December 11, 2012
Judith Butler argues that even at its most liberal, Zionism is profoundly un-Jewish
Carlo Strenger in Haaretz:
Judith Butler has rightly been described as an academic superstar. She is one of the most quoted scholars in the humanities, and has also acquired fame − or notoriety, depending on one’s viewpoint − as a political activist. She has been highly critical of Israel’s occupation policy, describes herself as an anti-Zionist, and endorses the BDS movement, which advocates boycotting and divesting from Israel and imposing sanctions against it.
“Parting Ways” is Butler’s latest book, and she states its goal right at the outset: She wants to make a case for a specifically Jewish critique of Israeli state violence. Furthermore, she wants to make a case for “Jewish values of cohabitation with the non-Jew that are part of the very ethical substance of diasporic Jewishness.”
More here.
Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 08:29 AM | Permalink
Comments
It's behind a pay/subscribe wall.
Posted by: Kai Matthews | Dec 11, 2012 2:08:11 PM
Hi Kai,
I've never paid/subscribed to Haaretz and I can read it fine.
Maybe you have to register?
Try again. Best of luck...
Posted by: S. Abbas Raza | Dec 11, 2012 2:29:56 PM
Here's a quickly sketched out rejoinder: Zionsim changed Judaism. It was revolutionary. The more relevant question is not how much Zionism conforms to historical Judaism because to an extent Judaism is what the Jewish people does; rather the question, which is highly problematic from my prospective, should be: is Zionism good for the Jews? Is it causing more hardship than it alleviates? It served it's historic mission of saving the Jews or at least our self respect. But what next? Diaspora Judaism was a departure from the Judaism of Ancient Israel, and whatever comes next might be to a degree a departure from current Judaism with its mixture of elements of the Diaspora and Zionism
Posted by: Howard | Dec 11, 2012 4:38:29 PM
I can't stand snobs. And Butler appears to be the worst sort of snob: one who claims ethical and moral superiority. To attribute ethical superiority of Jews --or rather, only a certain sort of Jew i.e. Butler and her crowd -- seems to me to be destetable.
Her riff -- that Jews know "the other" better because they have been invisible in majority cultures -- doesn't mean that Jews (or any minority) are or should be nicer or better than the bigoted creeps who mistreat them. And they aren't. Being mistreated doesn't make you nicer or more ethical. It just means that you have been mistreated.
Posted by: David Sucher | Dec 12, 2012 6:50:03 PM
Post a comment