Joel Schalit

They Care Alot

“Never again,” was a phrase that lost its meaning for me as a child. Forever linked to then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin (it was his signature phrase) in reference to the Shoah, it eventually lost its meaning for me during the siege of Beirut, in 1982.

This is not to compare the events, because they couldn’t have been more different. Nonetheless, I was old enough to discern the discrepancies between the significance of this slogan, and the events that unfolded five years later, under Begin’s own watch.

Obviously, the late Israeli leader was troubled, not just by the past, but how it intersected with his present. As though to compare, it took 28 years for me to feel moved by the statement again. As far away as 1982 seems, the distance couldn’t feel shorter.

Sushi Hasbara

Hanging on the wall, across from my table. Japanese restaurant, Friedrichshain.

In German

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The very first German translation of my work has been published in the new edition of the Telegraph. Entitled “Actually Existing Israel,” the essay is a summary of one of Israel vs. Utopia‘s main points. This same article is also scheduled to appear in the Polish edition of Le Monde Diplomatique later this year. Download a PDF of the German version.

Official Visit

Palestinian police await a German parliamentarian, Bethlehem. Sidewalk cafe, Boxhagenerplatz.

Anti-anti-Semitism

“Anti-Semitism” was once an unambiguous concept. It was, quite simply, racism directed against Jews. In recent decades, however, the concept has been repurposed to include criticisms of the State of Israel. Once taken for granted, the conflation of Israel-criticism with anti-Semitism is a subject of much controversy, particularly amongst American and Israeli Jewish liberals.

Seeing the invocation of anti-Semitism in these stickers, as part of a larger platform against discrimination, by a radical political organization, albeit an anti-fascist one, cannot help but stir a certain kind of nostalgia amongst Jews. Even among those on the right, who would inevitably bridle at the clichéd leftist rhetoric, but only because its logic still makes some sort of basic sense.

Between Germany and France

Last minute shopping, before takeoff. Schönefeld airport bookstore, June 11.

Warming Up

It was so cold, the rain would hit the ground as though it were glass, shattering upon impact. Five minutes after leaving my hotel, I was completely drenched, worse, freezing in the cold winter air. Having just arrived from Tel Aviv, I was about as unprepared for a Paris winter as I possibly could be. It was the middle of February, and I didn’t have a single piece of waterproof clothing on me.

The only other consistent feature of my visit were the superfluous copies of Spectres de Marx on display in bookshop windows. Not yet released in English, Jacques Derrida’s controversial 1994 book, about the increased relevance of Marxism, immediately following the Cold War, was a shock to many, especially those leftists dubious of his progressive credentials.

So bitter, in fact, was the book’s reception by the Marxists I knew, I decided to steer clear of it, frightened as I was of taking sides in disputes about post-structuralism at the time. Besides, back then, Derrida’s work didn’t speak to me. Much to my surprise, was my desire to finally read the book, upon seeing the late philosopher’s face, in a Marais bookstore window, on Monday.

Diaspora (Paris Remix)

Algerian and French flags fly. Les Puces flea market, day three, World Cup.

Forecast is Cloudy

A crisis foretold, again and again. My second collaboration with Keith Kahn-Harris, in Thursday’s openDemocracy.

Diaspora

It’s World Cup time in Friedrichshain.

Opposite side of the street, different home team.