The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers on issues both timely and timeless:
I was raised in a religious Jewish environment, and though we
were not strongly Zionist, I always took it to be self-evident
that “Israel has a right to exist.” Now anyone who has debated
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will have encountered this
phrase often. Defenders of Israeli policies routinely accuse
Israel’s critics of denying her right to exist, while the
critics (outside of a small group on the left, where I now
find myself) bend over backward to insist that, despite their
criticisms, of course they affirm it. The general mainstream
consensus seems to be that to deny Israel’s right to exist is
a clear indication of anti-Semitism (a charge Jews like myself
are not immune to), and therefore not an option for people of
conscience.
Over the years I came to question this consensus and to see
that the general fealty to it has seriously constrained open
debate on the issue, one of vital importance not just to the
people directly involved — Israelis and Palestinians — but to
the conduct of our own foreign policy and, more important, to
the safety of the world at large. My view is that one really ought
to question Israel’s right to exist and that doing so does not
manifest anti-Semitism. The first step in questioning the
principle, however, is to figure out what it means.
One problem with talking about this question calmly and rationally is that the phrase “right to exist” sounds awfully close to “right to life,” so denying Israel its right to exist sounds awfully close to permitting the extermination of its people. In light of the history of Jewish persecution, and the fact that Israel was created immediately after and largely as a consequence of the Holocaust, it isn’t surprising that the phrase “Israel’s right to exist” should have this emotional impact. But as even those who insist on the principle will admit, they aren’t claiming merely the impermissibility of exterminating Israelis. So what is this “right” that many uphold as so basic that to question it reflects anti-Semitism and yet is one that I claim ought to be questioned?
The key to the interpretation is found in the crucial four words that are often tacked on to the phrase “Israel’s right to exist” — namely, “… as a Jewish state.”...READ MORE
What does it mean for a people to have a state “of their own”?
One problem with talking about this question calmly and rationally is that the phrase “right to exist” sounds awfully close to “right to life,” so denying Israel its right to exist sounds awfully close to permitting the extermination of its people. In light of the history of Jewish persecution, and the fact that Israel was created immediately after and largely as a consequence of the Holocaust, it isn’t surprising that the phrase “Israel’s right to exist” should have this emotional impact. But as even those who insist on the principle will admit, they aren’t claiming merely the impermissibility of exterminating Israelis. So what is this “right” that many uphold as so basic that to question it reflects anti-Semitism and yet is one that I claim ought to be questioned?
The key to the interpretation is found in the crucial four words that are often tacked on to the phrase “Israel’s right to exist” — namely, “… as a Jewish state.”...READ MORE
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