• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Israel’s Jim Crow-Like Apartheid

November 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Ta-Nehisi Coates (Wikimedia Commons)
Ta-Nehisi Coates (Wikimedia Commons)

By Dennis Altman

In May 2023, renowned Black American writer Ta-Nehisi Coates spent ten days in the West Bank and Israel, where he spent half his time with Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers who now oppose the occupation.




Going to Palestine was “a huge shock to me”, he told the New York Times. Coming back, he felt, as he told US journalist Peter Beinart, “a responsibility to yell” about what he’d seen – which he describes as apartheid and compares to the segregated Jim Crow South in the United States.

As he was writing his new book, The Message, the October 7 Hamas attacks happened, followed by the ongoing war in Gaza. He doesn’t cover these events in the book, though he has talked about them in interviews, including one in which he described the decision not to allow a Palestinian state legislator to speak at the Democratic National Convention that nominated Kamala Harris as “deeply inhumane”.


Review: The Message – Ta-Nehisi Coates (Hamish Hamilton)


Coates is among the most celebrated and accomplished writers in the US. He is also, importantly, a Black writer in a world still dominated by white Americans. He first grabbed attention with a 2014 essay on America and slavery in The Atlantic, titled “The Case for Reparation”. Subsequently, he has written five books, including a novel, The Water Dancer, set on a Virginia slave plantation. He was even hired to write a Superman movie.




Coates has deliberately cast himself as part of the legacy of Black American writing, most notably through lyrical language that echoes the writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin. After reading his memoir about the experience of being Black in America, Between The World and Me, fellow writer Toni Morrison said she regarded him as Baldwin’s heir.

  • grand living realty

Slavery, censorship and culture wars

The Message is a series of three essays directed at Coates’ writing students at Howard University. In it, he chronicles three very different journeys. The final essay, about his trip to Israel–Palestine, takes up almost half the book.

His first trip is to Senegal, in search of the origins of Afro-American slavery. In the second, he visits a small town in South Carolina where there have been attempts to ban Between The World and Me from being taught in schools. Not surprisingly, all three sections are haunted by his awareness of racism and colonialism. His name, Ta-Nehisi, is a deliberate reference to the ancient Egyptian term for the kingdom of Nubia, sometimes translated as “land of the Blacks”.

  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Coates recognises that Western defence of slavery depended on defining the African as subhuman, just as Western colonialism justified itself with an ideology of racism. In Senegal, he visits the island of Goree, for four centuries the largest slave trading port on the African coast, now a world heritage site.

But like other African-American writers who have gone to Africa in search of their roots, he recognises that he is an outsider: “We have a right to our imagined traditions, to our imagined places, and those traditions and places are most powerful when we confess that they are imagined.”




These thoughts echo again when Coates struggles to come to terms with Israel, where both Palestinians and Israelis hold deeply felt emotional connections to the land, which makes compromise difficult.

In Chapin, South Carolina, teacher Mary Wood faced calls for her firing for teaching Between the World and Me, and pushed back against an attempt to ban her teaching it. The Message is frustrating in its lack of detail about the case, but Woods’ battle with the local school board has been widely reported as part of ongoing conflict within the US over censorship of books dealing with racial and sexual injustice. Coates is too focused on the fate of his own book to stand back and analyse the bigger conflict it represents.

America’s culture wars, which are echoed in Australia, are essentially battles over how to define a national identity – or, as Coates writes, to “privilege the apprehension of national dogmas over the questioning of them”. Our attack on “black armband” history (as named by Geoffrey Blainey in 1993) is paralleled by right-wing American denials of the centrality of slavery to the creation of the US, and debates over “critical race theory”.

Coates: Israel is not a democracy

Coates’ account of his trip to Palestine has been the most controversial aspect of his book. Significantly, he begins this section with an account of his visit to the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.

His sense of the horrors recorded there makes his account of Israeli occupation and dispossession of Palestinians more poignant. Reflecting on the memorial, Coates writes: “Every time I visit a space of memory dedicated to this particular catastrophe I always come away thinking that it was worse than I thought, worse than I could ever imagine.”

Aware of the racism that surrounds him as a Black American, Coates can imagine himself as both Palestinian and Israeli. This generosity of imagination does not prevent critical analysis. His accounts of life in the occupied West Bank underline the reality that Israel has imposed a regime that is effectively based on the subordination and dispossession of Palestinians – and a deliberate attempt, he writes, to deny any possibility of a genuine two-state solution.

The Israeli lobby is outraged by claims Israel has created an apartheid regime: many see the term as motivated by anti-Semitism. This is the implicit message of much of the pro-Israeli lobby, as summed up in the demands that Australian universities adopt a particular definition of anti-Semitism.




The strength of Coates’ analysis is that he minimises neither the reality of anti-Semitism, nor that of Israel’s domination of Palestinians. Defenders of Israel struggle to accept that once-persecuted people can become the persecutors. Yet, as Coates writes, “There was no ultimate victim, that victims and victimizers were ever flowing”.

