Politics

Under Netanyahu’s government, and with the war in Gaza, the State of Israel has found itself increasingly isolated on the international stage. The Israeli Prime Minister, a fan of power politics and macho bravado, would like to make this a source of pride: “We are going to be super-Sparta.” But, asks Danny Trom, isn’t Spartan sovereignty a pseudo-sovereignty, especially for the Jewish people? Examining the political lessons drawn by Hannah Arendt from Jewish history, the sociologist identifies the requirements that the Jewish state must meet if it wants to ensure more lasting autonomy.

Between staunch supporters and fierce detractors, recognition of the State of Palestine crystallizes sharply divided positions. Each side’s arguments are defensible—as long as they aim to protect both Israel’s security and the Palestinians’ right to self-determination—but the challenge here is to understand what such a gesture would actually achieve: would a declaration of principle have consequences for the future?

After the Brusselmans affair, the Flemish magazine HUMO has struck again… This time, it is the medieval antisemitic trope of the “Jewish butcher” that has been revived by a cartoon by the duo Kama & Seele. Joël Kotek, historian and president of the Jonathas Institute, looks back at the history and current state of antisemitic imagery in the Belgian and international press.

While messianism undoubtedly represents the most serious internal threat to Israel’s future, it nevertheless comes in many forms. Perle Nicolle-Hasid and Sylvaine Bulle examine its various currents here, starting with a fundamental divergence: the question of the relationship to realized Zionism, i.e., to the state. But whether it is the realists seeking to make the state a tool of messianism, or the purists detaching themselves from it to live according to ancestral Israel, the present of redemption overwhelms the horizon of Zionism.

Among the political soap operas of the summer, the exchange of letters between Benjamin Netanyahu and Emmanuel Macron replayed the classic scene of a dialogue of the deaf. Beyond the pantomime spectacle, who can really say what the subject of their correspondence was? Gérard Bensussan attempts to decipher the reasons behind a misunderstanding that is particularly symptomatic of the current political situation.

How can we explain Israel’s relentless pursuit of this seemingly endless war in Gaza? Danny Trom offers an analysis based on one symptom: the proliferation, since October 7, of kinot, poetic lamentations that are unique to the tradition of exile. Israeli lamentation is thus expressed in the language of exile and powerlessness, even though it now accompanies the war of a state through which Jews have acquired unprecedented power—and therefore a new responsibility. Danny Trom invites us to reflect on this internal tension within this paradox…

This summer, K. invites you to rediscover, in each of its weekly issues, a feature consisting of five articles previously published in the magazine. This week, our “K.ritique” feature serves both…

This summer, K. invites you to rediscover, in each of its weekly issues, a feature consisting of five articles previously published in the magazine. This week with articles by Valeria Solanstein,…

À l’appel des familles d’otages et d’une large partie de la société civile, une grève générale aura lieu le 17 août pour dénoncer une stratégie militaire à Gaza perçue comme une impasse et une aggravation des conséquences de la guerre, tant pour les civils palestiniens que pour les captifs et combattants israéliens. Première mobilisation d’ampleur depuis la crise de la réforme judiciaire en 2023, elle cristallise la fracture politique israélienne. Bruno Karsenti y voit le rappel d’une question cardinale : celle du principe fondateur de l’État juif et de l’avenir même du projet sioniste.