Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright, Tony Kushner, has openly criticized Israeli politics and has supported Palestinian rights. CUNY Trustees are less than thrilled.
Read Tony Kushner's response to CUNY's decision.
The Headline on today's Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman
Tony Kushner mentioned his Honorary Degree from Brandeis, my alma mater and a community which grapples with this topic on a daily basis. I remember many students speaking negatively about Mr. Kushner, citing his "controversial" statement. However, none of them had ever actually read his full statements on this conflict and often could not articulate his exact point of view.
ReplyDeleteThe struggle for us is that we live in a society where to criticize Iraeli policy is translated into anti-semitism or "self-loathing" if you're a jew. Even in Israel, these debates and discussions are less divisive and easier to have. You know what they call people like Tony Kusher in Israel? Israelis. Just as americans who criticize american policy are still Americans. And if Israel really is the the jewish national home it strives to be, Mr. Kushner is just as much an Israeli as anyone else, native or not.
Mr. Kushner understands nuance and understands the complexities and subtleties of this conflict. I don't agree with everything he says, and neither should anyone ever agree totally with each other.
But one thing I do feel confident about is that Mr. Kushner is on the right side of history.