In Coates’ view, Israel is not a democracy. To claim otherwise, he believes, is to deny the reality of Israel’s effective control of seven million Palestinians living on the West Bank and Gaza, who are now subject to dispossession and destruction in ways that resemble the worst carnage of World War II.

It is extraordinary that our politicians who can extol the virtues of multiculturalism remain blind to the realities of Israeli occupation, and indeed to the growing assertion of Jewish supremacy over those Israeli residents, around 25% of whom are not Jewish.

“Those who claimed Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East were just as likely to claim that America was the oldest democracy in the world,” he writes. “And both claims relied on excluding whole swaths of the population.”

Coates comes closest to explaining this paradox in his account of a plaque in Jerusalem that bears the name of a former US ambassador and proclaims “the unbreakable bond” between the two nations. This bond, it reads, is based on the shared ideals of the Bible, language that reverberates among many evangelical Christians today.

For millions of Americans, criticism of Israel becomes criticism of the US itself. The strength of the Israeli lobby in the US is enormous. The Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which spent over 100 million dollars this year, helped at least 318 American politicians win their seats in the recent US elections.

Not surprisingly, Palestinian voices go largely unheard in the US. Coates points to a study that demonstrates over a 50-year period ending in 2019, only 2% of opinion pieces discussing Palestine had Palestinian authors. (The study covered four major mainstream publications, including the New York Times and Washington Post.)

Honesty and egocentrism

Many reviews of The Message have been critical. Paul Sehgal in The New Yorker described it as “a public offering seemingly designed for private ends, an artefact of deep shame and surprising vanity which reads as if it had been conjured to settle its author’s soul”. I think the book is stronger than Sehgal suggests.




The Message is written as a conversation with Coates’ writing students, and his growing realisation that “becoming a good writer would not be enough”. He acknowledges his own limits: “I had gone to Palestine, like I’d gone to Senegal, in pursuit of my own questions and thus had not fully seen the people on their own terms.”

In fact, though, he did pay attention. The section on Palestine includes conversations with both Palestinians and Israelis, as well as references to the voluminous literature on the conflict. (Unfortunately, he does not include footnotes or a bibliography.) Since the publication of this book, Coates has become an active advocate for Palestinian rights. He recognises he has come late to this debate.

Yes, as his own words suggest, there is egocentrism in The Message. But I read it as an honest attempt to think through how a writer can best influence the world when confronted by slaughter and inhumanity. The Message is an unashamedly personal book. At times, it reads as if the author were in analysis, working through the privileges and burdens of being a successful writer and intellectual.

At several points, he refers to himself as both a writer and a steward, with an obligation to speak out about injustice to others. He writes of his books as his children, which “leave home, travel, have their own relationships, and leave their own impressions”. (He hints that of his five “children”, his favourite is his novel, The Water Dancer.)

I only wish the ardent defenders of Israel who occupy our parliament could be persuaded to read Coates’ book. At least it might persuade them that criticism of Israel’s refusal to recognise the claims of Palestinians is not equivalent to anti-Semitism.

Dennis Altman is Vice Chancellor’s Fellow and Professorial Fellow at the Institute for Human Security and Social Change at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena. Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion. The Conversation seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone. The Conversation publishes nightly at 9 p.m. on FlaglerLive.
See the Full Conversation Archives
Support FlaglerLive's End of Year Fundraiser
Thank you readers for getting us to--and past--our year-end fund-raising goal yet again. It’s a bracing way to mark our 15th year at FlaglerLive. Our donors are just a fraction of the 25,000 readers who seek us out for the best-reported, most timely, trustworthy, and independent local news site anywhere, without paywall. FlaglerLive is free. Fighting misinformation and keeping democracy in the sunshine 365/7/24 isn’t free. Take a brief moment, become a champion of fearless, enlightening journalism. Any amount helps. We’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donations are tax deductible.  
You may donate openly or anonymously.
We like Zeffy (no fees), but if you prefer to use PayPal, click here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Al says

    November 24, 2024 at 8:51 am

    Everyone should get in their car and drive forward while staring into the rear view mirror. You won’t go far without crashing into something. This is what the constant referral to the Jim Crow laws is like. Those laws ended 60 years ago and many who fantasize about them never lived within the restrictions. If you won’t let go of your past disruptions then you’ll never move forward. The middle east is a perfect example, someone did something 2,000 years ago and it needs to be revenged. The revenge leads to more revenge and it never stops. There needs to be an awakening to the dropping of a prefix in front of American. Your either an American first or you’re not an America at all.

