Verso Books promotes pro-Hamas author who praised ‘heroic’ 7/10 massacre
Independent book publisher Verso Books promoting the author and climate change activist Andreas Malm who recently praised the October 7th Hamas terror attacks as 'heroic' and 'an act of liberation'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
The largest independent book publisher in the world is promoting the work of an author and climate change campaigner who openly praised the Hamas 7 October terror attacks as “heroic” and “an act of liberation.”
Verso Books has published several books written by Andreas Malm who has frequently attempted to argue that the universal goals of the international climate movement go hand-in-hand with calls for the destruction of the state of Israel.
In the past Swedish activist Malm has made no secret of his admiration for the leaders of Hamas and its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, as well as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Islamic Jihad.
But following the atrocity of 7 October, Malm has gone to even further extremes in his support of the actions of the proscribed Palestinian terror organisation Hamas.
Video footage shared on X showed the associate professor of human ecology at Lund University, offering further praise for the slaughter that took place on 7 October.
In footage posted on X by Joseph Hirsch on April 3rd, Malm said: “The armed resistance happening in Gaza is heroic. I don’t know if you’ve seen those videos with a viral red triangle pointing to the targets before the explosions. I consume these videos as a drug. I inject them into my veins. I share them with my closest comrades.”
During the same talk he added: “Behind the 7th of October operation was the Palestinian resistance … I think that what happened on the 7th of October, with Tufan Al-Aqsa, was fundamentally an act of liberation.”
Malm then turned his focus to the slaughter of partygoers at the Nova music festival close to the Gaza border on the day of the massacre by Hamas operatives. He said: “It was deplorable, but not incomprehensible.
“If you live in a concentration camp and manage to fly out, you see people dancing, and you have a gun, you would probably express your anger with some unplanned violence.”
Andreas Malm: “The armed resistance happening in Gaza is heroic. I don't know if you've seen those videos with a viral red triangle pointing to the targets before the explosions. I consume these videos as a drug. I inject them into my veins. I share them with my closest comrades” pic.twitter.com/L01FvnaUxS
— Joseph Hirsch (@josephhirsch5) April 3, 2024
Attempting to justify the killing of innocent civilians living near to the border on Gaza, Malm said they were a civilian population living in “fortified colonies” whose civilian population is “a militarized one.”
He claimed of those living near to the border “their civilian character is a little bit blurred”.
Despite the ugly rhetoric from Malm, Verso Books have continued to promote the work of the author, posting themselves on X on April 8th: “Six months of bombing, of destruction, of genocide – a new horrific phase in a long history of colonisation and extraction.”Understanding the present crisis, Andreas Malm argues, requires a longue durée analysis of Palestine’s subjugation to fossil empire.”
A further Verso post on 10 April said: “To truly understand the past six months of genocide in Gaza, Andreas Malm argues, requires a longue durée analysis of Palestine’s subjugation to fossil empire.”
Responding to the recent remarks made by Malm, Luke Akehurst, director of the We Believe In Israel campaign group told Jewish News: “It is very disturbing that a purportedly progressive publishing house does not see any problem with their roster of authors including an overt apologist for the proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas, and the atrocities it perpetrated on the 7th of October.”
The book publisher, which advertises itself as “the largest independent, radical publishing house in the world” was established in 1970 to put out writing on a wide variety of subjects, including philosophy , economics and history, feminism, international relations, ecology and the environment.
Verso has published some of Malm’s most widely read books, including , How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2021), which praised Palestinian sabotage of pipelines and said leaders of the struggle against Israel were models for the climate movement to follow.
In a blog post on the Verso website, Malm said he spent “eight formative years immersed in the Palestinian cause, in the years leading up to the Second Intifada and then as an activist and organiser with the International Solidarity Movement” (ISM)
An article criticising Malm’s claim to be writing from a Marxist perspective that appeared on the Workers Liberty website also highlighted an essay he had written in 2017 entitled: The Walls of the Tank: On Palestinian Resistance for Salvage magazine.
In the article Malm expresses support for support for the leaders of Hamas and its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, as well as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Islamic Jihad.
At one stage he claims: “Others than Arabs should feel respect for a figure like Mohammed Deif” as “the commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades…”
He also praises a press release put out in 2015 by the PFLP which warned against the signing of a rumoured peace deal with Israel.
Elsewhere, Malm also praises Hamas for the terror group’s “extraordinary efficiency in stamping out every attempt by Daesh to rear its head in Gaza”.
Malm also refers in the article to Israel as “the Zionist entity” and the “Zionist enterprise” and puts the entire blame for the conflict with the Palestinians on “permanent Zionist aggression” and the “late-coming colonisers”.
Referencing the Islamic Jihad group, he describes them as “the second most important armed force of the resistance”.
The left-wing group Workers Liberty suggest Malm is “using Marxist phraseology to mask a thoroughgoing anti-democratic, anti-working class position.”
In America, Verso Books titles are distributed in the United States by Penguin Random House, while in the UK this job is done by Marston Book Services.
Its board of directors includes the political activist Tariq Ali and the historian Perry Anderson.
After being to comment on their promotion of Malm, Verso posted another message on their social media page on X reading: “Thank you for helping announce our one day Andreas Maim flash sale.”
The company then offered a 40 percent discount on all six titles of his they publish.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
