Liberal Humanism and Zionism: A Reading of Via Dolorosa and Wall by David Hare

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Language and Literature English, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Malayer University, Malayer

2 Department of Language and Literature English, Foreign Languages,, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

10.22059/jor.2024.382255.2570

Abstract

The discourse of Zionism has had a significant impact on Western culture since World War II, particularly evident in contemporary literature, especially in America and Britain. This influence is further amplified by the Zionist dominance of the cultural industry and the historical context of the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel in 1948. These factors have led to a massive production of artistic and literary works by both Jewish and non-Jewish artists and writers, exploring these themes and their implications. Of special interest in this regard is the way the so-called liberal writers have tackled what has come to be referred to as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Western media. The present article aims to look into the representation of the aforesaid issue in Via Dolorosa (1998) and Wall (2009) by David Hare, a liberal writer with (previously) leftist tendencies. Drawing on the views of a number of theorists and historians such as Edward Said and Ilan Pappé, the writers highlight how Hare’s account contradicts his liberal claims of avoidance of prejudice, pursuit of justice and advocacy of human rights. They argue that Hare’s seemingly documentary narratives, supplementing each other, turn into propaganda-like pieces whitewashing a long history of occupation and atrocities by the Israeli regime.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Adorno, Theodor. W. “Cultural Criticism and Society.” The Holocaust: Theoretical Readings. Edited by Neil Levi and Michael Rothberg. Edinburgh UP. 2003. 280-291.
Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. Harcourt, Brace &World. 2007.
Azad, Bahareh, and Hossein Pirnajmuddin. Testing Liberal Humanism: The East in David Hare’s Plays: Politics of Alterity in Contemporary British Drama. Lambert Academic Publishing. 2013.
Barat, Frank, Noam Chomsky, and Ilan Pappé. On Palestine. Haymarket Books. 2015.
Boireau, Nicole. “Re-routig Radicalism with David Hare”. European Journal of English Studies. vol.7. no. 1. (summer 2003): 25-37.
Boon, Richard. “Introduction.” The Cambridge Companion to David Hare. Edited by Richard Boon. Cambridge UP. 2008.
Chomsky, Noam. “Bellow’s Issue.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Edited by Dedria Brytonski and Phyllis Carmel. Gale Research Company, 1978.
-----. Pirates and Emperors, Old and New: International Terrorism in the Real World. South End Press. 2002.
Chomsky, Noam et al. On Palestine. Haymarket Books. 2015
Davies, Tony. Humanism. Routledge. 1997.
Deeney, John. “David Hare and political playwriting: Between the third way and the permanent way.” A Companion to Modern British and Irish Drama 1880-2005. Edited by Mary Luckhurst. John Wiley and Sons. 2006. 429-40.
Dowrkin, Ronald. “Liberalism” in Liberalism and Its Critics. Edited by Michael J. Sandel. New York UP. 1984. 60-80.
Garaudy, Roger. The Founding Myths of Modern Israel. Institute for Historical Review, 2000.
Gacek, Christopher. M. “Removing the Stain of the United Nations' "Zionism Is Racism" Resolution.” Heritage Foundation Research. September 1991. 12 January 2010.
Ghanim, Honaida. “The Urgency of a New Beginning in Palestine: An Imagined Scenario by Mahmoud Darwish and Hannah Arendt.” College Literature. vol. 38. no. 1. (winter 2011): 75-94.
Habermas, Jürgen, Nicole Deitelhoff, Rainer Forst, Klaus Günther. “Principles of solidarity. A Statement”. Normative Orders, 2023. https://www.normativeorders.net/2023/grundsatze-der-solidaritat/
Hare, David. Via Dolorosa: & When Shall We Live? Faber and Faber. 1998.
-----. Obedience, Struggle and Revolt. Faber & Faber, 2007.
-----. Berlin/Wall. Faber and Faber, 2009.
Innes, Christopher. Modern British Drama 1890-1990. Cambridge UP. 1992.
Kaplan, Amy. Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance. Harvard UP. 2018.
Khalidi, Rashid. The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017. Picador. 2021.
Kritzer, A. H.  Political Theatre in Post-Thatcher Britain. Palgrave Macmillan. 2008
Megson, Chris and Dan Rebellato. “‘Theatre and anti-theatre’ David Hare and public speaking”. The Cambridge Companion to David Hare. Edited by Richard Boon. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 2008. 237-249.
Montazeri, Golnaz et al. “Payani bar ‘Payane Ideology’ dar Theatre Mostanad-e Britania pas az yazdahom-e September: Negai be Namayeshnameye Name Man Rachel Corrie Ast” [“My Name Is Rachel Corrie: The End of “End of Ideology” in Post-9/11 British Documentary Theatre”] Research in Contemporary World Literature [Pazhuhesh-e Zabanha-ye Khareji]. vol. 23. no. 1 (Spring 1397): 171-194.
Pappé, Ilan. Ten Myths about Israel. Verso Books. 2017.
-----. The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories. Oneworld Publications. 2019.
Patterson, Michael. Strategies of Political Theatre: Post-War British Playwrights. Cambridge UP. 2003
Peacock, D. Keith. Radical Stages: Alternative History in Modern British Drama. Routledge. 1991.
Pirnajmuddin, Hossien and Majid Sarsangi. “Gofteman-e Sharghshenasane dar Namayeshnameye Iranian.” Nashriye-e Honarhaye Ziba. 25 (1385): 97-102.
Pirnajmuddin, Hossien and Motahareh Payambarpour. “Ian McEwan va Ensangarayi-e Liberal: Naghdi bar Roman-e Shanbeh” [ “Ian McEwan and Liberal Humanism: A Reading of Saturday”]. Research in Contemporary World Literature [Pazhuhesh-e Zabanha-ye Khareji]. vol.25. no.1 (Summer 1399): 183-208
Raz-Krakotzkin, Amnon. “Binationalism and Jewish Identity: Hannah Arendt and the Question of Palestine.” In Hannah Arendt in Jerusalem, Edited by. Steven E. Aschheim. University of Californian Press. 2001. 165-180.
Ryan, William. “The Art of Savage Discovery: How to Blame the Victim.” Contemporary Readings in Social Problems. Edited by Anna Leon-Guerrero, ‎ Kristine Zentgraf. SAGE Publication. 2008. 6-16.
Said, Edward. The Question of Palestine. Times Books. 1979.
---, Culture and Imperialism. Vintage Books. 1993.
---, Orientalism. Penguin Books. 2003.
---. “Islam and the West are Inadequate Banners.” The Observer. 16 September 2001. 24 November 2010. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/16/september11.terrorism3
Spencer, Jenny S. “Mainstream British Left Theater.” Contemporary Literature. 37.3 (Fall 1996): 471-481.
Research in Contemporary World Literature
Volume 30, Issue 1
March 2025
Pages 25-48

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics