Anti-Zionist academic Judith Butler: Don’t count on the ‘blue wave’ for big changes

Judith Butler, a prominent anti-Zionist academic, stated at a Boston University symposium that the Democratic Party's midterm victories would not end the repression of anti-Zionist ideology. She warned supporters risk their education, jobs, and professional standing. Butler called Zionism 'eliminationist' and genocidal, rejected a link between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and accused Israelis of 'sadistic and murderous exhilaration' in Gaza. Shaul Magid argued Jewish anti-Zionist history was intentionally erased.

Prominent Jewish anti-Zionist academic Judith Butler told a Boston University symposium on Thursday that the Democratic Party's overwhelming midterm victories would not end what she called the repression of anti-Zionist ideology. 'You may be risking your education, your job, especially if you are a precarious worker, your professional standing, your mobility, your privacy,' for supporting anti-Zionism, Butler said. 'We cannot begin a discussion of anti-Zionism without a discussion of academic freedom, and in my view, we should not assume that the blue wave, which includes a vast number of Zionist centrist Democrats, will quickly alter the situation.' Butler made the comments during a keynote speech at a 'Jewish Anti-Zionism' conference and book launch for 'Jewish Anti-Zionism: A Historical Anthology,' edited by Shaul Magid and Zev Mishell. Butler portrayed anti-Zionism as a persecuted ideology, saying the US government had labeled 'those who oppose fascism and Zionism' as 'domestic terrorists.' She called Zionism inherently 'eliminationist' and genocidal toward Palestinians, rejected a connection between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and accused Israelis of 'sadistic and murderous exhilaration' in Gaza. Butler said the Nakba has never stopped happening. Magid argued that the history of Jewish anti-Zionism has been 'intentionally erased.' The article also includes a subscription pitch for The Times of Israel Community.