...scholar, he railed against the brutal Israeli occupation of
Palestine, against zionist ethno-chauvinism, and against domination more widely; likewise, as a professor of literature, he rallied against cognitive and ideological obfuscations. Said was particularly disdainful of mercenary intellectuals—those who followed the herd and commodified their intellectual work in exchange for status, influence, or invitations to boards, consultancies, and other baubles. By contrast, he valued intellectuals who acted as “insurgents”, characters who not only critique existing systems of power but who are courageous enough to use their knowledge to destabilise them...