In the organizer's words:

The situation of Jews after October 7

On October 7, 2023, the radical Islamist terrorist militia Hamas carried out devastating attacks in Israel. But the next day, public opinion was not dominated by sympathy for the victims and their families. Instead, in progressive circles from Berlin to Paris to New York, the attacks were legitimized as an act of resistance, and in some cases even cheered. Where does this hatred, which considers itself morally superior, come from?

Eva Illouz described these tendencies as "intellectual obfuscation strategies" in an article published in the Süddeutsche Zeitung in October 2023. Under the headline "We, the left? Not anymore", she attested to the left's betrayal of its own ideas of freedom, equality and human dignity. Since then, the French-Israeli sociologist has analyzed the ideological view of intellectuals towards Israel in various publications and named their collective lack of empathy towards Jewish people and Israelis. Her essay "Der 8. Oktober" was published by Suhrkamp Verlag on September 15, 2025.

In conversation with Rachel Salamander, Eva Illouz explains her criticism of (left-wing) intellectuals and talks about the consequences that their handling of October 7 had for Jews. The event closes the arc of the thematic focus "Where to now? Jewish (survival) life after 1945" and poses the question from the beginning again 80 years later: Where to now?

Price information:

15 € / all U30: 10 €