Comments on: Carl Schmitt in Jerusalem: Reflecting on the Mob Violence of August 17th

By: Antonio XV

Antonio XV — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:40:00 +0000

Per quello che il mio scarso inglese mi consente di capire si tratta soltanto di una superficiale citazione della teoria dell’amico-nemico associata al nome di Carl Schmitt. Si parla poi di un fatto di cronaca. L’articolo in quanto tale non ha nessun carattere “scientifico” nel senso che non può essere annoverato nella letteratura di carattere scientifico su Carl Schmitt allo stesso modo in cui non basta che una cita Einstein per essere annoverato come uno studioso di Albert Einstein e delle sue astruse (per chi non le capisce) teorie astrofisiche: si cita Einstein per dire che è un “genio” e Carl Schmitt per dire che è un “demonio”… Chi studia seriamente l’uno o l’altro si trova a dover perdere del tempo con citazioni del tutto strampalate e superficiali.

By: Benoit

Benoit — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:41:00 +0000

So it is only because Schmitt’s spirit inhabits JRLM streets that one witnessed such an appalling attack?
Why would it that “The rest of the crowd feared for their own life”? It was clear that the attackers were after “Arabs”, so the rest of the crowd did not risk anything.
Why Bibi did not hold this special address to the nation?
…. because there is a serious problem INSIDE Israeli society and politics tout court. And that should be faced. It is too convenient to blame the others.

By: Piki Ish-Shalom

Piki Ish-Shalom — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:24:00 +0000

Hi Brenden. I think your criticism of my use of Schmitt can be divided into two. The first is the style, the second content. Regarding the style, writing commentaries I try to find a path that will be captivating, yet not a series of empty rhetorical slogans. I hope and think I succeeded in it here, but I may indeed, as you indicate, fell to the slogan trap. Let us see how other readers will feel.
Regarding the content of Schmitt, I think you are wrong. He had indeed a great mind and produced a lot of interesting and serious contributions. I use his political theology in a scholarly piece I write now, and it is helpful. But you cannot dismiss his guilt (not associative one) so easily. His use of his great mind was not something secondary or contingent. It was a very coherent use, and he justified Nazism (not “merely” totalitarianism) using his insights. And the attempted lynch in Jerusalem wasn’t just an accidental collective violence and it does not bear only associative guilt. No. It was purposed violence. It linked very tightly with a sort of racist thinking and motivation, of the type of us versus them. If you had a direct access to the slogans used in the violent occasion (which I don’t have the “poetic” skills to translate into English) you would see how it fits in with the friend-foe distinction. A distinction which is very Schmittian.
Thank you for your comments. Piki

By: Brendan M.

Brendan M. — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 21:06:00 +0000

I’m sorry but I see your use of Schmitt’s name here as purely sensationalistic, gratuitous and, well, misleading. As many serious scholars on all sides of the political spectrum know, Schmitt was an important theorist who made many serious contributions. (Take a look at the Summer 1987 “Telos” special.) We all know that he used his great legal mind for despicable ends — justifying and legitimizing a totalitarian regime. But to simply use his name so loosely and uncritically, as you do here, in the context of racial violence, is to seriously ignore Schmitt’s very real contributions to legal theory, political philosophy and their links to the religious realm. While the rest of this article is interesting, it really has very little to do with Schmitt. You just as easily could have used any number of social and political thinkers from the last 500 years to talk about racial violence. There is nothing uniquely Schmittian about any of what you say. Shall we call what you have used in this piece simply associative guilt?

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 20:53:00 +0000

Yes, Tomek. Your analysis of the situation in the former Soviet bloc reflecting on Pussy Riot will appear here soon, pointing to an important comparison. I worry about American politics as well, especially as I hear Tea Party Republican describe our elections and our President.

By: Tomasz Kitlinski

Tomasz Kitlinski — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 20:40:00 +0000

Excellent analysis! And sounds like my East-Central Europe – too much Carl Schmitt’s friend-foe also here, Tomasz Kitlinski