TURKEY

Two liberal professors on enlightment and politics

We discussed with Samuel Fleischaker, a philosophy professor in İllinois University and Fania Oz-Salzberger, a history professor from Haifa University, who came to Turkey in the past days to take part in the Democracy and Enlightment Conference, the recent movements which are rising worldwide.
Two liberal professors on enlightment and politics

First we will discuss with Fania Oz-Salzberger, a history professor from Haifa University, about liberalism and enlightment.


Enlightment is a rare subject in Turkey. What is your impression about the 3 day conference? 

Enlightenment legacy is on the defence in both Turkey and Israel these days. Free thinking, open debate, secularity and liberal orthodoxy are challenged by strong forces which are militant, charismatic, sometimes mystical, and fearful of universal values. This is why I felt so personally committed to this conference. Our group of scholars from the Mediterranean, mainly from Greece, Turkey and Israel, has been meeting for five years in a row. We have already discussed the Enlightenment in Zakynthos, Haifa, Izmir and Thessaloniki. We have become good friends as well as academic colleagues.

But this year was special. Almost everything we discussed was relevant to our lives today, to the global and Middle Eastern affairs. Whether the topic was economic justice or civic freedom, the value of democratic debate or the shadow of populism, it often touched current affairs. It's as if David Hume and Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant and Voltaire were speaking to us about Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. And about our own place as citizens with opinions, as scholars who love debate, and as members of a global society at dangerous times.

For me, as a liberal Israeli, the feeling that I have such wonderful friends in our part of the world, who are lovers of the Enlightenment and its core values - means I am not alone in this region. I have Mediterranean neighbours who share my interests and hopes, and also my love of life, music, good food and good company. 

What can you say about the peace process in Israel? Do you see any hope? 

The peace process is currently non-existent. Neither Netanyahu and is coalition, the most right-wing in Israeli history, nor Mahmud Abbas, weakened by homegrown fanaticism, are capable of delivering peace, or even sitting down to negotiate. The two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, which in my mind is still the only viable solution, looks very far and slippery these days.

Moreover, the Middle East is on fire, and the US and Europe are busy with their own leadership crises and social-economic troubles. I can't remember, in my adult life, a less opportune moment for rekindling the hope for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Yet hope exists. I say this not only because, as a political activist, I see hope as a good working-tool. I also speak as a historian. Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations began only in the early 1990s. Such processes take time. We need good leadership on three fronts - the Israeli, the Palestinian and the international community. This combination has been eluding us. But it's not an unthinkable scenario.

A word on Turkey and Israel: I can witness at first hand that many Israelis love and miss Turkey as a friend and an alley. In Istanbul and Izmir I met Turkish people, of various backgrounds, who feel the same. There is now a chance that our two countries may come closer again, for the first time since the Mavi Marmara. But  I would like this rapprochement not to be based just on 'real-politik' and cold calculation, but also on shared ideas and on peace-seeking for the region.  

The left wing is getting weaker in Israel… How do you evaluate this? 

The enormous political impact of national chauvinism, blind faith, and also genuine fear of war and terrorism, is today felt not only in Israel. Other Middle Eastern countries are awash with violence that is far worse than the Israeli-Palestinian situation. In the United States and in Europe, the political left is facing similar setbacks. Perhaps we need to be honest and acknowledge that the liberal left - to which I belong - has not produced good answers to many recent problems. I think the left in Israel and elsewhere will not rebuild itself if it does not learn how to speak to human fears.

In Israel, indeed, the traditional left is weaker than at any time in our history. Our right wing has consolidated significant power by aligning with the extreme right. But consider this: even so, the political right represents less than 50% of the voters. Israeli society has an enormous "quiet middle", people who are politically in the center, dislike any kind of extremism, and seek rational solutions. If a viable moderate leadership emerges for this public - and yes, there are some good candidates around - the Israeli political map can change in the next elections.

In sum, I am not losing hope in Israel for the same reason I am not losing hope in the Enlightenment. Rationality, justice, criticism, free speech, open debate and political moderation are very strong and beautiful ideas. They come from Jewish as well as western sources, and indeed from ancient Mediterranean origins. They are worth fighting for. 

 

Lets hear what Samuel Fleischaker, a philosophy professor in Illinois University think about pluralism and liberty.


SAMUEL FLEISCHACKER: "Unprincipled, supposedly pragmatic right, far more dangerous than the pure fascist ideologues" 

What can you say about world wide liberalism today? 

It's unfortunately on the decline. Liberalism requires a robust

respect for freedom of expression and conscience, among other basic human rights, and an understanding that popular votes should never overturn those rights.  The contempt and hatred for Muslims, in Europe and the US, and the threats to freedom of speech in Israel and Turkey, show that this understanding of the importance of rights is declining even in what used to be the world's most liberal countries. I also think that liberalism requires a certain degree of social democracy.  If the poor don't have adequate education and health care, especially, they don't really have the opportunity to make the free choices that liberalism values.  An understanding of this link is also waning, especially in Israel and the US. Bernie Sanders stands up for it nicely, and Stav Shaffir does so in Israel. But they are not likely to come to power any time soon.

 

Today, in many parts of the world-including USA- extreme right is on the rise. Is this a threat to democracy? 

Certainly. But in many places,

it remains a fairly small phenomenon. There is no immediate danger of fascists coming to power in the US or France or Germany or Greece,

I think.  More dangerous than these ideologues is a kind of unprincipled, supposedly "pragmatic" right represented well by Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, that is careless about rights: people who aren't actually *opposed* to rights, nor are they deeply racist, but they're willing to ignore rights, and take racist measures, when that's convenient for their agenda. These people are able to attract large followings, even in established democracies  like the United States, and are therefore far more dangerous than the pure fascist ideologues. 

You’re experienced on Jewish studies… Have you ever had a chance to study or look into the Turkish Jews? What can you say about Turkish Jews compared to the other diaspora communities? 

I've never studied Turkish Jews, but my wife and I spent several wonderful shabbatot at Istanbul  synagogues when we came to Turkey with our children in 2000. We particularly liked the preservation of Ladino - hearing the announcements at the end in Ladino was a unique experience.  I also spent a shabbat with the Jews of Izmir at the last conference of our Mediterranean Society for the Study of the Scottish Enlightenment in 2014. Again, I really enjoyed it and found the community very welcoming.

The one tragic thing was that it seems to be badly declining in size:  a subject of a lot of discussion among the community.  I hope there remains a rich and substantial diaspora community in Turkey; we Jews need variety, and multiple centers of community, and the rich heritage of Turkish Jewry is eminently worth preserving.

 

 

 

 

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