Solidarity, Entanglement, and Memory: Recollections from Amsterdam’s Uprising
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Author: Clara Ricci Curbastro Ruiz de Arcaute
Abstract:
This essay examines Between Palestine and us¸ a collective archival project produced by activists in Amsterdam following the May 2024 university encampments in solidarity with Palestine. This work situates the book within a broader debate on the role of archives, power, and difference, arguing that Between Palestine and us exemplifies a recalcitrant form of archiving that challenges hegemonic narratives of institutionalized memory. Drawing on Jaques Derrida’s reflection on the archive as a site of political power, and on Denise Ferreira da Silva’s reconceptualization of difference as entanglement rather than separability, the analysis explores the ways in which the book resists dominant historical accounts. The book stands out for the assembly of testimonies, images, artistic works, and reflections that document both the events of the student uprisings and their emotional, political, and ethical aftermath. By doing so, it reclaims history-making as a bottom-up, participatory practice and exposes the limitation of institutional archives that marginalize dissenting voices. This work argues that this form of archiving constitutes an act of resistance in a political context characterized by rising authoritarianism and repression of solidarity for Palestine. Ultimately, Between Palestine and us is presented as an archive of entanglement and intentional solidarity, thus preserving not only memory, but also the possibility for future collective action and transformation.
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