Today, Judith Butler will be awarded the Theodor W. Adorno Prize in Frankfurt Germany. The award was established in 1977 and “serves to further and acknowledge outstanding performances in the fields of philosophy, music, theatre and film.”
Pro-Israel advocates has pressured the city of Frankfurt to rescind the prize for Butler due to her support for the BDS movement, and Butler responded to these attacks here. Below is a statement from the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE), the General Union of Palestinian Writers, the University Teachers’ Association-Gaza and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel celebrating the award and Butler’s contributions:
Adorn Butler with the Adorno Prize: She will add to its worthOccupied Palestine, 10 September 2012 – The Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE), the General Union of Palestinian Writers, the Association of University Teachers-Gaza, and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) stand in solidarity with Judith Butler in the face of the recent vicious attacks and bullying by Israel and Zionist groups in the West in their attempt to deny her the prestigious German award, the Adorno Prize [1]. Judith Butler’s humanism, critical thought and distinguished intellectualism entitle her without doubt to this and many other awards.The main reason for this crusade against Judith Butler is her outspoken support for the Palestinian-led, global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. BDS calls for ending Israel’s occupation, colonization and apartheid against the Palestinian people through sustained, effective, morally-consistent pressure on Israel, on its complicit institutions, as well as on international corporations and entities that are implicated in Israel’s violations of international law. In endorsing BDS, Butler is being consistent with her long tradition of standing up for freedom, justice, self determination and equal rights in other causes. The fact that she evokes her Jewish identity and social justice principles associated with it to challenge Israel’s and Zionism’s cynical appropriation of Jewishness is what made her a particularly urgent target for propaganda campaigns waged by Israel and its lobby groups.The great Palestinian thinker Edward Said once wrote:“Nothing in my mind is more reprehensible than those habits of mind in the intellectual that induce avoidance, that characteristic turning away from a difficult and principled position that you know to be the right one, but which you decide not to take. … For an intellectual, these habits of mind are corrupting par excellence.Personally, I have encountered them in one of the toughest of all contemporary issues, Palestine, where fear of speaking out about one of the greatest injustices in modern history has hobbled, blinkered, muzzled many who know the truth and are in a position to serve it. For despite the abuse and vilification that any outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights and self determination earns for him or herself, the truth deserves to be spoken, represented by an unafraid and compassionate intellectual.” [2]Judith Butler is such an “unafraid and compassionate intellectual.” We salute her courage and call on every self-respecting academic and intellectual to stand with her against the hopeless, vindictive, yet taxing, attempt to silence her mind.– Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE)– General Union of Palestinian Writers– University Teachers’ Association-Gaza– Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)
[1] Judith Butler’s response to attack: https://mondoweiss.net/2012/08/judith-butler- responds-to-attack-i-affirm-a- judaism-that-is-not- associated-with-state- violence.html [2] Edward Said, Representations of the Intellectual, The 1993 Reith Lectures
The Frankfurt/Hesse TV station showed several German Jews in front of the venue where Butler received the prize (the Paulskirche, Paul’s cathedral) sporting signs saying: “Thank you Judith”. – The overall reporting today in the main national news was positive on Butler. – She spoke German in her speech.
Here is something interesting on the matter of Judith and Israel firsters in Frankfurt.
The mayor of Frankfurt, Peter Feldmann (Social Democrat) is a Jew, a liberal one by his own account. He is a member of the Jewish community of Frankfurt. This community decided to boycott the ceremony to award the prize, so did Peter Feldmann.
So: The mayor of Frankfurt, the city who awarded the prize, did not attend the ceremony because the Jewish community of Frankfurt decided to boycott it.
One wonders: Is the mayor of Frankfurt first the mayor of Frankfurt or first a member of the Frankfurt Jewish community?
Good news! Butler showed her courage again this week with the letter denouncing the odious HR35 passed in California Legislature a few weeks ago. No doubt many others would say ” I am with you in spirit but don’t put my name down please.” The letter was posted a day or two ago at MW.
Notably the pro-Israel demo pictures showed a lot of Rainbow–Israel signs (associating Israel with LGBT). Why is the pro-Israel protest bringing out LGBT advocates?
In 2010, Judith Butler was awarded the Civil Courage Prize by the organisation of the Berlin LGBT Pride day (called Cristopher Street Day, CSD). After an articulated speech, in German, she refused the prize on stage. (YT, with subtitles, here an English transcription). Judith Butler (bolds added):
So the organisers, who awarded her, were brushed off for being racist. For allowing LGBT people to be used in a military dispute, and be set up against non-white LGBTs. The public knew about it and applauded, the organisation lost their cool. Es war eine Eklat.
Of course, in the proces Israeli anti-Muslim sentiments (so useful in foreign policy), nicely hidingly intertwined with the explicit positive Israel-LGBT branding, went down the drain. The white LGBT sub-community could not be used any more against Muslims. By an clear act of a celebrated humanist gender philosopher. This is why there was protest against Judith Butler with rainbow-Israeli flags. Because she had busted the Pinkwashing.
Some may be interested to read a few words from an eyewittness of the celebration. I attended the Adorno-price-celebration. Judith made an impressive speech about Adornos famous, at least to his readers famous, sentence: “There is no good life in the bad” German: Es gibt kein richtiges Leben im falschen”. It stems from Adorno’s minima moralia which is seen by some of my former teachers in philosophy as the most important of Adorno’s works, however, textbooks in Philosophy mostly prefer Negative Dialektik or the early Dialektik der Aufklärung as main works.
Judith’s idea was, that the “good” life means a moral life, and she states that a moral life in our times facing the totally wrong and systematic denying of basic rights to million of people “waiting at fences” can only be a life of protest and resistance. She didn’t mention Israel or Palestine, and it was clear that also the US Mexican border fence or the African refugees in the Mediterranean Sea or at the Greek-Turkish border or at the Egypt-Israel fence or wherever were meant. She didn’t “single out” Israel and this was a great strength of his speech. She spoke in German which was very surprising to me since most Americans don’t bother with foreign languages. It was also a great sign of respect. To me it was somewhat ironic to see all the politicians from Frankfurt sitting and applauding to someone who speaks about protest and resistance. It was a great speech. The celebration itself was a little bit sad, at least to me. For me it was like a family event where an important member of the family is not there. Nobody speaks about them, but all felt the loss. Most people in the Paulskirche felt very uncomfortable to have this event without the Jewish community of Frankfurt.
Hey Fritz – how come you got on Mondoweiss? It’s your first comment.
Your account of Judith’s speech is interesting, but unfortunately the organized Jewish community of Frankfurt isn’t a “member of the family” of Frankfurt – they seem to be a member of the Israeli Jewish family.