"The premier demand upon all education is that Auschwitz not happen again. Its priority before any other requirement is such that I believe I need not and should not justify it." Adorno.
The twists and turns of a convoluted and untenable argument are frequently signs that some other content is being disavowed.
I’m obviously not alone in being rather dismayed by the contortions and confusions of the MCB over plans to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz.
What has stopped the MCB from attempting to think about Auschwitz in its particularity is, presumably, their view of the Israeli state. But whereas one might indeed, in thinking about the origins of the state of Israel, consider Auschwitz, there is absolutely no reason, in thinking about Auschwitz, to consider the actions of the state of Israel. What connects the two for some, and perhaps the MCB, is the signifier ‘Jew’. And it is precisely this conflation, used in whatever context, which should be avoided at all costs. Their is nothing "Jewish' about the actions of the Israeli state, and the 'categorical imperative' that Adorno speaks of, that Auschwitz not happen again, is universal in its address.
There is thus no reason why, in commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz, we should consider the plight of the Palestinians, as the MCB suggest. And hopefully one does not need to add that what should merit our concern about the plight of the Palestinians is not the outrage that Muslims should be treated like this (many, of course, are not Muslims) but that anyone should be.