Author and journalist Peter Beinart spoke to a crowd of over 250 people Tuesday at an event sponsored by four academic programs in the College. At the event, Beinart spoke about his personal experience as a Jewish person during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his shift from being a “liberal Zionist” to opposing the state of Israel.
Beinart also answered questions from Assoc. Germanic Language and Literature Prof. Jeffrey Grossman on his 2025 book, “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning,” which describes how his position on Israel has changed. The conversation ended with a question and answer session during which many audience members voiced their opposing views to Beinart.
Beinart spoke critically of current Jewish culture surrounding the state of Israel and its actions in Palestine. He said that although there has been much recognition of the damage and loss of life of Israeli Jews following the Oct. 7 attacks carried out by Hamas, there was not the same recognition for any Palestinian suffering.
“In the wake of October 7, the Jewish spaces that structure my life, I never heard the name of a single Palestinian,” Beinart said. “I felt that this was a kind of Judaism that I didn’t recognize.”
In the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, nearly 1,200 people were killed, and since Oct. 7, which marked the beginning of the war, more than 60,000 people in Gaza have been killed according to the Gazan Health authorities.
Beinart said that his book also discusses what he describes as a worship of the state of Israel that has permeated Jewish communities around the world. He said that the test of being a good Jew is not following religious law but is now more closely attributed to whether one supports Israel and its right to exist.
“I am in a community whose first question is ‘Does Israel have a right to exist as a Jewish state’ rather than first asking the question ‘Do all the people who live under the control of that state have the right to exist,’” Beinart said.
During the question and answer session, several attendees described themselves as “proud Jewish students” and questioned Beinart’s stances on certain topics. One audience member questioned what Beinart believes about growing antisemitism on college campuses.
“I’m just wondering what you think about the undeniable fact that every day hundreds of Jews on college campuses are receiving death threats and other forms of verbal and physical harassment,” the attendee said.
Beinart reaffirmed that no student should ever be subjected to death threats but that he believes students do not have a right to be protected from discomfort at universities. He said that students come to universities to be challenged and exposed to radically different perspectives. He encouraged students to listen to differing views, engage in discourse and entertain the possibility of learning something new.
One person asked Beinart to expand on this belief that the state of Israel is being idolized by Jewish communities. He answered by citing religious text and tradition that idolatry is a cardinal sin in Judaism and said that he believes members of the Jewish communities view the legitimacy of Israel as unconditional, regardless of decisions made by leaders of the state — in Beinart’s view, this qualifies as idolatry.
“All of these things, to me, are just fundamentally antithetical [and] run completely contrary to the discourse we have today ... which says that your allegiance to this state is the highest expression of being Jewish,” Beinart said.
A student attendee who described herself as a “proud Zionist” asked why Beinart believes that labeling oneself as a Zionist in his eyes precludes them from having compassion for the other side. Beinart clarified his stance that there are many different types of Zionism, some of which do not necessarily support the state of Israel.
He said that his true criticism of idolatry of Israel was of Jewish organizations who fail to criticize the United States’ unconditional military support of Israel even in the face of a humanitarian crisis and genocide.
“None of [those organizations] are willing to actually question the idea of unconditional American military and diplomatic support for the state,” Beinart said. “I believe it is that unconditional military and diplomatic support that has enabled Israel to perpetuate its domination of Palestinians.”
The United Nations declared in August that the level of food insecurity in Gaza can now be classified as a famine, which will affect hundreds of thousands of Palestinians by the end of September. The UN has also estimated that 90 percent of Gazans have been displaced at least once since Oct. 7, 2023. This comes amidst growing international and domestic Israeli outcry that the Israeli operation in Gaza constitutes a genocide by the legal definition.
Beinart also discussed nationalist politics and leaders in other countries who have taken similar stances as Israel or have emulated Israeli nativist policies, including the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party in Germany and Viktor Orbán’s leadership in Hungary. Beinart specifically named President Trump as an example of this, along with other right-wing nationalist parties in various other countries.
“They want their countries to be more like Israel … and basically make it clear to everyone that the state is controlled by one tribe, and if you’re not of that tribe, you are a guest,” Beinart said. “This is really where Donald Trump is trying to move the United States.”
One overarching theme throughout Beinart’s conversation was his belief in free speech and dialogue between opposing points of view. He defended his belief that people from all sides should unite on the topic of free speech, even when it comes to speakers or opinions that the other side may find objectionable.
“The critical thing, it seems to me, is for people to be willing to defend the right of free speech, even for people with whom they fundamentally disagree,” Beinart said. “That means if you are a pro-Palestinian student, you should defend the right of pro-Israel students to have speakers, even if you think they’re reprehensible.”
He said he was glad that several audience members held differing opinions than his own and asked him questions regarding those opposing views and that they were modeling exactly what all should do. He also encouraged all sides to oppose federal government intervention in University teachings and disciplinary action and warned of imposing state control in the name of preventing anti-semitism.
“These principles that prevent people at universities from being able to speak freely are ultimately just as dangerous for people on the right as they are for people on the left,” Beinart said. “Students should be able to speak in a way that is not threatened by the federal government.”
Environmental sciences Prof. Manuel Lerdau was one faculty member who attended the event. Lerdau said that Beinart’s commitment to dialogue and to open communication is necessary at all universities.
“It’s a very Jeffersonian idea, that the independent university is strongest when the ideas emerge from the members of the community,” Lerdau said. “It’s in danger when those ideas are controlled from above.”
Beinart’s book, “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning,” was published in January. He has since toured several different universities discussing the book and current events regarding Israel and Palestine.
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