by Rebecca Gould
Verso
7/18/2023, paperback
SKU: 9781839769023
How the redefinition of antisemitism has functioned as a tactic to undermine Palestine solidarity
The widespread adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-semitism and the internalisation of its norms has set in motion a simplistic definitional logic for dealing with social problems that has impoverished discussions of racism and prejudice more generally, across Britain and beyond. It has encouraged a focus on words over substance.
Erasing Palestine tells the story of how this has happened, with a focus on internal politics within Britain over the course of the past several years. In order to do so, it tells a much longer story, about the history of antisemitism since the beginning of the twentieth century. This is also a story about Palestine, a chronicle of the erasure of the violence against the Palestinian people, and a story about free speech, and why it matters to Palestinian freedom.
Reviews:
"Never have we been more in need of hearing the heroic voices of Palestinian activists and their supporters, still unwaveringly resisting the ongoing Israeli seizure of their land and daily control over their lives and movement. In this meticulously researched, moving and persuasive book, Rebecca Ruth Gould surveys the ever-mounting silencing of any support for justice for Palestinians with specious accusations of anti-Semitism against any and all of those joining the struggle to end Israel's brutal occupation, including against the author herself." -- Lynne Segal, author of Lean on Me
"This book brilliantly discusses how the physical erasure of Palestine passes through the suppression of the Palestinian narrative. It explains that freedom of expression and academic freedom remain paramount tools to enable solidarity with the quest for freedom and justice for the Palestinian people, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States where there is a coordinated effort to censor the voices of advocates for Palestinian human rights." -- Giovanni Fassina, Director of the European Legal Support Center
About the Author:
Rebecca Ruth Gould is the author of numerous works at the intersection of aesthetics and politics, including Writers and Rebels and The Persian Prison Poem. With Malaka Shwaikh, she is the author of Prison Hunger Strikes in Palestine. She has written for the general public in the London Review of Books, the Global & Mail, and World Policy Journal and her writing has been translated into eleven languages.