speaker: Jewish theologian speaks out
Charlie Demers, Peak Staff

"He has been involved in controversy, so there will be, perhaps, delicate things that we will be talking about. I'm trusting that this will be an entirely civil conversation."

These were the words employed by Simon Fraser University humanities professor Donald Grayston in introducing special guest lecturer Marc Ellis to the Maurice Halpern Centre on January 28. Trepidation was to be expected; controversy seems inevitable when one is introducing a pro-Palestinian Jewish theologian from Waco, Texas, in the middle of a war.

Ellis, director of the Center for American and Jewish Studies at Baylor University, spoke at a talk put on by the department of humanities and the Vancouver School of Theology.

Much debate over the Israel-Palestine conflict has transpired on campus over the past year and Ellis brought a new voice to the discussion. Stressing his theory of Constantinian Judaism, or "Judaism in service of the state [of Israel]," the professor argued that respect for the sanctity of Jewish history involves an end to the oppression and humiliation of Palestinians.

"We Jews have trivialised the Holocaust by oppressing another people," he said.

Ellis emphasised the importance of the Jewish tradition of dissent, which he felt was under attack by "Constantinian" elements in the Jewish world. Marta Frascati-Lochhead of the Vancouver School of Theology felt that this was an important part of breaking down totalitarian modes of thinking.

"I think that one party speaking for a certain interest can never even imagine articulating all the perspectives. And certainly, the minority perspective is the one that suffers the most," Lochhead said.

Ellis said that while many view the past 50 years as a period of Jewish cultural fluorescence, "we are living in the most scandalous time in Jewish history." The professor also explained that Jews such as himself were "persecuted" by organisations like Hillel, a global network of Jewish students.

SFU Hillel president Elliot Campbell saw Ellis speak, but no confrontation took place. Campbell explained afterwards that he felt Ellis failed to make a distinction between Israel and Judaism.

"[There's a] separation of being critical of the government of Israel versus being critical of the people of Israel," he said.

When asked if he was glad that Ellis had spoken at the university, Campbell was hesitant.

"I guess it's always interesting to hear other points of view. And I think some of what he had to say was interesting. I disagreed with a lot of it, personally."

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