# 256 / Editorial
“Who among us could guarantee to the Jews that there will never be another Hitler in the West? […] And isn’t it logical that anyone who cannot guarantee this should at least accept, in their heart, the existence of the State of Israel and recognize its sovereignty and freedom?” These lines, written during the Six-Day War, were published by Pasolini in the April-June 1967 issue of the magazine Nuovi Argomenti. They were primarily addressed to Pasolini’s Italian communist comrades, whose alignment with Soviet anti-Zionism he vehemently denounced. K. is publishing an analysis by Tristan Koskas that contextualizes Pasolini’s relationship to Jews and Israel within his aesthetic and questions its ambivalence. For Pasolini, accepting “in his heart” the “experience of the State of Israel” certainly did not correspond to a love of Zionism: to describe the latter, the word “stupidity” came to mind. On the one hand, the Six-Day War rekindled his awareness of the possibility of annihilation, and therefore of the legitimacy of the Zionist experience. On the other hand, he felt a deep contempt for nationalism, coupled with resentment that it had transformed the traditionally oppressed into bourgeois like any others, thereby destroying any possibility of fully identifying with them. Nevertheless, at the decisive moment, Pasolini made his voice heard clearly despite his ambivalence: faced with the impossibility of a guarantee, he recognized the right of the Jews to organize their own perseverance, even if it seemed to him to be the height of stupidity. This is undoubtedly the mark of a European who lives up to his historical consciousness. As for what must have happened to the latter for such voices to struggle to be heard today, particularly on the left, one can only wonder.
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With the news cycle seemingly speeding up every week, it is important to take the time sometimes and dive into deeper analysis on certain topics. Last week, K. interviewed Israeli sociologist Yagil Levy, a specialist in the transformations of the army and its relations with the rest of society. An conversation in which the magazine’s own perspective is difficult to discern, having been relegated to questions and footnotes. The aim is to paint a realistic picture of the army which—let us remember that this is specific to Israeli democracy—is a pillar of society: the IDF.
Lastly, in light of current events, we are resharing the testimony of Atefe Asadi, an Iranian poet in exile in Hanover, who bears witness to the despair and loneliness of the Iranian people, which we cannot allow to be forgotten. The flame of freedom still burns in the hearts of Iranians, and it is up to democracies to ensure that their actions and words are consistent so that it is not allowed to be extinguished.
