive change toward visions of liberation. He presents