We write as alums, former staff and neighbors and supporters of Carleton.  We have been associated with Carleton for over 56 years, since arriving as freshmen the summer after Dr. King was assassinated. We have been engaged in and advocated for social justice our whole lives. We spent 10 weeks volunteering in the West Bank of Palestine at the Quaker school there, and were able to travel in the West Bank, Israel and Gaza during our stay.  What we saw and learned profoundly affected us, and that was all before Oct. 7, 2023. 

Our local group, Northfielders for Justice in Palestine/Israel (NJP/I), works to bring speakers and information that will help in broadening understanding and engagement.  

In this vein, we invited Dr. Raz Segal, an associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies and endowed professor in the study of modern genocide at Stockton University, to come to speak in Northfield.  Dr Segal is a graduate of Tel Aviv University, and he holds a Ph.D. in history from Clark University’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. His talk titled, “Israel’s Attack on Gaza: One Year Later”  was held in the Skinner Memorial Chapel last Saturday morning and attended by over 200 people.  

As the Israeli response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks began, Segal presciently wrote an article on Oct. 13 titled “A Textbook Case of Genocide: Israel has been explicit about what it’s carrying out in Gaza. Why isn’t the world listening?” which was published in the magazine Jewish Currents. He has been both widely praised and attacked for his writing. Since then, other Holocaust and genocide studies scholars have written and talked about Israel’s attack on Gaza as genocide. Furthermore, three provisional measures rulings of the International Court of Justice in January, March, and May 2024 in the case that South Africa brought against Israel in December 2023 have determined that it is plausible that Israel is perpetrating genocide in its attack on Gaza. 

Addressing the present circumstance and recent history, Dr. Segal noted that Israel has arrived at a position of assumed impunity from any crime. The brazen acts declaring their genocidal intent, and the documenting and sharing of them by proud soldiers evidence this perspective. The International Court of Justice case and the recent submission of support by South Africa rely heavily on Israeli statements and documentation. Segal noted that in the history of genocides, it is unusual for the perpetrators to claim it openly.  

He also stated, as a scholar of genocide and a descendent of Holocaust survivors, that it is wrong to think of the Jewish Holocaust as unique or born of exceptionally evil people. In this analysis, he was very critical of the US Holocaust Memory Museum, as its insistence on uniqueness serves to weaponize the Holocaust history in support of Israel’s current genocide against Palestinians. Segal argues that the Holocaust was born out of the nation state colonialism, racism and fascism of a time that is not yet wholly eradicated and was not unique. It has happened elsewhere, and it is unfolding today. The causes of this are part of the nature by which human societies come to embrace racist exceptionalism and victimhood. Once people delegitimize and stigmatize those they feel are their enemies, and elevate their own entitlement and righteousness, the same outcomes can be repeated.  

Looking ahead, Dr. Segal noted that we are entering a time of global Nakba memory. This growing awareness centers the voices, knowledge and perspectives of Palestinians facing Israeli state violence, past and present since the 1948 Nakba.  Indeed, it is a counterpoint to Nakba denial which has been a cornerstone of Israeli justification. As awareness and memory of genocides against non-European populations grows, the impunity of Israel may diminish.  

We are living in a fraught time, watching a genocide. A full recording of the Segal talk will be available on the NJPMN.org website. We encourage everyone to devote an hour to listening to Dr. Segal and thinking deeply about these issues.

Segal’s presentation was also endorsed by: Carleton Jewish On Our Own Terms,  Carleton Latin American Student Organization, Carleton Students for Justice in Palestine, Carleton Wellstone House, Members of Carleton Faculty for Justice in Palestine, St Olaf Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine-MN and Jewish Voice for Peace-Twin Cities.  

We celebrate the students and faculty who have sought to engage these issues for over a year now.  We urge the administration to respect and support difficult conversations in keeping with Carleton’s Mission Statement, rather than seeking to minimize and obscure them.  

“Carleton honors thoughtful conversations about difficult questions as necessary for individual growth and community strength. The College works to embody the values of freedom of inquiry and expression and is vigilant in protecting these values within a culture of academic integrity, civil deliberation, and ethical action.”