“Should I, too, prefer the title of 'non-Jewish Jew'? For some time, I would have identified myself strongly with the attitude expressed by Rosa Luxemburg, writing from prison in 1917 to her anguished friend Mathilde Wurm: What do you want with these special Jewish pains? I feel as close to the wretched victims of the rubber plantations in Putamayo and the blacks of Africa with whose bodies the Europeans play ball… I have no special corner in my heart for the ghetto: I am at home in the entire world, where there are clouds and birds and human tears. An inordinate proportion of the Marxists I have known would probably have formulated their own views in much the same way. It was almost a point of honor not to engage in 'thinking with the blood,' to borrow a notable phrase from D.H. Lawrence, and to immerse Jewishness in other and wider struggles. Indeed, the old canard about 'rootless cosmopolitanism' finds a perverse sort of endorsement in Jewish internationalism: the more emphatically somebody stresses that sort of rhetoric about the suffering of others, the more likely I would be to assume that the speaker was a Jew. Does this mean that I think there are Jewish 'characteristics'? Yes, I think it must mean that.”
Quote by Christopher Hitchens
Book:Hitch 22: A Memoir
Work
Hitch 22: A Memoir
Hitch 22 is a personal narrative by Christopher Hitchens, detailing his life from his childhood in England to his adult years. The book delves into his intellectual development, political beliefs, and his extensive travels. Hitchens discusses his upbringing, education, and his journey into journalism and politics. The memoir also covers his personal relationships and his reflections on the major events of his time, including the Cold War and the September 11 attacks. more
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