During his appearance at the University of New Mexico, journalist, political commentator and author of “Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning,” Peter Beinart, spoke on topics ranging from Jewish identity and anti-Zionism, to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal and student activism.
In the nearly-full Anthropology Building lecture hall on Tuesday, Oct. 21, Beinart took questions from students, staff, faculty and community members.
“It was wonderful, it was great. I really appreciated that there were people of different perspectives who asked me challenging questions from different points of view,” Beinart told the Daily Lobo after the lecture.
UNM Professor of Anthropology, Les Field, and Jewish Community Foundation member Chuck Buxbaum facilitated the discussion through an interview format.
Beinart said he realized he was becoming a “worse and worse Jew,” under the criteria that being a Jew in good standing means supporting the State of Israel, and that he didn’t question the existence of a Jewish state until he spent time in Palestine, he said when asked about his Jewish identity.
“The Palestinians that I met seemed to have no particular inherent hostility to Jews or desire to kill Jews, and in fact, were just like any other people that one would meet; I’m ashamed to say that I think I was initially surprised by that,” Beinart said.
When Field asked about the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, Beinart said that the two are often conflated.
“You’re conflating opposition to a political system in a particular country with bigotry against a particular group of people,” Beinart said.
This conflation lays the groundwork for silencing and criminalizing Palestinians, Beinart said.
“It starts with the mass expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 and pretty much goes downhill from there,” Beinart said. “You’re just not going to find a lot of Palestinians who are not anti-Zionists. So when you say anti-Zionism is anti-Semetism, what you’re saying is that all Palestinians are bigots, and if all Palestinians are bigots, then they certainly shouldn’t be listened to.”
As a result of the latest Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal, that week’s Shabbat was the first time that Beinart did not hear prayers for the release of the Israeli hostages, he said.
“It was an extraordinary moment to not hear that prayer. I was able to take down the list of the names of the hostages on the refrigerator for two years,” Beinart said.
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Despite the “beautiful scenes” of Israeli and Palestinian captives reuniting with their loved ones, Beinart said the rest of President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal is a “nightmare.”
According to The New York Times, Hamas has rejected public calls for disarmament, but some officials indicated in private during ceasefire talks that they would be open to partial decommissioning of their arms supply. Under terms agreed to in the ceasefire deal orchestrated by the Trump administration, Israeli forces have partially withdrawn to occupy 58% of the Gaza Strip.
Beinart said he thinks Palestinians and Israelis would both be safer in one state with the common principle that all people are created equal under the law.
“To me, a state that creates one group that has legal supremacy and another group that has legal inferiority inflicts a tremendous amount of violence on the people who are made legally inferior. And that system of violence, I think, ultimately makes everybody less safe,” Beinart said.
Beinart said a person’s humanity can’t be reduced to their political views, and that despite ideological differences, people can unite against issues like the “constant resupply of weapons” to Israel from the United States, which he said enabled Israel to destroy Gaza.
Aerial bombing and other means of destruction by Israel have left nearly 80% of all buildings in the Gazan territory damaged or destroyed, including 92% of all homes, according to The Guardian.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, UNM, and universities across the country have seen a rise in pro-Palestinian activism on campus, calling for the University’s divestment from Israel and to condemn the states’ actions.
“I support the idea of divestment because I think that non-violent pressure is one of the few things that actually might make Israel fundamentally change its treatment of Palestine,” Beinart told the Daily Lobo.
Beinart said he thinks that the pro-Palestinian movement in recent years has the potential to change the Democratic Party.
“There is something that has been stirring in the United States that I do think has the capacity to be one of the great model movements of the last century: a genuine heir to the anti-apartheid movement, to the movement against the war in Vietnam, the civil rights movement,” Beinart said. “Those movements emerged from people, from places, and at certain moments were very radical, and very far from power, but over time were able to shape the decisions of politics.”
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
