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Papers by noga wolff
Genealogy, Feb 18, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Holocaust studies, Mar 13, 2019
The Israeli discourse has always reflected a tendency to ground Holocaust memory in a particulari... more The Israeli discourse has always reflected a tendency to ground Holocaust memory in a particularistic perspective. This perspective involves a disproportionate focus on the suffering of the Jewish people and exclusion of any consideration of the suffering of other peoples, especially the Palestinians. The present article emphasizes that this approach leads to an artificial severance of the Holocaust from an issue that is integral to its historic development: the violation of human rights. The Holocaust could not have occurred without the license and justification for violating human rights; indeed, the Holocaust is, ultimately, an extreme manifestation of the violation of human rights. The present article highlights that in the last decade the Israeli tendency to detach the Holocaust from education about human rights has been justified in the academic literature produced elsewhere in the world. But whereas in Israel the divorce of the concept of human rights from Holocaust education has led to apathy about the violation of the Palestinians' rights and consequently to the perpetuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, now, paradoxically, the conflict and the infringement of the Palestinians' rights have made it more difficult for those outside Israel to write about the Holocaust in the context of human rights. The article assumes that the suppression of the historical link between the Holocaust and the violations of human rights that preceded the mass murder of the Jews deprives students of the ability to understand the repressive and destructive potential of modern political systems and of the human beings who live and operate within them. At the same time, this educational tendency also leaves them ignorant of the crystallization of the most significant emancipatory achievement of modern times: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The article concludes that it is necessary to pursue qualitative research into how Holocaust education in Israel affects Israelis' perception of the Other, and especially the Palestinian. It also recommends a study of the extent to which the overtones of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the literature influences the severance of Holocaust from education about human rights outside Israel as well.
Journal of Political Ideologies, Jan 2, 2015
The assumption at the basis of this article is that the chronicles of Italian Fascism and German ... more The assumption at the basis of this article is that the chronicles of Italian Fascism and German Nazism reflect a common trajectory in the history of two respective democracies in which a nationalist socialization overpowered the universal values of democratic civil society. This history underscores the persuasive authority and power of the nationalist narrative, running ever so blindly and counter to the humanistic principles that aspire to the welfare of all human beings. While fully acknowledging the singularity of German National Socialism during the first half of the 20th century, the conclusion of this article finds Nazism to be a highly applicable instance of the principles of fascism and an ultimate expression of the dangerous potential inherent to nationalism. By means of an analysis of the speeches and writings of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, the core principles of nationalism are demonstrated: a particularistic solidarity among individuals who are allegedly bonded by a historical definition (based on a cultural, religious or biological foundation), and the prioritization of the interests of the nation and of those who are seen to be part of it above everything else. These principles are provided as an alternative ethical core by Mussolini and Hitler, and are shown in this article to be no less significant motifs than the common racial ones strewn throughout the various argumentations in the two respective fascist ideologies.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Genealogy, 2022
Much has been written about the representation of the Holocaust in Israel, but there is less awar... more Much has been written about the representation of the Holocaust in Israel, but there is less awareness to its effects on attitudes toward democracy and the universal meaning of human rights. Representations of the Holocaust by Israeli socialization agents usually focus on hatred toward Jews, disregarding the broader theoretical-ideological context. This tendency is typical to groups that suffered such severe traumas in their past. Nonetheless, we argue that it does not allow a healing process and fosters a reduced perspective on the essential principles of democracy. It also particularizes the concept of human rights, thus excluding those of “others,” such as Palestinians. We further argue that a more extensive perspective on the Holocaust, which includes an understanding of Nazism within an ideological mosaic that denies democratic principles and humanity, may strengthen Israelis’ identification with democratic principles and universal human rights. We analyze the different approaches to teaching the Holocaust in the context of the collective trauma and explore their impact on society’s sense of victimhood and moral injury. The paper ends with a suggestion for further research that will explore the possibility that a school curriculum that emphasizes universal lessons will enable the memorialization of the Holocaust without succumbing to nationalistic perceptions.
