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Philosopher Butler (2022 in Madrid): "Jewish anti-Zionist like me is fair game"

Photo: Europa Press News / Europa Press via Getty Images

The 67-year-old philosopher Judith Butler does not want to come to Germany for public events at the moment. She had been "repeatedly treated with contempt and crudely caricatured in Germany," the American wrote in an e-mail to the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. She describes the criticism of her person as "aggressive, even anti-Semitic". She feels an "underlying sense of threat."

The last time she was at an event at TU Berlin was in 2020. "But the security costs for such events are too high. I don't want to put this burden on my hosts. And I don't want to speak where there have to be a lot of security guards at every door," Butler said.

The philosopher also comments on the open letter "Philosophy for Palestine", which she has signed. He has been widely criticized for his one-sided stance because he ignores Hamas' terror attack and violence against Jews. Judith Butler wrote to Die Zeit that she – together with the French philosopher Étienne Balibar – had asked the authors of the letter to recognize the Israeli victims. The authors of the letter were only willing to mention that this violence took place. We didn't agree with that," Butler said. Since she had strongly condemned Hamas elsewhere, they ultimately agreed to sign it.

Judith Butler is one of the most influential philosophers of our time. She achieved worldwide fame in the 1990s with her study »The Discomfort of the Sexes«, which is considered an influential manifesto of queer feminism. Butler argues for a breakdown of gender norms. She teaches Comparative Literature and Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley.

In her e-mail to Die Zeit, Butler describes herself as a "Jewish anti-Zionist." As a result, she becomes "fair game" for many Germans, who believe in her view "that the unconditional support of Israel is the final proof that they themselves are not anti-Semitic. They attack anyone who stands up for justice for Palestine." Back in 2012, Butler's support for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement sparked protests when she was awarded the Adorno Prize of the City of Frankfurt in St. Paul's Church.

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