The Upside Down World

In a crazy world where large groups of people believe that words are more important than deeds, there are still things that go so far beyond the bounds of sanity that they retain the ability to startle. One such event is the speech this weekend by American professor Judith Butler at the Berlin Jewish Museum in Germany. Butler teaches rhetoric and comparative literature at Berkeley. She is a strident leftist and a rabid anti-semite. Right now, she is promoting the movement to boycott Israel and to divest companies that do business there.

Clearly, Butler is entitled to her views, no matter how wrong they may be. But for the Jewish Museum in Berlin to host a woman whose goal is the destruction of Israel seems to me to be way beyond any rational position. Indeed, anyone who listened to Butler would understand in a moment that she is not speaking rationally or even truthfully. Here is my favorite quote from this woman: “Understanding Hamas/Hezbollah as social movements that are progressive, that are on the Left, that are part of a global Left, is extremely important.”

Let's break that down. Hamas and Hezbollah are terrorist groups. Hamas controlls the Gaza strip and from that vantage point it shoots rockets and missiles into Israel a few times each week. It tolerates no dissent within its area of control; members of al Fatah, the party to which the Palestinian leader Abbas belongs have been literally hunted down and shot in Gaza. Hamas is comprised of Sunni Moslems who espouse the strict adherence to the doctrine of jihad. Hezbollah is another Moslem group. Its members are Shia Moslems and its allegiance is to Iran. Hezbollah also follows the doctrine of jihad. It has taken over much of Lebanon where it persecutes Christians and also Sunni Moslems. It is supporting the actions of Assad in Syria, and it has justified the killings of tens of thousands of Sunni Moslems in Syria as proper and necessary. It has also attacked the Israelis repeatedly from positions in Lebanon and it was responsible for the war in 2006 in that area.

So let's consider that this wacko professor from California is telling the world that Islamic terrorists who murder others in the name of God are "progressives and leftists". They are not committing murder to achieve social justice. They are not slaughtering others to gain control for the people over the means of production. Hamas and Hezbollah kill tens of thousands in the name of their religion. Indeed, were Hamas and Hezbollah ever to succeed in their current aims, they would quickly turn on each other since one is Sunni and the other is Shia. They each consider the others to be heretics. So this nut job professor is telling the world that religious fundamentalist crazies who kill in the name of God are progressive leftists.

Clearly, Butler needs to be institutionalized for delusions. But what is the excuse for the Berlin Jewish Museum? Does the management of that museum think that it makes sense to host a speech by a woman who supports those who would repeat the holocaust? What a crazy world.