By Dr Marwan Asmar
The recent comments on 7th October made by American philosopher Judith Butler may now be landing her in “hot water” among the Israelis and White House.
In an open platform in France and carried on the social media, she refused to label the 7th October attack as an of terrorism. On the contrary, she said it was an act of armed resistance that had nothing to do with antisemitism.
“We can have different views about Hamas as a political party. We can have different views about armed resistance,” she told a French TV political program.
“I think, it is more honest, and historically correct, to say the uprising of October 7th was an act of armed resistance…not a terrorist attack and it’s not an anti-Semitic attack, she said.
She clarified however, although she considered the attack on Israelis as “anguishing” and “terrible” which she made public, she added “I would be very foolish if I then decided the only violence in the scene was the violence done to Israeli people she said on Paroles D’Honneur in Paris.
Armed resistance
The violence done to Palestinians has been happening for decades,” she emphasized.
Dr Butler termed October 7 as “an uprising that comes out from a state of subjugation and against a violent state apparatus,” saying in reference to the Israeli state and its occupation of Palestinian lands.
“…you can be for or against armed resistance. You can be for or against Hamas but let us at least call it armed resistance, and then we can have a debate about whether we think it’s right or whether they did the right thing, or whether there were different strategies” that could have been followed she told the French program on immigration issues and post-colonialism.
“But the problem is if you call it armed resistance, you are immediately thought to be in favor of armed resistance and in favor of that armed resistance and that tactic,” whilst concluding this is an open debate open for discussion.
Marwan Asmar is a journalist from Amman specializing on Middle East affairs.
8 March 2024
Source: countercurrents.org