Imagine this sci-fi scenario: A small tribe with unique literature, customs and myths believes they’ve been “chosen” for a glorious destiny. But they’re driven out of their native land, forced to wander the globe for aeons, persecuted and annihilated, until they’re impelled by a utopian novel to return to their homeland. They name their new city after the inspirational book and their country becomes a technological powerhouse… but still, they’re surrounded by enemies. They wage eternal war, they hover between hope and apocalypse”¦ their contributions to humanity are astounding but they continue to fear total extinction. Familiar? Of course. I’ve described Israel and the Jews.
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Complete entry
Posted by
postfuturist on 08/28 at 11:32 PM
As you see, the moderator wants only on-topic comments, so this will be my last. Hopefully the moderator will be so kind as to post this parting shot:
Please do forget in the future that it was even here at IEET, an h+ site, that crypto-antisemitic comments were rapidly (dozens within a few days) posted; “I have nothing against Jews, only against Israel” remarks—not quite dissimilar to when a neo-Confederate says something like,
“I don’t dislike blacks, just as long as they admit Jefferson Davis & Robert E. Lee were fighting for States’ rights.”
Posted by
Hank Pellissier on 08/29 at 02:59 AM
for iPan—I am sorry about the disrespectful tone I used previously. I really am sorry. I should not have done that. I am also glad that you did further research on Neturei Karta, and I am glad that you have a sincere commitment to anarchist thinking. My deep apologies. And now, I think we’d better do as the moderator suggests, veer back to transhumanism and futurism and away from the rancorous politics. I encourage you to update yourself on technological, especially biomedical progress in Israel. It really is quite impressive.
Posted by
Abraham on 08/29 at 01:49 PM
Martin Fox writes: “Israel is actually the biggest threat to transhumanism and to the singularity itself. Because in my opinion Israel is the most likely nuclear state to start a nuclear war. “
Yeah, and they might wipe out the H+ headquarters in Tehran.
Posted by
zeroreference on 09/03 at 07:02 PM
A goldmine for critical and cultural theorists everywhere! Transhumanists compare Israel to Transhumanism! I’m surprised no one has made this argument before - or perhaps somebody has. Of particular pleasurable to surf the waves of narrative reinforcement - a questionable ‘sci-fi scenario’ posed by the author (which, if it refers to the Holocaust at all, places it before Theodore Hertzel) prompts an article which recursively justifies itself. On a meta-level, the rhetorical similarities in Transhuman and Israeli discourse are captured in this article. Both lay claim, to on some level, existing outside-of or in-spite-of history, and both have a complex relationship to said history - in Israel and in the debate surrounding Israel, History is ideologically and politically loaded. Israelis and their country can too easily become a symbol subject to the desires of whomever deploys them in argument. In Israel, one can see the Present acting on the Past in its own interests, while simultaneously the Past shapes the Futures which those actors can foresee. Where in this semiotic jungle does human reality survive? Obviously, in transhumanism. Transhumanism hasn’t yet accrued the historical baggage (rhymes with damage, gladness, and sadness) that Israel has, and of course their paradoxical determination is to avoid it altogether, but Google, transhumanisms quiet vanguard, has in its brief existence gathered both controversy and acclaim to ornament its phenomenal success. In fact, someone should write a paper comparing Israel and Google! It’d be great PR for Israeli hi-tech.
To the moderator - I consider this post on-topic, as I am engaging in a critique of cyber-rhetoric, an issue certainly relevant to transhumanism (technically, wouldn’t anything ‘humanist’ be relevant to the ‘transhuman’?). Also, by locating the human encrusted within the information system we know as ‘language’ or ‘text,’ I am examining a virtualization of what a trans-human could be: consciousness, clearly present in said article by ‘Hank’, embodied (if that could said to be the right term) within an information system.
Posted by
Abraham on 09/05 at 04:03 PM
“which, if it refers to the Holocaust at all, places it before Theodore Hertzel)”
I don’t think zeroreference would have made this conditional accusation if he had known of the Chmielnitzki Massacres.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/the-genocide-before-the-holocaust-1.215917
Posted by
post-post on 08/21 at 06:59 PM
Now that the transvestite sadist (nothing wrong with transvestitism; yet sadism, real torture, is wrong) in Tripoli in on his way out, it is time to consider the future of Mideast/ N. Africa. I’m not anti-Arab/Shiite, because for one, Islamics in America have felt obligated to treat outsiders in a less pushy manner than Christians. And of far more significance: when you examine how Arab/Shiites were treated as proxies by the big powers, you realize their position is not all based on victimology—anymore than is Israel’s. Also, I do not approve of how Israel conscripts its citizens. But that’s their business.
Today peace in the Mideast has to be fast-tracked; merely to overthrow feudalist remnants is not enough—to say the least. Don’t know what to do, however do know it is going to be dicey.
People get violent when opportunities open up but they don’t know what to do with them.
