When people today say 'racism,' they mean it's a nationalism they don't like. Racialism used to be a good thing, a looking-out for what was best for one group... Israel comes out of that 19th-century idea of nationalism. Many Arab states also have preferences. It's fundamentally unfair to decide that one is racism and the others aren't.

The ability to calibrate risk doesn't happen rationally.

There's still a role for the Association for Israel Studies. But not as the endpoint of scholarship and not as a fortress to defend Israel.

Ian Lustick Quotes