There Can Be No Critique
Judith Butler | 13 December 2023 | Boston Review
In the wake of genocidal violence in Gaza and the silencing of debate on college campuses, it now hardly matters that I, along with others, did not like every aspect of the arguments made by some student groups in the wake of October 7. When I offered my critique in the London Review of Books of the language used by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, I did so in the spirit of a conversation. I did not foresee how their viewpoint would be shut down, nor the extent of harassment and doxxing they would suffer. There is, however, still time to defend these students’—and all students’—rights to express their point of view without fear of retaliation or harm.