Since I’m old enough to remember the Peloponnesian Wars, I can certainly remember that it wasn’t Canadians refusing to buy South African wine that brought an end to Apartheid. It was that Apartheid was no longer sustainable on its own terms. I suspect the same is true today with the hope that the Boycott-Divest-Sanction (BDS) … Continue reading THE BDS MOVEMENT AND THE SHUNNER’S DILEMMA
Palestinians
ON LIKENING GAZA TO THE WARSAW GHETTO
Academics sometimes use words in ways that may not correspond to how they’re used among the hoi polloi. For example, I’d have thought that to discriminate means to ascertain a difference and act accordingly. But among the unwashed it means to treat someone unfairly. In this case there’s little danger of being misinterpreted. No one … Continue reading ON LIKENING GAZA TO THE WARSAW GHETTO
ISRAEL’S NEW NATION STATE LAW
Eighty-three years after the National Socialist government of Germany passed the Nuremberg Race Laws in 1935, the Zionist government of Israel has decided to follow suit. It wasn’t inevitable, but perhaps predictable. Eighty-three years is a long time to hope history wouldn’t repeat itself, even with some of the same players. And besides, whatever’s happening … Continue reading ISRAEL’S NEW NATION STATE LAW
JEWS, THE SHOAH, AND IDENTITY POLITICS
There’s not a whole lot that’s special about us Jews. Yes, we do celebrate Easter by drinking the blood of a Christian baby, preferably one still wet from the baptismal fount. But other than that we’re pretty much like everyone else. As Shylock asked rhetorically, “Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, … Continue reading JEWS, THE SHOAH, AND IDENTITY POLITICS
