Denial In a Time of Genocide

How can a settler-colonial state rooted in violence and dispossession present itself as a progressive democracy? Despite undeniable evidence of systemic racism and discrimination, Israel continues to launder its image with rainbow flags, forests (planted over the ruins of destroyed villages), and a Museum of Tolerance (built atop a historic 1,400-year-old Palestinian cemetery).

Join Professor Saree Makdisi and Louise Adler as they discuss how a false narrative of tolerance, coupled with a deep culture of denial, sustains the image of a liberal and multicultural Israel, even as it commits genocide against its indigenous Palestinian population.

After the discussion, Professor Makdisi will be available to sign copies of his latest book, Tolerance is a Wasteland, which will be on sale.

Saree Makdisi is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California. His books include Tolerance is a Wasteland: Palestine and the Culture of Denial, Palestine Inside Out, and Making England Western. He is a frequent contributor to The Nation and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Louise Adler is the director of Adelaide Writers’ Week. Her illustrious career as an editor, publisher and leader in the arts spans more than three decades, and notably includes her time as CEO and publisher at Melbourne University Press from 2008–2019.