The Language of Condemnation. posted by Richard Seymour

The moderate Jewish peace advocate Rabbi Michael lerner has written a thoroughly sensible article for Tikkun magazine, and which MediaLens have posted for the benefit of regular readers. "Unequivocally Condemn Palestinian Terror" it says, in reference to the attacks on two buses in Israel which left an estimated 16 dead. None of the 16, to my knowledge, had directly or intentionally participated in the oppression of Palestinians.

"Unequivocally Condemn Palestinian Terror". There's an invitation that is as warm as it is exhortative. Do your duty, otherwise you will not be a member of the community of goodness!

No sale. I will oppose it, but I will not condemn it. It is a small matter of not being coopted into the Israeli government's programme. If one can "condemn" the actions of the resistance, why not support measures to effectively put an end to those acts, such as building a 'peace wall', raiding Palestinian cities etc.? Opposing it, on the other hand, entails nothing more than refusing it as a strategy that has failed both strategically and morally - the latter, in part, because of the former.

I refuse to engage in abstract denunciations of bad things qua bad things. This would take me some rather dubious places - condemning the quite justified resistance of the Kikuyu when it got out of hand, or the more extreme actions of the NLF or indeed the FLN. No. I say we should stand firm with the Palestinian people, say we support them unequivocally, but do not support such actions as will at best result in rebarbative consequences for innocents on the other side, and at worst (most likely) result in greater repression, narrowing the scope for resistance, diminishing the number of one's allies. In other words, I should speak to the Palestinians as an ally and not a bearer of virtuous platitudes.

Hey, I'm not trying to win any popularity contests.


By the way, BBC News tonight announced that the attacks had interrupted "six months of relative calm". I wonder what planet they have been on ?

More follows.

More: The International Herald Tribune on the 'Ghandi option'.