Judith Butler says midterm wins will not end anti-Zionist backlash

Prominent academic Judith Butler argued this week that the sweeping Democratic victories in Tuesday's midterm elections will not end what she describes as the repression of anti-Zionist views in the United States. Speaking in Boston, Butler challenged the assumption that the new congressional majority, often termed a blue wave, would immediately protect scholars and professionals who oppose Zionism.

Butler delivered the remarks on Thursday during a keynote address at a Boston University symposium. The event served as a book launch for Jewish Anti-Zionism: A Historical Anthology, a collection edited by Shaul Magid and Zev Mishell. The timing of the speech followed closely on the heels of last week's elections, where the Democratic Party secured major legislative wins and several anti-Zionist candidates took seats in Congress.

The tension in Butler's argument centers on the gap between electoral outcomes and institutional culture. She noted that many of the newly elected Democrats hold centrist Zionist views, suggesting the new wave may not prioritize the specific grievances of anti-Zionist academics. Butler warned that the political mood is fragile.

The blue wave feels good, Butler said, but there is reason to think that it can turn its back on electoral results. She urged the audience not to assume that a change in party leadership would quickly alter the situation for those in precarious positions.

Butler characterized the current climate as one of professional risk for those who voice opposition to Zionism. She listed the stakes for individuals, including their education, job security, professional standing, mobility, and privacy. In her view, the discussion of anti-Zionism is inseparable from the broader concept of academic freedom.

The academic framed anti-Zionism as a persecuted ideology. She stated that the US government has labeled those who oppose fascism and Zionism as domestic terrorists. Butler also rejected the common link between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, arguing that Zionism's systemic racism is contrary to Jewish values. She described Zionism as inherently eliminationist and genocidal toward Palestinians.

Her speech included sharp critiques of Israel's actions in Gaza. Butler accused Israelis of sadistic and murderous exhilaration in the conflict. She referenced the Nakba, the Palestinian term for the catastrophe of 1948, and asserted that the Nakba has never stopped happening. She stated that the right of return for Palestinians grows stronger with every dispossession, extending that right beyond those who suffered in 1948.

Butler also addressed the political solution to the conflict. She rejected a binational state without prior decolonization. Instead, she proposed that Palestine be constituted as a self-governing state with an Arab majority, while granting full rights to Jewish people. She emphasized that a settled population should not be forced to accept new immigrants without consent.

The event also featured commentary from Shaul Magid, one of the book's editors. Magid argued that the history of Jewish anti-Zionism has been intentionally erased. He said the goal of the anthology is to erase that erasure. Magid noted that the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza caused long-buried anti-Zionist ideas to resurface. He added that non-Zionism, or taking no stance on Israel, is no longer a practical position for Jews.

I think Zionism has become so ubiquitous in the Jewish psyche that there really isn't any way to live any kind of engaged Jewish life without somehow having an opinion about Zionism, Magid said. The symposium concluded with these discussions, leaving the audience with a clear message: the recent political shift does not guarantee an end to the pressure on anti-Zionist voices in academia and public life.