Contribution short abstract:

Drawing on my experiences with decolonial activists in Indonesia and German Universities, I argue that our duty as anthropologists is to understand the structural conditions of the discourses we are embedded into and to refuse the choice between engagement against antisemitism and decoloniality.

Contribution long abstract:

While my university has expressed its solidarity with Israeli victims of the October 7 attack, it remained – like many other German universities – largely silent when it comes to Palestinian victims, turned a blind eye to Israel's severe human rights violations, and ignored attempts for dialogues on this issue within the university. In Indonesia, on the other hand, solidarity with Palestinian issues is widespread from reactionary Muslims to progressive leftist activism. However, issues such as antisemitism both as a worldwide phenomenon and within Indonesian society, as well as the holocaust, are often not mentioned when debating about Israel. Drawing on my insights from the documenta fifteen-controversy, with decolonial activists in Indonesia, as well as within the University of Bonn, I argue that the task for anthropologists is to critically assess the structural conditions that shape our self-images and enable certain forms of solidarity while making others impossible. A fruitful dialogue between post- and decolonial approaches and engagement against antisemitism is not only possible but more important than ever. This dialogue is, however, structurally hampered. In my talk, I explore these structural obstacles regarding my experiences in Germany and Indonesia, and suggest challenging the seeming binary between commitment against antisemitism on the one hand and decoloniality on the other. The first political act, in this regard, is to refuse to choose between engagement against antisemitism and decolonial struggles.