A Gnawing Sense of Discomfort
There has been a growing discomfort with the limits of discourse surrounding the Israel and Hamas conflict, as highlighted by an increasing number of articles. A recent speech by the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek at the opening ceremony of the 75th Frankfurt Book Fair perhaps best encapsulates this emergent dynamic, despite Žižek’s typically verbose style. The moment was made even more poignant by the subsequent prohibition of pro-Palestinian protests. Žižek began with a straightforward condemnation of Hamas and the events of October 7, acknowledging Israel’s right to defend itself. However, he then posed several provocations that unsettled the audience, leading...