“By the Rivers of Babylon”: Deterritorialization and the Jewish Rhetorical Stance

Abstract

In Madison, Wisconsin, a series of debates occurred about the possible establishment of a sister-city relationship with Rafah, a city in Gaza. The tension and miscommunication within these debates point to the value of taking what the author terms an exilic rhetorical position, a stand that would not be tied to claims of firm identity or territoriality.