Posted by
zeev kirsh on 09/04 at 08:30 AM
i’m 31, i’ve been reading about transhumanism and negative utilitarianism for year.
i’ve seen this movement morph into years. and i’m laughing in a good way.
the lengthy comment thread above is a testament to people using their brains. what we, techno-humanists, appreciate is the use of intelligence in a cooperative manner.
of course, jews have been around far longer than technohumanism, and far longer even than the modern state of israel of which i am so proud. and during that time, jews as different peoples, and ashkenazi jews as a people in particular, have developed a culture that embraces reading, discusssion, philosophy etc…...
to any people out there uncomfortable with those jews who say ‘jews are smarter’, i will tell you we are not . but it is a fact that ‘we’ write more books , read more, and use our brains more because it is our culture and our value for the brain and the heart, rather than the fist.
it is no surprise that the state of israel, hewed in by its enemies, should be so succesful at using violence. why? because the language of violence has shifted from pure numbers to technology and logistics, things which, jews, as a people whose culture is centered on secular and religious intellectual pursuit, succeed at. we succeed at technology and humanism because we love using our brains.
the brain is a muscle. it gets stronger with use. it makes no difference who is ‘smarter’ , it makes all the difference who uses their brain the most and, whoever does, will in the short run help use technology to fight war, but in the long run, like einstein said,
will bring world peace. using your brain will bring world peace EVENTUALLY. it is a long process , and it will take hundreds if not thousands of years. and until then, those who think, and who read and write, will harness technology for many reasons, to better themselves , to get more power of violent weapons, etc….
the nation-state and the practical realities of man’s suffering in light of a chaotic world possessing famine, disease, random violent behavior (crime that is ===non-national but local in ALL nations) , organized criminal behavior, jealousy,
etc….
the well spring of human weakness and suffering will continue to drive the difficulty of global national politics as the non-political people’s of the world ( the average people ) work hard building the technology and humanist framework that is necessary for getting us to world peace.
as for the comments above—-the comments addressing political undertones of an article aimed at looking for the best in man while putting politics aside, i have this to say:
people who condemn israel for being a colonialist leftover, without reading the history of the middle east, understanding how no nation is without it’s false origin, are lying to themselves. and people who think israel is south africa , may have some valid points, but they dont’ understand that zionists are not going to leave without creating a massive nuclear mess.
to those people that condemn every-country in the middle east for being messed up, well, the world is messy, yes even america is very messy, and it is of no use to go around condemning everyone and being angry all the time.
the jews are trying to make the world a better place, but that doesn’t mean the legacy of a thousand years as a minority, of the holocaust, is going to be forgotten and that israel will simply be abandoned by intimidating it. american jews and jews all over the world will not abandon their brethren in israel simply because there are policy disputes. there is only really ONE policy at stake. and that is whether or not israel should exist. if it should than it has the existential right to defend itself. i believe in the policy of existence, the policy of zionism, and so do many people of all ethical , ethnic, and religious, colors. do i share the same philosophy as everyone who is zionist, no. i find many of them strange bedfellows ( particularly the religious american right comprised of apocalyptic baptists who are proudly ‘anti-science’ and who openly reject evolution——these are not people who are taking the world where it needs to go right now )
there remains tribalism in the world—and it will continue for the forseeable future . neo-futurists and transhumanists need to come to terms with this fact and learn to accept this on some level. are the jews tribalists? sure. is everyone else? of course. are the jews trying to create new religions to make the world peacefull, yes!!! and have we done this before , yea, jesus was a jew. and as much as some jews resent their historical treatment by christians. it is the development of christianity over 2000 years that brought us to this very point where we are now. this is a good point. it is the only point. it is where we must be and where we are. christians, jews, muslims, buddhists, aetheists, communists, and capitalists…..all of these people can be transhumanist.
contradictions are what allow human beings to trancend the narrow world they were born with, and to go beyond. to a better world tomorrow. in jewish prayer, the saying, bshana’ ha ba’ah bi’ yerooshalyim, means “in the year to come in jerusalem” . the phrase is key saying in our culture and it always meant to be spoken as a phrase of hope. looking forward. we are in jerusalem now. maybe not with the messiah ( if you believe in that sort of thing ) , but we are there none-theless. so what is next? what is the next hope?
perhaps the next hope is a new religion, a new philosophy . maybe some jews like hank will play a special role in making it happen. we did it once, maybe now’s the second time?
here’s to transhumanism being a positive force to help mankind. a force to break down all national racial and religious lines, and a force which people of all nations, ethnicities, and religions can cooperate together to build up together, to commune and to understand and tolerate one another.
leh’chaim.
Posted by
Hank Pellissier on 09/04 at 10:06 AM
@ zeev - thanks for writing in this great posting. BTW, I am not jewish. Not remotely so. Your remarks are wonderful, I particularly like your comment that transhumanists need to understand that tribalism isn’t going to simply disappear anytime soon. BTW - I might be going to a Sci Fi and Transhumanist festival in Tel Aviv in October - look me up and say HI.
Posted by
zeev on 09/04 at 10:45 AM
hank. i did not think you were jewish 
.
just jew friendly, which i appreciate. i am jewish.
i have studied budhissm, spent a lot of time in catholic churches, i’ve been baptised for fun and i like religion.
it took years of being a so called aetheist and talking to communists and technoutopians, and other people to realize that the old model of seeing religion as only an opiate——- was based on a world where religion and state were the only fundamental models of social action, and where ‘philosophy’ was relegated to academia.
reglion has good parts. and new religions are desperately needed to deal with our new technologies.
——as for tel aviv. my sister is there, but i rarely visit. maybe this year will be different.
thanks you for your writing, so far i’ve like it a good deal.
i found this article and then read 4 of your others , they were all good.
i found the one on brazil very interesting but i didn’t comment.
funnily enough, you could spend your whole career on wall street analyzing brazil for a major investment bank. ===that was the one article of yours that seemed to be too involved in the real world of economics precisely why i liked it.
i have very eclectic taste. i am a deep believer in technology , almost being fundamentalist about it. but fundamentally, the most advanced technology we have is ourselves. mankind, and above all, it is studying this technology that will allow us to predict where our computers, medicine, communications, weapons, and even genetic/pharmocological engineering of ourselves and our personalities ( david pearce is keen on biopsychiatric utopianism) , will take us.
good luck hank!maybe i’ll see you in tel aviv.
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