Book contents
- Jewish Internationalism and Human Rights after the Holocaust
- Human Rights in History
- Jewish Internationalism and Human Rights after the Holocaust
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Dramatis Personae
- Introduction
- 1 “Individual Rights Were Not Enough for True Freedom”
- 2 Who Will Tame the Will to Defy Humanity?
- 3 The Consequences of 1948
- 4 Exit from North Africa
- 5 From Antisemitism to “Zionism Is Racism”
- 6 The Inadequacy of Madison Avenue Methods
- 7 “Good Words Have Become the Servants of Evil Masters”
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - The Consequences of 1948
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2020
- Jewish Internationalism and Human Rights after the Holocaust
- Human Rights in History
- Jewish Internationalism and Human Rights after the Holocaust
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Dramatis Personae
- Introduction
- 1 “Individual Rights Were Not Enough for True Freedom”
- 2 Who Will Tame the Will to Defy Humanity?
- 3 The Consequences of 1948
- 4 Exit from North Africa
- 5 From Antisemitism to “Zionism Is Racism”
- 6 The Inadequacy of Madison Avenue Methods
- 7 “Good Words Have Become the Servants of Evil Masters”
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The process of Israel’s birth in 1948 created a set of structural impediments that made impossible a harmonious relationship between Jewish internationalism and human rights. The creation of the Palestinian refugee problem and the absorption of a large Arab minority combined to circumscribe the range of action of Jewish advocates. They found themselves forced to deploy human rights as a counterclaim to neutralize demands for repatriation and compensation, a dynamic that first revealed itself when petitioning the UN to seek redress for embattled Jews in Arab countries. Human rights, often understood as a moral claims-making language, could also function to neutralize the claims of others. The potential of a restless Arab minority appealing to the UN acted as a break on limitless ambitions for capacious enforcement mechanisms. Even more traumatic was discovering the impact of Israeli military actions: the exercise of Jewish sovereignty could undermine the moral status of claims to authority by Jewish internationalists on human rights.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020