Turning Critical Theory On Its Head

Key Findings:

Shaul Kelner, associate professor of Jewish studies and sociology at Vanderbilt University, critiques the failure of university faculty, particularly within the humanities and social sciences, to apply critical theory to the oppression of Jews. This intellectual failure is widely displayed across college campuses in America where anti-Israel encampments and protests are widespread and, in some cases, even encouraged by faculty.  

The exclusion of Jewish oppression from critical theory conversations perpetuates systematic inequality. This neglect misrepresents Zionism, the Jewish response to long lasting systemic oppression, as illegitimate and harmful rather than a movement for self determination and emancipation. 

Zionism was formed as a response to Jews being oppressed under Islamic and Christian ruled countries. Living as second class citizens all throughout the diaspora, Jews understood that they must resist the position they are in through “self-emancipation”, as Leo Pinsker called it. Zionism, in fact, is a direct form of resistance to the systemic oppression Jews faced under leaderships and societies that did not view them as equals. Establishing a Jewish state was the way to break free from this oppression.

Universities themselves are institutions that are not excused from upholding systems of oppression, and are actively doing so when it comes to Jews, especially through the misrepresentation of Zionism. By continuing to agree with or promote Zionism as a colonialist, genocidal movement as opposed to a liberation movement, they are perpetuating a systemic problem that leads to the marginalization of Jews on their campuses. The author notes that academia generally excludes Jewish people from the category of marginalized or oppressed groups.  

Kelner’s analysis brings forth systemic issues within academia, where the marginalization of Jewish experiences and Jewish voices is perpetuated. By outlining Zionism's roots as a liberation movement that has empowered Jews out of oppressive systems, he challenges prevailing narratives in academic spaces and highlights the need to address this intellectual failure, whose effects resonate across college campuses today.