What Does a Jew Want?

Udi Aloni is an Israeli/American writer and filmmaker whose work explores the discourse between art, theory, and action. His art projects have been presented in leading museums and galleries, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his films Kashmir: Journey to Freedom (2009), Forgiveness (2006), and Local Angel (2003) have been screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, among other prominent venues. This book was published shortly after the murder of his dear friend, Juliano Mer Khamis, director of The Freedom Theater in Jenin Refugee Camp, where Aloni helped him run the Cinema Department.

• Foreword, by Judith Butler Editor's Introduction, by Slavoj Zizek Acknowledgments Prologue: The Visit of the Three Magi in the Holy Land Slavoj Zizek in Ramallah: Back to the Trauma Zone, by Merav Yudilovitch Alain Badiou in Haifa: Their Entire Particular World Judith Butler in Sheikh-Jarrah: "This place which is called Israel" 1 Theology: "Specters of Binationalism" A Manifesto for the Jewish-Palestinian Arab-Hebrew State Why We Support Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions The Star of Redemption with a Split ? 2 Body Samson the Non-European Pnay El (Face of God): The Place of Radical Encounter Jocasta's Dream: The Birth of Love from the Slaughter of the Innocent 3 Place: Writing from Occupied Territories The Specters of a Borrowed Village For Palestine Is Missing from Palestine The Fish Who Became a Shahid Jenin and Homeopathy A Murder Is a Murder Is a Murder: Between Tel Aviv and Bil'in 4 Politics: Plea to Jewish Artists Trust Your Dreams: To Dorit Rabinian Thus Spoke the Left: An Attack on the Manifesto of the National Left The Betrayal of the Peace Camp: To Achinoam Nini From Now On Say I Am a Palestinian Jew: To David Grossman And Who Shall I Say Is Calling? A Plea to Leonard Cohen Come Out of Your Political Closets: To Israeli Filmmakers Seinfeld, This Time It's Not Funny! Elementary, My Dear Schnabel: Plea to Julian Schnabel What Do You Mean When You Say "Left"? An Answer to Professor Nissim Calderon 5 Art: Visual Midrash An Angel Under Siege: To Hassan Hourani Local Angel: To Walter Benjamin Holy Language, Holy Place: To Franz Rosenzweig Forgiveness: To Jacques Derrida An Angel I Borrowed: To Mahmoud Darwish Stabat Mater: To My Father 6 Language: Conversations and Comments The Jew Is Within You, But You, You Are in the Jew, by Slavoj Zizek What Does a Jew Want? On the Film Local Angel, by Slavoj Zizek "I will tremble the underground": On the Film Forgiveness Angel for a New Place: On the Film Local Angel, by Alain Badiou The Four Dimensions of Art: On the Film Forgiveness, by Alain Badiou Existence on the Boundary: On the Film Kashmir: Journey to Freedom, by Alain Badiou There are some muffins there if you want ... : A Conversation on Queerness, Epilogue Oh, Weakness; or, Shylock with a Split S Jenin in Wonderland Precariousness, Binationalism, and BDS, by Judith Butler My Very Short Bibliography: Ontology of Exile Pledge to Our Language, by Scholem We Are Lacking a Present, by Mahmoud Darwish An Opening for an Interview, by Avot Yeshurun Who Is a Terrorist?, by D.A.M. A Man Goes, by Haviva Pedaya

A provocative and beautiful portfolio of reflections on Israel-Palestine, written by an Israeli artist/intellectual of the first order. -- Juilia Reinhard Lupton, University of California, Irvine This is an extremely inspiring and politically important volume. It will interest students and scholars in the fields of literary studies, religious studies, philosophy, political theory, and cultural studies, as well as the general educated public. The psychoanalytically informed and politically engaged readings of myths and stories from the Bible are especially convincing and truly innovative. -- Katrin Pahl, Johns Hopkins University Udi Aloni has written a remarkable series of love letters to what his country could be, challenging his fellow Jews to escape from all of our ghettos, whether physical or psychological. Aloni's political courage is contagious and reading him is a libratory experience. -- Naomi Klein, social activist and author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism Aloni's secular theology is definitely one of the most fascinating innovations of our time. So, if you want to dwell in your blessed secular ignorance, then do not read this book--at your own risk! -- Slavoj Zizek Udi Aloni provides us with a measure of the distance between our capacity for understanding and the terrors we choose instead. His art is trembling the underground, indeed. Boundless admiration. -- Tony Kushner