“Can the movement make an ethical demand: the seizure of the oppressive apparatus? Can an end to the injustice be achieved? Could one imagine the end of the injustice with the continuation of the apparatus that produced it?” 

— Yazan Khalili, “The Utopian Conflict” (Assuming Boycott, OR Books 2017, reprinted from the fourth issue of Tidal Magazine)

In solidarity with the Palestinian people facing ongoing displacement and colonial violence by the Israeli government, we are sharing free of charge two contributions  from our book Assuming Boycott: Resistance, Agency, and Cultural Production. 

“The Utopian Conflict” by artist and filmmaker Yazan Khalili begins with the question: “What if BDS wasn’t merely a political movement?!” and makes a case for the connection between the creation of the Israeli state as the root of both a Palestinian and Jewish catastrophe, by fixing “the Jew” as a national identity. 

“Extending Co-Resistance” is an interview between Kareem Estefan and Eyal Weizman on the British Israeli architect’s perspective on the BDS movement and his work as Director of Research at Forensic Architecture, where they work with Palestinian petitioners across all areas of Israeli control. “Anti-colonial struggle can turn the tribunal into a tribune,” says Weizman, “into a theater where the law itself is put on trial.”

We also welcome your visit of the Center’s past programming on Palestine, including a conversation with Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research on the “archive as a political space;” a seminar with professors Ariella Azoulay and Adi Ophir among others on the question of “What does the boycott mean?” as well as screenings and conversation, “United States of Israel: Here and Elsewhere,” presented by curator and writer, Joshua Simon (VLC Fellow 2011-2013).