Peter Beinart will visit UVic on Oct. 29
Graphic by the Martlet.
On Tuesday, Oct. 29, UVic will host an event called Protest, US Politics and the War in Gaza. Promoted on UVic’s website as a “nuanced discussion on one of today’s most critical geopolitical issues,” the event will feature guest speaker Peter Beinart, a professor of journalism and political science at the City University of New York.
Beinart is an observant Jew and editor-at-large at Jewish Currents — an American progressive magazine with content that reflects the Jewish left. His name has dominated American Jewish political discourse since his first book, The Crisis of Zionism, was published in 2012. The book argues that Israeli’s occupation of Palestinian lands undermines the democratic character of Israel, and Zionism in general — the main tenet of which is to reestablish Israel as the central location for Jewish identity.
UVic history professor Dr. Jordan Stanger-Ross invited Beinart to speak at this event after the People’s Park, a Palestine solidarity encampment, established itself on campus during the 2024 spring semester.
Dr. Stanger-Ross said polarizing discussions within UVic’s faculty association about what the university “should be doing in response to the opinions being expressed on campus” led him to believe that there was also room in the discourse for what he called, a “humane expression” that takes into account both Jewish nationhood and a commitment to the equal value of human lives and Palestinian national aspirations.
“Peter [Beinart] struck me, from Oct. 8 on, as someone who is expressing those values,” said Dr. Stanger-Ross.
Beinart was a longtime advocate for a “two-state solution” — in which Palestinians would have full sovereignty in a state alongside Israel — but publicly changed course on this stance in 2020.
In an article in Jewish Currents, Beinart opposed the ideology of a Jewish state in favor of a binational state, writing, “the essence of Zionism is not a Jewish state in the land of Israel; it is a Jewish home in the land of Israel…. It’s time to explore other ways to achieve that goal — from confederation to a democratic binational state — that don’t require subjugating another people. It’s time to envision a Jewish home that is a Palestinian home, too.”
In a September article from The New Yorker, Beinart further emphasized this position when he identified himself as a “cultural Zionist” and said, “acknowledging a Zionist tradition that opposed a Jewish state might make it easier to reach Jews for whom the term ‘Zionist’ is precious.”
Being an observant Jew who opposes a Jewish state has led to Beinart being both widely celebrated and deeply criticized.
However, it’s exactly this spirit of nuance that Dr. Stanger-Ross hopes will facilitate a healthy exchange of ideas and opinions at the event on Oct. 29.
“I would hope to host an event at the university where someone could come from their perspective of a Zionist, [and] another person can be in the room and express that they’re an anti-Zionist and we’re able to have a conversation that bridges those differences and is able to do so in a way that does not disrupt the possibility of discussion and exchange.”
The event will be facilitated by Dr. Neilesh Bose, an associate professor of history and Canada Research Chair at UVic whose work specializes in global and comparative history. The structure of the event will include Bose engaging Beinart in an interview-style discussion for the first 45 minutes before fielding questions from the audience as well as viewers tuning in virtually.
Although registration for the in-person attendance of Protest, US Politics and the War in Gaza on Oct. 29 from 7-8:30 p.m. is currently full, waitlist and livestream webinar options for this free event are available on the UVic website.
The location of the event will not be posted publicly until the morning of Oct. 29 to maximize the opportunity for the event to take place without organized disruption.
