REJOINDER TO JOFFE ON THE COMPATIBILITY OF LIBERTARIANISM AND ZIONISM

Walter E. Block

Abstract


Joffe in “Libertarianism and Zionism Can’t Be Squared” maintains an either-or position on Zionism and libertarianism: you must choose one or the other, you cannot support both. If you do, you are illogical. Then he goes on to drive a wedge between the two. He mentions numerous arenas in which they supposedly divide. For example, the Israeli military’s harsh response to the atrocities of October 7, 2023, is incompatible with libertarianism. The citizens of that country are Zionists, and they mistreat the Palestinians in numerous ways. But this thesis fails since highly respected libertarians, leaders of this movement, disagree with one another. Both cannot be correct, one of them must necessarily be taking an anti-libertarian position. For example, Ron Paul is pro-life, and Murray Rothbard is pro-choice. Any theory that claims one or the other of them is not a libertarian, such as Joffe’s thesis does, is dead upon arrival. The present paper maintains, moreover, that there is no logical contradiction between the two as to the specifics. Namely, this author is in error in his condemnation of the Israeli citizenry and the IDF.

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12709/mest.13.13.02.03

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