Disturbing news. Politics and Prose is a gem of a book store in Washington. A lot of smart and powerful people buy their books there. Last week P&P is said to have scheduled a reading by Saree Makdisi, a Palestinian-American professor of English lit at UCLA and the nephew of the late Edward Said. Makdisi was to read from a book on the Occupation.
The reading was cancelled by Carla Cohen, an owner of the book store, for political reasons. Makdisi supports the one-state solution. Cohen is a progressive who, deeply disturbed by the conditions of Palestinians in the West Bank, which she has observed firsthand, is working hard with her husband to end the occupation (and to extinguish the refugee issue with compensation) and build a two-state solution that preserves Israel as a “democratic, Jewish” state. As she says below in very sincere email correspondence with Edward Said’s sister Grace, an exchange that is now flying around the left-net, “I guarantee that nobody will listen to me” if she is seen as promoting this book.
There’s great sadness here. Cohen is a real progressive. When she says that “nobody will listen” to her political undertakings if she is seen to promote this book, she surely is representing some layer of Washington reality– in which nobody must be understood to include that large set of non-Zionists, many of them Jews, who are excluded from any role in policy formation. I think she is wrong here, that things are changing. But what does it matter: Book stores exist to transform intellectual orthodoxies. Indeed, last year Cohen et al bravely held an important reading by Walt and Mearsheimer at which many nobodies cheered them on, there at the knee of official Washington. It’s unfortunate that Cohen has allowed her progressive Zionist inclinations to overcome her function as a bookseller, but also a real indication of how powerful a force Zionism is in even progressive Jewish circles. I should know!
Even if you support the two-state solution, as I do, and want to work with Cohen, as she asks Grace Said to do, the tragedy of this censorship lies in this simple fact: the United States cannot make progress here to extricate itself from the cycle of violence in the Middle East until we mainstream the question, “What do Palestinians want?” Palestinians must be asked this. Not progressive Zionists, not anti-Zionist Jews, not realists like Mearsheimer, not AIPAC. Desegregation ended when blacks were given a voice by Malcolm X and MLK, not when great Jewish progressives spoke out against that horror. Washington must ask Arab-Americans this question in good faith; and book stores are essential to that conversation.
This case demonstrates how damaged our democracy has been by Israel’s supporters. If Americans love Israel, as Eli Lake of the New York Sun insisted in a debate I had (representing The American Conservative) with him on Al-Jazeera yesterday–then why can’t they be trusted to love Israel even after Arab-Americans have come into the town square to express their ideas? “I’m very sad,” Grace Said told me. “It’s very much like what Edward went through. The PLO was dirt. Now everything Palestinian is dirt.” (Said tells me that Makdisi spoke at the Palestine Center the night he was supposed to be in Dupont Circle, and the Washington Post hinted to Makdisi that it plans to write about the matter… So have I scooped the Post? Quel surprise.)
Here are the emails:
Dear Carla:
It is with sadness that I write to inform you that I have decided to
cancel my membership at Politics and Prose, effective immediately. I
have always been a supporter of independent bookstores. Politics and
Prose, in particular, seemed to be the place for me. Visiting your store
was always pleasant; the atmosphere, choice of books, the friendliness
and knowledge of the staff, andthe coffee shop have always made it a
plus for me, and I am sure, for manyothers.
However, I was
quite appalled to hear that you chose not to follow through withyour
invitation to Dr. Saree Makdisi, whose book, Palestine Inside Out:
AnEveryday Occupation describes the effect of the Israeli occupation on
the livesof ordinary Palestinians. It is precisely this kind of book
that needs to bepromoted in the US, where the mainstream media and
political pundits have deliberatelyavoided any discussion of the
hardships endured by the Palestinians underoccupation.
Desmond Tutu, Howard Zinn,
and Tarik Ali, amongst others, thought itsufficiently important to lend
their names to Palestine Inside Out: An EverydayOccupation. That
Politics and Prose should choose to withdraw its invitationamounts to
censorship of the worst kind. I would have thought that
enlighteneddiscussion on difficult and controversial issues would be
your preferred modeof operating. Alas, you chose the easy way out by
stifling the possibility ofmeaningful debate.
A final note –
I am particularly disappointed in your decision because it seemsto me
that it is out of step with political discourse in the US. A change
istaking place – finally there appears to be a more nuanced
conversation on theissue of Palestine/Israel. On Friday for example,
the LA Times published a longarticle on growing appeal of the one-state
solution; it also provided links forfurther reading. The nakba, or
catastrophe, which is the word Palestinians haveused to describe their
dispossession and exile, is finally being acknowledgedand is more
commonly used in the mainstream press. And countless bloggers have begun
a vigorous and stimulating discussion about our unquestioned support
of Israel. It is sad that you chose to ignore this trend, especially
since Politics and Prose is considered one of the more liberal
establishments in this city.
Sincerely,
Grace Said
Dear Grace,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful letter. I understand how you feel. I was very sad to cancel Saree Makdisi.
I have been very active — and my husband even more so — in trying to have the U.S. intervene with Israel
to end the occupation of the West Bank. I was recently in Israel and saw
and heard about the heartbreaking effects of Israel’s policies vis-à-vis
travel, employment, and so on. I came back very discouraged about
Israel’s political ability to break through the impasse. The way to end
the occupation lies with the U.S. I want to make the case with American
Jews and with American politicians to press Israel to end
the occupation.
I guarantee that nobody will listen to me if
I am seen as promoting a book whose only way out of the present
situation is a one-state solution. One state means the end of Israel as
a democratic and Jewish state. I do not believe that should happen. I am
placing all of my energies on promoting within the American Jewish
community a practical solution that involves respecting the
legitimateneeds of Israelis and Palestinians and treating with empathy
those on bothsides.
I read recently — and I cannot remember
whether it was in the Post or Times –about the idea of having Israel
recognize publicly the forced dispersion of Palestinians and offer a
financial settlement for the families that lost their property. This is
something that we can get behind. Somehow, we must work together to end
the standoff.
You are very good to take the time to write to
me about how you feel. I respect your thoughts. I hope that you
understand and respect my position.
Carla Cohen
