A New Kind of Response to Anti-Israel Claims

Amidst the barrage of accusations against Israel, a central belief held by anti-Israelists is that the 1948 founding of Israel was a monumental injustice — an “original sin”— that supposedly legitimizes their efforts to oppose and dismantle the state. Defenders of Israel and the Jewish people must, of course, refute the many false claims to undermine this narrative, which we have done in previous lectures. But in this lecture, let’s pretend for a moment that the anti-Israel claims were true. I propose an additional, strategic approach: to demonstrate that even if we hypothetically accept the false premise that Israel’s founding involved a grave injustice, the current anti-Israel campaign is still unjustified and morally indefensible. This new strategy offers a powerful new tool for countering the rhetoric of those who seek to delegitimize Israel.

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Dr. Andrew Pessin is Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies at Connecticut College and Campus Bureau Editor of the Algemeiner. His many books include Anti-Zionism on Campus, Poisoning the Wells: Antisemitism in Contemporary America, and The Jewish God Question, as well as several novels. One recent novel is Nevergreen, a satirical and now clearly prophetic account of campus cancel culture, its ideological excesses, and its deleterious impact on the Jews. Long ago he enjoyed some moments of fame portraying “The Genius” on the David Letterman Show.