Editing Judith Butler (section)

=== Comments on Hamas, Hezbollah and the Gaza war ===
Butler has been criticized for statements they have made about [[Hamas]] and [[Hezbollah]]. Butler was accused of describing the [[Islamism|militant Islamist]] groups as "social movements that are progressive, that are on the Left, that are part of a global Left" in 2012.<ref>Petra Marquardt-Bigman, [http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/09/07/defending-judith-butler-in-the-ivory-tower/ "Defending Judith Butler in The Ivory Tower"], ''The Algemeiner Journal'', September 7, 2012.</ref> They were accused of defending "Hezbollah and Hamas as progressive organizations" and supporting their tactics.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Weinthal|first=Benjamin|title=Frankfurt to award US advocate of Israel boycott|journal=The Jerusalem Post|date=26 August 2012|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Frankfurt-to-award-US-advocate-of-Israel-boycott|access-date=9 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Illouz|first=Eva|title=Judith Butler gets a taste of her own politics|journal=Haaretz|date=20 September 2012|url=http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/judith-butler-gets-a-taste-of-her-own-politics-1.465861|access-date=9 October 2013}}</ref>

Butler responded to these criticisms by stating that their remarks on Hamas and Hezbollah were taken completely out of context and, in so doing, their established views on non-violence were contradicted and misrepresented. Butler describes the origin of their remarks on Hamas and Hezbollah in the following way:
<blockquote>I was asked by a member of an academic audience a few years ago whether I thought Hamas and Hezbollah belonged to "the global left" and I replied with two points. My first point was merely descriptive: those political organizations define themselves as anti-imperialist, and anti-imperialism is one characteristic of the global left, so on that basis one could describe them as part of the global left. My second point was then critical: as with any group on the left, one has to decide whether one is for that group or against that group, and one needs to critically evaluate their stand.<ref name="mondoweiss" /></blockquote>

After the start of the [[Gaza war]] in 2023, Butler published an essay entitled "The Compass of Mourning" in which they "condemn without qualification" the "terrifying and revolting massacre" while at the same time arguing that the attacks by Hamas should be seen in the context of the "horrors of the last seventy years".<ref>Butler, Judith: [https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n20/judith-butler/the-compass-of-mourning''The Compass of Mourning''], lrb.co.uk, October 19, 2023.</ref> The article was criticized several times in German newspapers. Christian Geyer-Hindemith wrote in the ''[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]'' that Butler "makes individual atrocities disappear" through contextualization. Thomas E. Schmidt spoke in the ''[[Die Zeit]]'' about the "reversal of guilt". At the same time, Anna Mayr wrote in the ''Die Zeit'' that "countless the same thing goes on for paragraphs: Nothing can justify the violence, and you still have to see the violence of the occupying power, Israel. It becomes clear that [they] (understandably) doesn't know where to think next."<ref>Schmidt, Thomas E.: [https://www.zeit.de/kultur/2023-10/judith-butler-israel-hamas-linke-intellektuelle ''Linke Schuldumkehr''], zeit.de, October 19, 2023, (german).</ref><ref>Geyer-Hindemith, Christian: [https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/judith-butler-ueber-den-terror-der-hamas-reden-ueber-nahost-19249348.html ''Das Böse ist konkret''], faz.net, October 17, 2023 (german).</ref><ref>Mayr, Anna : [https://www.zeit.de/2023/44/politische-linke-hamas-angriff-positionierung/komplettansicht ''Warum sich die postmoderne Linke so schwertut, den Terror gegen Israel zu verurteilen''], zeit.de, October 19, 2023 (german).</ref> Writing for ''[[Haaretz]]'', Chaim Levinson rejected Butler's framing of the matter within a context of [[colonialism]], saying that term is "the emptiest word in Western intellectual discourse today".<ref>{{Cite news |title=אקדמאים יהודים יקרים: חמאס התגאה ברצח עמנו, לא ברצח קולוניאליסטים ציונים |language=he |work=הארץ |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/gallery/galleryfriday/chaimlevinson/2023-10-25/ty-article/.highlight/0000018b-616a-d307-adbb-657ac16e0000 |access-date=2023-10-28|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Speaking at a public event in Paris on March 3, 2024, Butler stated that the [[October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel]] was an uprising, an instance of armed resistance, rather than an act of terrorism.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/pour-judith-butler-les-massacres-du-7-octobre-ne-sont-pas-une-attaque-terroriste-mais-un-acte-de-resistance-armee-20240305|first=Paul|last=Sugy|title=Pour la philosophe féministe Judith Butler, l'attaque terroriste du 7 octobre est "un acte de résistance armée"|work=Le Figaro|date=March 4, 2024|access-date=March 9, 2024|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/world/outrage-as-influential-feminist-academic-judith-butler-calls-october-7-murder-and-rape-resistance-f15cx658|title=Outrage as influential feminist academic Judith Butler calls October 7 murder and rape 'resistance'|work=The Jewish Chronicle|first=Jane|last=Prinsley|date=March 7, 2024|access-date=March 9, 2024}}</ref>

<blockquote>"I think it is more honest and historically correct to say that the uprising of October 7 was an act of armed resistance. It is not a terrorist attack and it is not an antisemitic attack. It was an attack against Israelis."<ref>{{cite web |author1=Etan Nechin |title=Why Judith Butler Calling Hamas' Slaughter 'Armed Resistance' Is So Depressing |url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-03-07/ty-article-opinion/.premium/why-judith-butler-calling-hamas-slaughter-armed-resistance-is-so-depressing/0000018e-18a9-d1cc-abfe-dfad4cd90000 |website=Haaretz |access-date=1 May 2024 |date=March 7, 2024}}</ref></blockquote>