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27 Colum. J. Eur. L. 34 (2021)
Coming out of the Shadows: The Non-Western Critique of Dignity

handle is hein.journals/coljeul27 and id is 40 raw text is: COMING OUT OF THE SHADOWS: THE NON-WESTERN CRITIQUE OF DIGNITY Lihi Yona* In legal and philosophical literature, dignity is often praised as the great equalizer, providing a conceptual framework for the moral advancement from hierarchical to egalitarian societies. The past few decades have witnessed the consolidation of dignity, both in U.S. constitutional law and around the world, within the transnational grammar of global constitutionalism. This Article challenges this portrayal of dignity, uncovering the potential for cultural and racial bias rooted in its mainstream conceptualization. Specifically, this Article argues that the construction of dignity as the antithesis of honor is rooted in Enlightenment-era binaries of East versus West, binaries which construct dignity around exclusionary and elitist values. This claim is examined herein via the case study of Israel. The Israeli case study offers a unique opportunity to appreciate the cultural wars at the core of dignity. By applying close reading and critical race methodologies to the analysis of various Israeli legal cases, this Article illustrates judicial mechanisms that join in the racialization of dignity. This non-Western critique of dignity highlights possible blind spots in American legal critiques of its constitutional applications, thus offering a cautionary tale for its potential perils. IN TR O D U CTIO N ................................................................................................ 35 I. THE A SCENDANCE OF D IGNITY ................................................................ 37 1. Dignity in U.S. Constitutionalism ............................................... 37 2. Dignity in Global Constitutionalism ........................................... 39 II. DIGNITY'S LIGHT AND THE SHADOWS OF HONOR...................................... 40 1. The Canon View of Dignity as Opposed to Honor ...................... 41 2. The Canon View Within American Legal Academia................... 41 3. Philosophical and Cultural Critique of the Canon........................ 43 a) Philosophy: conceptual challenges to the binary and hierarchy of honor and dignity ............................................................ 43 b) Culture: Honor/Dignity and the East/West divide ................. 46 III. THE CASE STUDY OF ISRAEL ................................................................. 47 1. A Short History of Dignity/Honor in Israel /Palestine .................. 48 2. Honor and Dignity in Israeli Courts: Mechanisms of Racialization.. 50 a) Misinterpretation of non-Western dignity as honor ............... 52 b) Incentives for non-Western subjects to use honor arguments in cou rt ............................................................................... . 5 5 34

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