(en) Le Monde libertaire #1688 - Israel, war and philosopher (fr)

Good war must be preceded by a propaganda offensive hysterical. This time it is Judith 
Butler, famous for its work on gender, which makes the cost. ---- On several occasions, we 
noted that, given the economic and political impasses accumulated in recent years by the 
government of Israel, the war seemed to be a desired outcome, probable, possible. But all 
good war must be preceded by a propaganda offensive hysterical. This time it is a 
philosopher famous for its work on gender just pay the price upon delivery in Germany, an 
awards for his work. The French press has remained silent on this very subject. If 
Mediapart merely reproduce the translation of written text in response by the philosopher 
Judith Butler, accusations of anti-Semitism against him, he must go to the website 
legrandsoir.info to have all the information about it.

It should be noted that the translator Trocm? Elisa is a parent Righteous Among the 
Nations, one of those who hid during the Occupation of thousands of Jews on the board 
Cevennes. Prices and philosopher Adorno prize is awarded by the city of Frankfurt am Main 
in memory of the philosopher Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969). The latter had to flee the 
Nazis, his father being Jewish, and fled to the United States. As Horkheimer, Benjamin, 
Marcuse, he was part of the intellectual movement known as the Frankfurt School, whose 
project was, in 1920-1930, to achieve a critical social science. Adorno has worked 
extensively on the avant-garde, as well as jazz Schoenberg. Awarded every three years, 
September 11, the award deemed exceptional contributions in the fields of philosophy as 
music. Among the winners, there are also many sociologists such as Norbert Elias and 
Bauman Boulez as a musician or a filmmaker like Godard. Heloisa For our companion 
Castellanos, co-editor number Refractions on feminism, "Judith Butler, since the 
publication of her book Gender Trouble has become an obligatory reference, although it was 
not the first to formulate a theory of the kind. "

She added: "The first research on gender back to the 1940s and in 1968 Robert Stoller, a 
psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in North America, uses the term in its clinical research on 
the problems of transsexualism, trying to understand the difference between sexual 
identity based on anatomical and biological criteria and subjective identity. Judith 
Butler, philosopher, feminist theorist is considered THE gender (French translation of the 
English term gender), power and body, his theory is based on what is called the French 
Theory, namely the French postmodern thought including Foucault, Derrida and Lacan. " 
Heloisa ends by asking this question: "What is gender? It can be defined as gender. It is 
a historical and social construct of gender in a two words, male and female. In turn, 
queer theory critique cutting binary hetero / homo, masculine / feminine and supports the 
existence of a continuum of genres, from feminine to masculine, through an in-between. 
"These are jobs that have thus earned Judith Butler to receive this award. A Jewish 
philosopher and anti-Semitic? During this discount, a wave of hysterical accusations burst 
on the media scene. Judith Butler was accused of "moral depravity" by the general 
secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Stephan J. Kramer. As this was not 
enough, he rajouta she "hated Israel." A website Alyaexpress News accuses Butler of 
supporting terrorist groups Arabs. A comment related to this article, argues that 
"Europeans remain what they are: anti-Semites argue pathological masked." Many 
interventions indicate that the American philosopher supports the boycott campaign against 
Israel.

BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) wants to be, according to its title, a "citizen 
and non-violent response to Israel's impunity." Various articles in the Jerusalem Post 
accused him of supporting Israel = Nazi comparison. Supporters of the interior are yet 
emerged, such as Professor Neve Gordon, a supporter of BDS Ben Gurion University of the 
Negev in Beer Sheva. The latter wrote: "The witch hunt against Judith Butler, well 
orchestrated, is an attempt Backstab - based on half-truths and lies - to silence 
criticism of the ardent political abuse of Israel concerning political rights the occupied 
territories. "Basically, what about the anti-Semitism of Judith Butler, for his support 
for Hamas and Hezbollah and negation, according to these critics, his own Jewishness? Yes, 
because she is Jewish and more! Judith Butler's response in this text published almost 
confidentially, the philosopher explains the origins of his commitment to justice. "I 
received a Jewish education at Temple in Cleveland, Ohio, under the supervision of Rabbi 
Daniel Silver, where I developed strong ethical foundations on the basis of the Jewish 
philosophical thought.

