What happens when a political philosopher stops asking, “What would the perfect society look like?” and starts asking, “How did we get here?”
Dr Raef Zreik takes a close look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of political theory—and argues that one of the most important tasks of philosophy is self-clarification: figuring out exactly what we mean when we disagree, what assumptions we’re making, and where our arguments actually lead.
As a Palestinian citizen of Israel, Zreik describes himself as a kind of translator, trying to articulate Palestinian demands in language Jewish Israelis can understand—and Jewish fears in ways Palestinians can engage with.
The conversation ranges from the meaning of citizenship and Palestinian political agency to organized crime in Palestinian society inside Israel, the relationship between history and political rights, and the devastating events in Gaza.
It’s a conversation about what happens when philosophy leaves the classroom and confronts a conflict in which both sides have their own history, fears, and claims to justice.
The episode is sponsored by the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History at UCLA and co-hosted by Prof David N. Myers.
I wasn’t aware that Palestinian citizen crime prosecution is interdicted by the State; that is, some criminal are paid off by the State. To what end? Stability in similarity to the PA in the WB? Or as informants under constant fear of terrorism? The two can elide over time, motivated at first by the latter.
Until the Gaza outcome is seen as revulsion I see no hope for Israeli polity change. But how can one be revolted by what one’s associates and family members have done? The segregation of Palestinians is so advanced that the only “solution” seems further segregation–continued deaths and atrophy in Gaza, expulsion in the WB. The thwarted plane event just locks in this perceived inevitability. I see no hope for change until the US walks away; and I am not sure that will happen.