The American philosopher and gender studies scholar Judith Butler has pulled out of a series of events she had organised at the Centre Pompidou in Paris because of her position on the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In a statement seen by The Art Newspaper Butler said: “It has become clear to me that my presence on the Centre Pompidou programme at the
end of April will be a distraction from the important work that will be
presented by artists and intellectuals at these events. As a result, I have
decided not to participate formally in the events but have urged all the
guests to take part as planned. This is my own choice based on
my own judgment about what is best under these circumstances, and I
am confident that the programme will be truly excellent and encourage
the public to attend.”
Butler, a member of the American association Jewish Voice for Peace,
was criticised for statements she made at a video-recorded lecture near Paris on 3 March. At the event hosted by the French YouTube show Paroles d’Honneur, Butler said that the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, although “terrible”, “was not a terror attack or an antisemitic act”, but an “uprising” and an “act of armed resistance”. She then added, ironically: “I will get in trouble for that.”
On Mediapart, a French news website, she later explained she had
intended her comments to “analyse” Hamas’s action “as political tactics”, but that “did not mean she supports Hamas or glorifies their atrocities”.
The Paris city council had previously cancelled one of her speaking engagements on Palestine in December 2023. Two other lectures on the powers of mourning, the topic of her latest book, were cancelled by the elite École Normale Supérieure in February.
The Berkeley professor was invited by the Pompidou to be the “intellectual in residence” for a series of lectures and events. Initially planned to take place from 14 September 2023 to 25 January 2024, the series was postponed because of staff strikes, which resulted in repeated closures of the centre. This “intellectual season”, including a panel with the French philosopher Etienne Balibar, was rescheduled for 24 to 28 April. The Pompidou says it is reworking the details of the programme, which should be announced soon.