I learned that we are called by others and by ourselves to meet the demand and 
suffering, to work so that it is relieved. But to do this, we must hear the appeal, 
finding the resources to address them, and sometimes suffer the consequences of speaking 
as we do. I was taught at every stage of my Jewish education that is not acceptable to 
remain silent about injustice. " Accused of Anti-Semitism, because criticizing Israel, 
this is what she replied: "It is false, absurd and distressing that anyone would argue 
that those who make a criticism of the State of Israel are anti-Semitic, or if Jews 
victims of self-hatred. Such charges seek to demonize the person who articulates a 
critical point of view and thus disqualify advance his views. "This tactic to silence that 
person is unspeakable, unnameable. Everything she says must be rejected or perverted in 
advance so that the validity of his speech is denied. Such an attitude refuses to 
consider, examine the view expressed, refuses to discuss its validity, to take account of 
evidence provided, and draw a firm conclusion on the basis of listening and reasoning.

Such accusations are not only an attack against people who have opinions unacceptable to 
some, but it is an attack against the reasonable exchange on the possibility of listening 
and speaking in a context where the you could actually consider what the other has to say. 
[...] This is what happens to many people who emit a perspective critical of Israel - they 
are branded as anti-Semitic or even as Nazi collaborators; these forms of accusation aimed 
at establishing forms the most durable and the most toxic stigmatization and demonization.

[...] When a group of Jews describes another group of Jews as "anti-Semitic", it tries to 
monopolize the right to speak on behalf of the Jews. " Accused of lack of solidarity 
against the State of Israel is what she said: "In the United States, I was alarmed by the 
number of Jews who, appalled by the Israeli policy, including occupation, the practices of 
indefinite detention, the bombardment of civilians in Gaza, seeking to disavow their 
Jewishness. They make the mistake of believing that the Jewish state of Israel represents 
the Jewishness of our time, and identify themselves as Jewish means unconditional support 
to Israel. " Accused of being subservient to Hamas and Hezbollah, Butler responds very 
clear that this is false: "My remarks on Hamas and Hezbollah were taken out of context and 
severely deformed, damaging the integrity of my opinion openly expressed and always 
topical. I've always been in favor of non-violent political action, a principle which I 
have never wavered. A few years ago, a person in a university audience, asked me if I 
thought that Hamas and Hezbollah belonged to the "global left" and I responded on two 
points: "- These political organizations are defined as anti-imperialist and 
anti-imperialism is a feature of the global left, we can then, on this basis, described as 
part of the global left. "- As with any group of left, have to decide whether you are for 
or against this group, and they need to critically evaluate their positions. "I do not 
agree or do not agree with all groups of the world left. These remarks were made ??after 
the conference I gave that evening, which highlighted the importance of public mourning 
(collective) and political practices of non-violence principles I develop and defend in 
three my recent books: Life precarious warfare systems and divergent paths.

Non-violence is not a peaceful state, but a social and political struggle designed to make 
efficient and articulable rabies - it is a "fuck you" carefully crafted. "She added:" I do 
not condone the practice of violent resistance, as I do not condone violence of state, I 
can not, and at any time. " How Judith Butler obvious she solidarity with those who 
suffer: "One of the reasons why I support the BDS is that BDS is the largest non-violent 
political civic movement aimed at establishing equality and rights to self-determination 
for the Palestinians. I am a member of the advisory board of Jewish Voice for Peace, 
member of the Kehillah Synagogue in Oakland, California, and executive member of the 
Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian peace in the United States and the theater in Jenin in 
Palestine. " At a time when it seems that public intellectuals have disappeared, here's 
one that takes risks.