We need a united, organized resistance to defend the land and human and non-human life, say today’s guests, Marc Rosenthal and Stephanie Spehar. They join host Allen Ruff to talk about their recent article, “Fighting Together for Life, Water, and Land: From Line 5 to Gaza.” 

More than a description of connection, their piece is a call to action that grew out of their activism with climate and social justice groups. Rosenthal says that their writing is grounded in their political organizing through the Extinction Rebellion, the DSA’s Ecosocialist Committee, and the International Solidarity Working Group, among others. As the US slips further into authoritarianism, Spehar says, it’s more important than ever for groups to be in solidarity. 

They discuss the key commonalities between Line 5 and Gaza in terms of water, militarization, and sovereignty. The fight against the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline is a fight for Indigenous sovereignty as well as an environmental and climate issue. Water is a crucial resource that is being denied to the people in Gaza and the West Bank. Who controls water, controls the population, says Ruff. Control of resources like water is central to colonial projects, and the commodification of water is central to capitalist projects, adds Rosenthal. These colonial and capitalist projects wouldn’t be possible without the oil-loving US military. Spehar and Rosenthal say that there are many other struggles around the world that could be added to this conversation. 

Marc Rosenthal is a retired emergency department nurse who has been engaged in international solidarity work and movements opposing war, colonialism, and imperialism for decades. He was a founding member of the Madison Arcatao Sister City Project, the U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities Network, the Stop Line 5 Cross Border Organizing Working Group, and the International Solidarity Working Group of 350. 

Stephanie Spehar is an anthropologist, educator, activist, and mother whose work focuses on sustainability, human-environment relationships, and climate justice. For over two decades she has done research and community-based work on primate ecology and conservation in Indonesia and Latin America, taught and published broadly in anthropology and environmental studies, and led multiple interdisciplinary research and education initiatives focused on understanding how both human and more-than-human life can thrive on our shared planet. She is a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and outgoing co-president of United Faculty and Staff of Oshkosh, a local of the American Federation of Teachers.

Featured image of Marc Rosenthal, Allen Ruff, and Stephanie Spehar courtesy of Sara Gabler/WORT.

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