Nov 7, 2023 01:11 AM
(This post was last modified: Nov 7, 2023 01:46 AM by C C.)
Cynic's Corner: Wishful thinking. The post-liberal era is here to stay. Decolonization of knowledge is here to stay. I doubt even the Jewish intellectual set that contributed to some of its architecture over the decades will stick with this reversal of feelings about it long-term. Cultural analysts, Critical Theory scholars, etc, tend to feel that they can fix one of their Frankenstein monsters, even when it ironically turns against its creator.
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Has Hamas Hastened the Demise of 'Woke'?
https://www.newsweek.com/has-hamas-haste...ke-1839378
EXCERPTS: . . . some progressives are acknowledging the phenomenon, as well, due to an increasing number of left-wing college students and other progressives who are siding with Hamas-ruled Gaza after attacks on Israel that began October 7 resulting in the death of 1,400 Israelis and the kidnapping of some 200 men, women and children.
Israel launched air strikes on Gaza and a ground offensive that have killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, the Associated Press reported, citing the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
"Hamas killed my woke-ness," wrote self-described progressive Alex Olshonsky in Tablet last month. He noted that he had previously embraced the writings of controversial Critical Race Theory (CRT) activists Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo and passionately supported Palestine for decades.
"I have heard no American Jew wish violence upon Gazans; I've witnessed many American so-called progressives who wish violence upon Jews," Olshonsky wrote. "That's not progressivism. That's bloodthirst."
[...] since Hamas attacked Israel, "The woke movement has had some setbacks," said John Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College, though he also acknowledges it remains entrenched in educational bureaucracies.
On October 26, Gallup reported that President Joe Biden's job approval rating among Democrats tumbled 11 percentage points in one month to 75 percent, the worst of his entire presidency. Gallup said the poor showing "comes in the wake of the October 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas" and Biden's pledge of "rock solid and unwavering" support for Israel.
And a Trafalgar Group poll taken October 15-17 that asked, "Who is most to blame for current violence in Israel?" revealed that 38.5 percent of Democrats but only 12.5 percent of Republicans blamed Israel.
[...] "People have woken up to the fact that woke-ness is way more important than they thought it was. It puts a dent in it," he said. "First, it was tearing down statues and declaring your pronouns, but now its antisemitism. Now they've got your attention."
Iranian-American columnist Sohrab Ahmari wrote that "woke is dying—long live the new center," noting that the same crowd that promoted defunding the police are either refusing to condemn the actions of Hamas or celebrating them. He called it a "punctuation mark on a longer process of decline for the complex of ideas and practices that came to be known as 'woke'." (MORE - details)
Rashida Tlaib finds herself increasingly isolated
https://www.newsweek.com/rashida-tlaib-i...za-1841094
INTRO: Progressive politicians and local Michigan Democrats are increasingly distancing themselves from Rashida Tlaib after she defended the use of the controversial pro-Palestinian phrase "from the river to the sea."
On Friday, the Democratic representative for Michigan, who is of Palestinian descent, described the chant as "an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate."
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," is a phrase commonly voiced at pro-Palestinian rallies. However, it is contentious because it implies support for the dismantling of the Israeli state, as it references the Jordan River on Israel's eastern border and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
Hamas, the militant group which staged a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,400, including many civilians, adopted the slogan following its formation in the 1980s, and some Jewish groups say it amounts to antisemitism—though others contest this claim.
Since her public defense of the phrase, Tlaib, who has attended pro-Palestinian rallies and is among those to call for a ceasefire in the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, has been challenged on her remarks by fellow progressives and state party officials.
On Sunday, Bernie Sanders, a senator for Vermont who has championed progressive values, told CNN that while Tlaib was his "friend," that "slogans like '[from] the river to the sea,' if that means the destruction of Israel, that's not going to work."
He added: "People who are saying: 'Israel, right or wrong, we're for you all the way,' that's not going to work [either]. This is a horrendously complex issue." (MORE - missing details)
- - - - - - - -
Has Hamas Hastened the Demise of 'Woke'?
https://www.newsweek.com/has-hamas-haste...ke-1839378
EXCERPTS: . . . some progressives are acknowledging the phenomenon, as well, due to an increasing number of left-wing college students and other progressives who are siding with Hamas-ruled Gaza after attacks on Israel that began October 7 resulting in the death of 1,400 Israelis and the kidnapping of some 200 men, women and children.
Israel launched air strikes on Gaza and a ground offensive that have killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, the Associated Press reported, citing the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
"Hamas killed my woke-ness," wrote self-described progressive Alex Olshonsky in Tablet last month. He noted that he had previously embraced the writings of controversial Critical Race Theory (CRT) activists Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo and passionately supported Palestine for decades.
"I have heard no American Jew wish violence upon Gazans; I've witnessed many American so-called progressives who wish violence upon Jews," Olshonsky wrote. "That's not progressivism. That's bloodthirst."
[...] since Hamas attacked Israel, "The woke movement has had some setbacks," said John Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College, though he also acknowledges it remains entrenched in educational bureaucracies.
On October 26, Gallup reported that President Joe Biden's job approval rating among Democrats tumbled 11 percentage points in one month to 75 percent, the worst of his entire presidency. Gallup said the poor showing "comes in the wake of the October 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas" and Biden's pledge of "rock solid and unwavering" support for Israel.
And a Trafalgar Group poll taken October 15-17 that asked, "Who is most to blame for current violence in Israel?" revealed that 38.5 percent of Democrats but only 12.5 percent of Republicans blamed Israel.
[...] "People have woken up to the fact that woke-ness is way more important than they thought it was. It puts a dent in it," he said. "First, it was tearing down statues and declaring your pronouns, but now its antisemitism. Now they've got your attention."
Iranian-American columnist Sohrab Ahmari wrote that "woke is dying—long live the new center," noting that the same crowd that promoted defunding the police are either refusing to condemn the actions of Hamas or celebrating them. He called it a "punctuation mark on a longer process of decline for the complex of ideas and practices that came to be known as 'woke'." (MORE - details)
Rashida Tlaib finds herself increasingly isolated
https://www.newsweek.com/rashida-tlaib-i...za-1841094
INTRO: Progressive politicians and local Michigan Democrats are increasingly distancing themselves from Rashida Tlaib after she defended the use of the controversial pro-Palestinian phrase "from the river to the sea."
On Friday, the Democratic representative for Michigan, who is of Palestinian descent, described the chant as "an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate."
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," is a phrase commonly voiced at pro-Palestinian rallies. However, it is contentious because it implies support for the dismantling of the Israeli state, as it references the Jordan River on Israel's eastern border and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
Hamas, the militant group which staged a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,400, including many civilians, adopted the slogan following its formation in the 1980s, and some Jewish groups say it amounts to antisemitism—though others contest this claim.
Since her public defense of the phrase, Tlaib, who has attended pro-Palestinian rallies and is among those to call for a ceasefire in the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, has been challenged on her remarks by fellow progressives and state party officials.
On Sunday, Bernie Sanders, a senator for Vermont who has championed progressive values, told CNN that while Tlaib was his "friend," that "slogans like '[from] the river to the sea,' if that means the destruction of Israel, that's not going to work."
He added: "People who are saying: 'Israel, right or wrong, we're for you all the way,' that's not going to work [either]. This is a horrendously complex issue." (MORE - missing details)