The Syrian regime has collapsed. Bashar al-Assad has fled the country. His army has disarmed, and his government has capitulated. The prisons have been overrun, and thousands have been released. Meanwhile, thousands of Syrians have taken to the streets in celebration. 

In yet another sudden and sharp event, highly characteristic of the period of history we are living through, a surprise offensive by Syrian Islamist militants is fast unravelling Syria. Israel’s western-backed wars against Gaza and Lebanon have upended the fragile equilibrium in the Middle East and pulled a thread that has begun unwinding the fabric of the region.

After four years of relative stasis, the Syrian civil war was reignited this week by a sudden rebel offensive on Aleppo. In order to answer the questions this raises from a Marxist perspective, we are republishing this reading guide.

This week has been full of sharp and sudden turns. The Syrian civil war has suddenly reignited due to the shock advance of a Turkey-backed rebel group. The French president was forced to resign after trying to force through an austerity budget. Joe Biden has used his last few weeks in power to pardon his corrupt son. And, to top things off, the president of South Korea declared martial law, only to be quickly defeated by opposition from the whole of parliament and mass mobilisations. 

85,000 students went on strike last week against Israel’s ongoing slaughter in Gaza. This was the largest student strike over international solidarity that Canada has ever seen.

This week, the Middle East has once again dominated the news, with the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the announcement of a supposedly ‘lasting’ ceasefire in Lebanon. In Europe, meanwhile, explosive events are being prepared in France, as the tottering National Assembly is set to face off against a rising tide of class struggle.

On Thursday 21 November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) finally issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s prime minister and former defence minister respectively, for ‘war crimes’.

On 27 October, Revolutionary Communist University 2024: The Power of Ideas came to a close. This was the second ever Arabic-language school organised by the Revolutionary Communist International. Arabic speakers from Mauritania to Syria sang The Internationaleto celebrate three excellent days of talks and discussions on various theoretical and political topics relevant to the struggle of communists in the Arabic-speaking world.

This is a massive step in the right direction for the Palestine movement in Quebec and Canada. At least 26 student associations representing 50,000 students will be on strike for Palestine on Nov. 21-22!

On Thursday 7 November, Maccabi Tel Aviv played away from home against Ajax Amsterdam in the UEFA Europa League. The fans of Maccabi, the second most popular team in Israel, have also been found to have the second-most racist fans in the country, outdone only by those of Beitar Jerusalem in this respect.

This week, Jorge and Hamid sat down to discuss three flashpoints in the world crisis of capitalism: the floods that are devastating Spain, the spiralling conflict in the Middle East, and the impending US election.

Having failed to destroy Hamas or return the hostages, it is becoming increasingly clear that Israel’s strategy has changed. The whole population remaining in northern Gaza, some 400,000 men, women and children, are being subjected to a policy of ethnic cleansing.

This Thursday, Fred Weston and Hamid Alizadeh from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International sat down for another special podcast episode focusing on three flashpoints of world politics: Sinwar's assassination, Zelensky’s peace plan, and the BRICS summit.

From Friday 25 to Monday 28 October, members and supporters of the Revolutionary Communist International in North Africa and the Middle East are organising the second ever Arabic Communist University, titled, ‘The Power of Ideas!’

Ever since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, the logic of the situation in the Middle East has been moving in the direction of an escalation of the war beyond Gaza. All attempts to hold back this process have followed the same course. The Americans first state they don’t want an escalation. But each time Netanyahu does something to push towards widening the war, because he knows that the US will always fall on Israel’s side.