Global Revolution Starts with Palestine

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the development and history of the alliance between the Japanese Red Army (JRA) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). It draws upon Arabic and Japanese sources such as memoirs like those penned by JRA leader Shigenobu Fusako, the 1971 propaganda film Sekigun PFLP sekai sensō sengen (Red Army/PFLP: Declaration of World War), statements by the PFLP and the JRA, and interviews conducted by the media with members of the JRA. The article traces the development of the JRA's ideology, how it came to view Palestine as the center of global revolution, and the logics underpinning the need for direct action by its members for the liberation of Palestine. The JRA's militancy represented a hitherto unseen aspect of support for Palestine rooted in anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, and anti-capitalism outside the strictures of mainstream leftist action.