"The Free Voice of Labor" - The Jewish Anarchists

[faceless]

I just found this video and it immediately caught my attention - I've only watched a couple of minutes so far, but an early comment that "anarchism is a peace movement" certainly stood out...

[Sheffman]

Nice one Faceless, this is an excellent little film. It just shows how Anarchism has been demonised through the years. How many folks would include Anarchism and Peace in the same sentence.

Here's a brief synopsis of the film -

"Free Voice of Labor: The Jewish Anarchists," made by Pacific Street Films, is a wonderful evocation of the radical political past and what has become of its activists in their old age. It takes it's name from the Yiddish anarchist newspaper, which finally died in 1987 at the age of 87. The film is an oral history, given by those who lived through the era. It's more than merely that, however. It uses clips from old movies, in Yiddish, that dealt with the ugliness of the sweatshop. You hear the Yiddish songs and poems inveighing against oppression and calling for the people to rise up.
But the joy in the film lies in the people who belonged to the movement. They have aged gracefully, with their sentiments unchanged, but with their world different in ways they would never have dreamed of years ago. They speak with humor of demostrations, picket lines, battles of long ago. They speak as Jews, but secular Jews whose visions were of an unbossed universality. They are grandmas and grandpas, as sunny and mellow as any others, but their courage, intelligence and social concern still shines in their faces. They were a movement, mostly nonviolent, unlike the caricature anarchist bomb-thrower, but their families have grown into middle-class America. They no longer fight, but they still think."

Anyone who would like to learn a bit more about 'real' Anarchism I would reccommend "Anarchism In America", another film which is sold as a 2 DVD set with "Free Voice Of Labor"

If you are into torrents, both can be found on - http://www.chomskytorrents.org/ - along with some very enlightening other stuff.

[behroze]

Thank you Faceless for the video. Thank you Sheffman for the synopsis as well as the link. Ever since I started coming here I keep finding some amazing links thanks to people like you! Keep up the great stuff.