Journal of Political Ideologies
Genealogy, Feb 18, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Holocaust studies, Mar 13, 2019
The Israeli discourse has always reflected a tendency to ground Holocaust memory in a particulari... more The Israeli discourse has always reflected a tendency to ground Holocaust memory in a particularistic perspective. This perspective involves a disproportionate focus on the suffering of the Jewish people and exclusion of any consideration of the suffering of other peoples, especially the Palestinians. The present article emphasizes that this approach leads to an artificial severance of the Holocaust from an issue that is integral to its historic development: the violation of human rights. The Holocaust could not have occurred without the license and justification for violating human rights; indeed, the Holocaust is, ultimately, an extreme manifestation of the violation of human rights. The present article highlights that in the last decade the Israeli tendency to detach the Holocaust from education about human rights has been justified in the academic literature produced elsewhere in the world. But whereas in Israel the divorce of the concept of human rights from Holocaust education has led to apathy about the violation of the Palestinians' rights and consequently to the perpetuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, now, paradoxically, the conflict and the infringement of the Palestinians' rights have made it more difficult for those outside Israel to write about the Holocaust in the context of human rights. The article assumes that the suppression of the historical link between the Holocaust and the violations of human rights that preceded the mass murder of the Jews deprives students of the ability to understand the repressive and destructive potential of modern political systems and of the human beings who live and operate within them. At the same time, this educational tendency also leaves them ignorant of the crystallization of the most significant emancipatory achievement of modern times: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The article concludes that it is necessary to pursue qualitative research into how Holocaust education in Israel affects Israelis' perception of the Other, and especially the Palestinian. It also recommends a study of the extent to which the overtones of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the literature influences the severance of Holocaust from education about human rights outside Israel as well.
Journal of Political Ideologies, Jan 2, 2015
The assumption at the basis of this article is that the chronicles of Italian Fascism and German ... more The assumption at the basis of this article is that the chronicles of Italian Fascism and German Nazism reflect a common trajectory in the history of two respective democracies in which a nationalist socialization overpowered the universal values of democratic civil society. This history underscores the persuasive authority and power of the nationalist narrative, running ever so blindly and counter to the humanistic principles that aspire to the welfare of all human beings. While fully acknowledging the singularity of German National Socialism during the first half of the 20th century, the conclusion of this article finds Nazism to be a highly applicable instance of the principles of fascism and an ultimate expression of the dangerous potential inherent to nationalism. By means of an analysis of the speeches and writings of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, the core principles of nationalism are demonstrated: a particularistic solidarity among individuals who are allegedly bonded by a historical definition (based on a cultural, religious or biological foundation), and the prioritization of the interests of the nation and of those who are seen to be part of it above everything else. These principles are provided as an alternative ethical core by Mussolini and Hitler, and are shown in this article to be no less significant motifs than the common racial ones strewn throughout the various argumentations in the two respective fascist ideologies.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Genealogy, 2022
Much has been written about the representation of the Holocaust in Israel, but there is less awar... more Much has been written about the representation of the Holocaust in Israel, but there is less awareness to its effects on attitudes toward democracy and the universal meaning of human rights. Representations of the Holocaust by Israeli socialization agents usually focus on hatred toward Jews, disregarding the broader theoretical-ideological context. This tendency is typical to groups that suffered such severe traumas in their past. Nonetheless, we argue that it does not allow a healing process and fosters a reduced perspective on the essential principles of democracy. It also particularizes the concept of human rights, thus excluding those of “others,” such as Palestinians. We further argue that a more extensive perspective on the Holocaust, which includes an understanding of Nazism within an ideological mosaic that denies democratic principles and humanity, may strengthen Israelis’ identification with democratic principles and universal human rights. We analyze the different approaches to teaching the Holocaust in the context of the collective trauma and explore their impact on society’s sense of victimhood and moral injury. The paper ends with a suggestion for further research that will explore the possibility that a school curriculum that emphasizes universal lessons will enable the memorialization of the Holocaust without succumbing to nationalistic perceptions.
Journal of Political Ideologies