  2. Pierre Tristam says

    November 24, 2024 at 2:24 pm

    The comment misses the point of Coates’s book, or the review. Nothing about Coates’s observations have to do with 2000 years ago, or 200 years ago, or even 2 years ago. They have to do with what he saw and experienced last year, when Palestinians experience every day, today, tomorrow and, as Israel would have it, forever, to paraphrase Wallace on his Capitol steps. Let’s not hide behind that old excuse about old wrongs and deal with what can be dealt with right now. Coates’s Jim Crow analogy is actual because what he observed revived that very state of siege, and terror, that Blacks lived with here, and that Palestinians live with now, under Israel’s boots.

    3
  3. Sherry says

    November 24, 2024 at 4:00 pm

    @al. . . The evolution of civilization is greatly strengthened by learning “lessons” from our mistakes of the past in order to keep from repeating them over and over. But, then again that idea is only for those who want to participate in an “evolving” civilization.

    Our last election tells us that the “dumbing down” of American citizens has put our country on the road to a “de-evolving civilization”. . . one that not only “looks back”, but wanted to “go back” to the 1950s.

    1
  4. jackson says

    November 24, 2024 at 5:35 pm

    Don’t pretend that anything started on October 7. It started with the 1948 founding of Israel, the ethnic cleaning of 750,000 Arabs run off their lands. The founders of Israel were from Europe and their goal is Jewish sovereignty from the Sea to the Jordan. We should not choose a side, we should quit participating.

    4
  5. BillC says

    November 24, 2024 at 6:24 pm

    @Al “Those laws ended 60 years ago”. Really? An apropos quote from Salon 11/24/24: “Donald Trump’s vow to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in workplaces and educational institutions on day one of his administration is not about fairness—it’s about erasing decades of progress and reinstating systemic racial barriers under the guise of equality. This is not a neutral policy proposal but the blueprint for a modern-day colorblind Jim Crow 2.0.”

    4
  6. Sherry says

    November 26, 2024 at 1:55 pm

    Thank you Jackson and Bill C! Both excellent comments!

    2
  7. Pogo says

    November 26, 2024 at 2:56 pm

    @Dennis Altman

    I will always admire Cervantes too.
    https://www.google.com/search?q=cervantes

    Q: Do you know how you get to Carnegie Hall?

    A: Practice!
    https://www.google.com/search?q=lt+aldo+raine+quotes

    1
  8. Ed P says

    November 27, 2024 at 9:10 am

    Walmart just announced the elimination of their DEI.
    We can expect others to follow. Does anyone believe any successful commercial enterprise would make the same decision if it was not in their best interest? Why shouldn’t the best qualified applicant at the moment be the one to be hired regardless of any other factors.
    In my opinion, it’s actually racist to look at different groups other than as people, as equals. It’s actually a bit demeaning.

  9. Kennan says

    November 29, 2024 at 4:02 pm

    Well, unfortunately, at this point, we need to pick a side. The side of sanity. I agree with the first part we ethically cleanse 750,000 people during the knockback in 1948. The United States has to take responsibility for their hand in the last 76 years. For their hand in the last 57 years of occupation. Very simple. You tell Israel, no more weapons no more money you’re on your own. You have had a seat in the front row long enough, taking full advantage and subjugated people for far too long. The next step is to, along with other westernized countries help rebuild Gaza, which will take forever by the way. And you give Gaza as well as the West Bank back to Palestine. At that point, we can salvage what little reputation we have left as a Country on the international stage. Have a far better chance at peace in the Middle East. is peace than a certainty? No, but our chances are exponentially better than they are now with the Nazi stance we have taken in the funding and permission of this ongoing genocide.

    1

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Conner Bosch law attorneys lawyers offices palm coast flagler county
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • PeachesMcGee on Palm Coast’s Golden Chopsticks Buffet Open Again 2 Days After Sanitation Inspection Ordered It Closed
  • Roy on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • PDE on Palm Coast’s Golden Chopsticks Buffet Open Again 2 Days After Sanitation Inspection Ordered It Closed
  • Ryan Jones on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Flagler Beach Resident on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Dusty on An Ugly Town Meeting in Marineland as Questions Hang Over Legality of Mayor’s Unilateral Appointment of a Commissioner
  • Nephew Of Uncle Sam on An Ugly Town Meeting in Marineland as Questions Hang Over Legality of Mayor’s Unilateral Appointment of a Commissioner
  • Pete on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Tony Mack on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, May 22, 2025
  • Joseph on Maga’s Fearful War on Universities
  • bruces on Palm Coast Mayor Norris Sues Palm Coast, Seeking Councilman Gambaro Booted and Special Election Held
  • Laurel on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, May 21, 2025
  • The dude on Reversing Planning Board’s Decision, Palm Coast Council Approves 100,000-Sq.-Ft. Storage Facility on Pine Lakes Pkwy
  • Bo Peep on Maga’s Fearful War on Universities
  • Dusty on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • PC OG on Flagler County Clears Construction of 124 Single-Family Houses at Veranda Bay in Latest Phases of 453-Unit Development

Log in