Abstract
My argument here is not that Israel, in exerting its power to define itself over against others, is exceptional. Rather, the opposite is the case. Realpolitik is the way of all nation-states and power in general. Nor is Israel exceptional in claiming its innocence in exercising power to expand and flourish. Again the opposite is the case. Nation-states always claim innocence and a kind of benevolent redemptive sensibility. Yet if Israel is not different in the foundations of its national life, then the charge that Israel is a Western colonial and imperialist outpost takes on a strength that is only further validated over time. The moral argument has carried Israel more than any other country, partly to do with its relative youth and partly with its religious heritage and the Holocaust, an argument that has deflected the charges of colonialism and imperialism. The moral argument, however, an argument that has been and could still be listened to with respect, is totally undermined in the face of those policies that Israel continues to pursue. [CONT]
Recommended Citation
Ellis, Marc H.
(2004)
"The Mural-Covered Wall: On Separation and the Future of Jews and Palestinians in Israel/Palestine and the Diaspora,"
Chicago Journal of International Law:
Vol. 5:
No.
1, Article 18.
Available at:
https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cjil/vol5/iss1/18