Jews are one of the central subjects of the letters. There are fascinating reflections on Israel, Zionism and the Holocaust, T S Eliot’s anti-Semitism and, perhaps most interestingly, a set of defensive letters about what he knew (or claimed not to know) about the Holocaust when he was in Washington during the war. The editors’ footnotes here, suggesting he knew more than he let on, are admirable and judicious.или вот еще
As he reflects on the horrors of his time, he asks again and again who behaved decently. The great Russian writers in the Stalin years? Certainly. Hannah Arendt when she accuses the Jewish councils in Nazi-occupied Europe of being complicit in the destruction of their own communities? Absolutely not.
почему certainly? почему absolutely not? так тов. Берлин указал.
в общем все как всегда про тов. Исайю,
He was a passionate critic of Soviet communism. He agonised over Israel. A lifelong Zionist, he was a critic from the inside, especially during the Begin and Shamir years. ... He was also a feline gossip, turning on people behind their backs. There’s a hilarious moment when Chomsky catches him at it after a private letter from Berlin is leaked to him. Berlin twists and turns, but Chomsky is unforgiving.
Berlin was also a lifelong fence-sitter - и все это прекрасно (если только это Isaiah Berlin, конечно).
вообще эти письма надо бы почитать. пока что дороговато, но через год они будут не дороже The Proper Study of Mankind, те же 700 страниц, стоит $3.
следующая статья в New Statesman - “Every 12 seconds I think of suicide”: animator Signe Baumane on illustrating mental illness by Eleanor Margolis - в общем, краткая характеристика текущей прессы: евреи пишут про евреев для евреев. но это, конечно, просто потому, что больше ни с кем ничего интересного не происходит.
see also Isaiah Berlin: A Life - review. уже не закончу, наверное. или попробовать?
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