On Wednesday 19th February 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of “Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism” by Shane Burley and Ben Lorber. The event will be hosted jointly by Stroud Radical Reading Group and Na’amod Gloucestershire. Na’amod is “a movement of Jews in the UK seeking to end our community’s support for Israel’s occupation and apartheid, and to mobilise it in the struggle for freedom, equality and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis”, and a Gloucestershire branch was formed in 2024.

Entry is free and everyone is welcome.

PLEASE NOTE DIFFERENT VENUE FOR THIS EVENT: We will meet at The Exchange on Brick Row, GL5 1DF (a short walk from the town centre train or bus station, with parking available nearby at Church St).

More information about the book, venue and how sessions work is below – together with a link to buy the book at a discount and a variety of free text, audio, and visual resources relevant to the book/discussion.

About the book:

“From online trolling of Jews by the ‘alt-right’ to synagogue shootings by white nationalists to the spread of QAnon and George Soros conspiracy theories, antisemitism is a fixture of U.S. politics today. Its rise is part and parcel of growing exclusionary nationalist movements – putting multiracial democracy itself at risk. At the same time, conversations about antisemitism are more polarized than ever.

How is antisemitism connected to anti-Blackness, xenophobia, anti-LGBTQ bigotry, and other forms of oppression? How do we build the coalitions and movements we need to fight it all together? Why is it important to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and antisemitism?

Using personal stories, historical deep-dives, front-line reporting, and interviews with leading change-makers, Lorber and Burley help the reader understand how antisemitism works, what’s at stake in contemporary debates, and how we can build true safety in solidarity.”

This event follows the annual Holocaust Memorial Day, this year marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex (and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia). In Stroud, Community Solidarity Stroud District hosted a local event on Sunday 26th January at the Lansdown Hall from 2-3pm.

Our 2025 event follows discussions of books linked to Holocaust Memorial Day in the past – Primo Levi’s The Drowned and The Saved, Revolutionary Yiddishland, and We Fight Fascists. Links to those previous events are provided for interest only – you do not have been to any of our previous events to come along to this one.

Resources

• Buy the book from the Yellow Lighted Bookshop (Nailsworth, Tetbury or Chalford pick up, or delivery at £3.50) via the previous link – RRP £17.99. When looking at your “basket” enter the “couponcode” 25stroudradical for a 15% discount – final book price £15.29, a saving of £2.70)
• Free: 2,300 word piece “Making Sense of the Fight Against Antisemitism” by the authors, launching a newsletter with the same title as the book, sharing relevant content (approximately 15 minute read)
• Free: 2,000 word piece “How to fight antisemitism – and win” (approximatly 10 minute read)
• Free: 2,200 word piece “The Evidence is Clear – Antisemitism’s Threat Comes from the Right” (approximately 10-15 minute read)
• Free: 80 minute podcast “Safety Through Solidarity” and Community Mobilization in the Current Terrain – on the anarchist It’s Going Down Podcast, July 2024.
• Free: 90 minute Online video interview with both authors in conversation with Cindy Barukh Milstein and Libertie from Firestorm books. The interview is approximately 1 hour long, with around 30 minutes for Q&A with the live audience (embedded below)

About our events and the venue

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash. We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

We will meet at The Exchange on Brick Row in Stroud. This is near the centre of town, a short walk from Stroud Railway Station or the Merrywalks Bus Station. There are stands to lock bikes to outside, and parking for cars nearby at Church St car park. There is sloped access to the building and to an accessible toilet. The room is well lit and warm. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.