In our featured essay, Professor Talal Asad reflects on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, student protests, and language.
In the remarks that follow, I focus on a few of the ways language is used to describe the violence unleashed by Israel on the Palestinians since October 7, 2023—with special reference to the university student protests against it. But I also want to speculate on what can be called “the seduction of power,” something to which not only humans in general but also victims in particular are liable. Power generates language which in turn often encourages and justifies cruelty.
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In the remarks that follow I want to focus on a few of the ways language is used to describe the violence unleashed by Israel on the Palestinians. We are all no doubt aware that language is related in complex ways to action – not only in describing and misdescribing reality but also in experiencing words and motivating action. I begin with a striking passage from an article by Brian Klug on the most recent Gaza massacre: “Sometimes it is better,” he writes, “to be
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