On September 10, 2024, over 100 attendees gathered in Stern College’s Koch Auditorium for a public conversation between the Wall Street Journal’s Features Editor Adam Kirsch, and Rabbi Dr. Stu Halpern, Senior Advisor to the Provost of Yeshiva University and Deputy Director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. The occasion for the event was Kirsch’s newly released book, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice (W.W. Norton and Co., 2024), which focuses on the insidious use of the settler colonialism framework against the United States and Israel that has intensified since October 7th. Kirsch and Halpern tackled the evolving discourse around settler colonialism and its modern implications, particularly in relation to Israel. This subject is of particular relevance to students of Yeshiva University who will undoubtedly benefit from learning more about the latest battles Israel faces in the world of ideas and public relations.
History of the Concept
Decades ago, the term settler colonialism was uncontroversial. It simply referred to Europeans settling in African or Asian lands following the disintegration of the major European empires. The settlers made up a minority of the total population and would expropriate land and exploit native populations. There was an ongoing struggle to get rid of them by the previous inhabitants, resulting in some long, bloody wars. In the case of Algeria, it eventually became independent resulting in the settlers leaving and returning to France.
However, in the 1990s, Australian sociologist Patrick Wolfe published a work that described settler colonialism not as an event but as a “structure” that continues to shape the societies involved. The theory suggests that countries like the U.S., Canada, and Australia, all of which were established through European settlement, are perpetually tainted by their colonial origins. “All of these societies, into the present day, are not just guilty of things that happened in the past but tainted by settler-colonialism,” Kirsch explained. “One can take that in a lot of directions: capitalism, environmentalism, patriarchy—whatever people object to in society is the legacy of settler-colonialism. The basic thrust is that these are illegitimate countries that can never become legitimate because they were founded on violence.” Due to Wolfe’s work, the term and its new insidious meaning spread far and wide, gaining popularity over the past few decades and emerging from the fields of sociology, history, and gender studies.
According to Kirsch, this academic framework has found increasing relevance in discussions surrounding Israel, especially following the brutal Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. “Most of the time when people hear about academic theories they seem very far out and esoteric,” Kirsch commented. “This is the case where one of those theories has emerged into the real world and affected the way people think about real political issues, and in our case, Israel-Palestine.” In the immediate aftermath, many progressive organizations justified the Hamas attacks by framing them as “resistance” to Israel as a "settler-colonial state.” This rhetoric, Kirsch argued, has become a dominant lens through which the Israel-Palestine conflict is now viewed by many academics and activists.
Distorting History, Distorting Israel
Yet Kirsch highlighted a critical distinction between historical settler colonialism and the modern case of Israel. If the classic concept of settler colonialism involves a minority stealing land and exploiting native populations, in Israel the Jewish settlers purchased land legally and were themselves attacked by local Arab populations. Kirsch emphasized that Israel's history is not one of European conquest but of a persecuted people seeking a homeland. Despite this, settler colonial theory continues to afflict Israel’s image. It largely simplifies a complex geopolitical situation into a narrative of European oppression over native peoples.
Kirsch and Halpern explored the potential consequences of the settler-colonial rhetoric becoming more mainstream, particularly in the wake of October 7th. The simple and misguided formula of settler-colonialism makes it easier for ideologues to equate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the struggles of native populations in other parts of the world, and has left many academics and activists more sympathetic to Hamas's actions. It has also fueled the misguided article of faith that Israel is engaged in a form of genocide. As Kirsch pointed out, this charge persists despite the historical and demographic realities contradicting such a malicious accusation.
Both speakers emphasized the importance of intellectual honesty in these debates, noting that while the theory resonates with many, it simplifies history and political realities to fit a particular ideological narrative. In that sense, Kirsch observed, it’s similar to the way that people still believe in communism. Many who thought of themselves as good people were attracted to this movement for its promise of genuine justice and equality, and yet when put into practice in Russia or China, it made things much worse. Indeed, “Ideological thinking can blind you to real world consequences,” Kirsch stated. He underscored that the persistence of such a narrative risks distorting public discourse on Israel and exacerbating anti-Israel sentiment globally.
Repentance and Redemption
Rabbi Dr. Halpern brought the unique lens of “repentance” to the conversation, particularly relevant during the Jewish month of Elul before the High Holidays. He questioned the implications of settler colonial theory, which offers no possibility of repentance or redemption for societies deemed to have colonial origins. According to this framework, the sins of the past forever taint present generations, a notion starkly opposed to Jewish teachings of forgiveness and renewal.
In response, Kirsch tied the discourse on settler colonialism to similar debates within critical race theory, which posits that the legacies of slavery and racism continue to define American society. Both frameworks, he suggested, present societies with moral dilemmas. “What would it mean for a society to repent from its settler-colonialist origins?” Kirsch asked. If we were to grant that these concepts are foundational to the societies in question, do they continue to define these societies forever, and what are our obligations today in response? In other words, what do we owe in the present to those wronged in the past, and is there a path to redemption?
Kirsch affirmed that what quickly becomes apparent is that despite the rhetoric, there is no prospect of decolonization in countries such as the US or Canada. The settler-colonialist framework often becomes more about criticizing the cultural or spiritual makeup of a society. However, unlike in the United States, in Israel there is ongoing violence resulting from what is characterized as an active settler-colonial struggle with activists believing that the “settler-colonial state” must be destroyed. For people who think in these terms, the October 7th attack was exactly the kind of “resistance” they dream of, and hence its barbarism was “exhilarating” as one professor infamously remarked.
Reflections from the Audience
Students had an opportunity to engage with Kirsch in the Q&A which capped the event, reflecting Yeshiva University’s mission of academic and intellectual discourse. The Impact Office also gauged the reaction of some of the attendees. Two of the Straus Scholars in attendance, Ateret Tollinsky (SCW '26) and Tziporah Pinczower (SCW '26), found the event deeply enlightening. Ms. Pinczower remarked, “It was a breath of clarity and intellectual honesty amidst so much chaos and deception,” while Ms. Tollinsky appreciated Kirsch's ability to dissect the often-convoluted terminology of the ideological camp of settler-colonialism, thus bringing a much-needed understanding to these pressing issues.
As settler colonialist rhetoric continues to distort the intellectual landscape, this event underscored the necessity for thoughtful, nuanced discussions on its implications for both Israel and the broader international community. We are grateful to our guest Adam Kirsch for joining us and for his insightful new book.
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One can read Rabbi Dr. Stu Halpern’s review of Kirsch’s book here, published at The Jewish Journal.
This event was hosted in coordination with the Straus Center’s Impact Office, and was co-sponsored by The Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought, the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program, and the Shevet Glaubach Center. The Impact Office aims to further the impact of Straus alumni, current Straus Scholars, and other students involved in politics, policy, and journalism on both of Yeshiva University’s undergraduate campuses. You can learn more about the Straus Center and the Straus Impact Office here.
