Posted on 08/31/2007 8:21:09 AM PDT by Froufrou
A professor whose views on the Holocaust irked critics plans to risk arrest by showing up on the first day of classes next week at DePaul University after officials canceled his courses, took away his office and put him on leave.
The private Chicago Catholic university recently informed professor Norman Finkelstein that his three courses were canceled after a dispute over tenure that drew charges of anti-Semitism against him.
Critics find issue with Finkelstein, the son of Holocaust survivors, who believes that some Jews have exploited the Holocaust. Finkelstein is the author of five books, including "The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering."
When classes start on Sept. 5, Finkelstein, who teaches political theory, will return to campus in response to "an attack on academic freedom and due process," he said. He was expecting to return this semester to teach "Equality in Social Justice," "Freedom and Empowerment" and an honors seminar.
"As usual I will show up for class on the first day and go to my office. I fully expect to be arrested," Finkelstein told FOXNews.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Why can’t he go to his office? Paranoia?
Seems to boil down to this: “some Jews have exploited the Holocaust”
“Some” have.
Climatologists take note.
I presume the University wants to keep him at arm’s length and to attempt to keep anything he publishes from being associated with them...?
Isn’t he the one who spoke at an anti-Israel rally yelling “We’re all Hamas!”?
Hmmmm... I don’t know the background on this but something came to mind when reading it. Supposedly, this issue is about him writing that some Jews have made an industry out of exploiting the Holocaust... wouldn’t that be about the same as Ann Coulter’s Jersey Girls comment?
It doesn’t deny the holocaust (9/11) took place just that some Jews (Jersey Girls) have exploited it.
What don’t I know about this guy?
< /sarcasm>
Private property..........
just from reading that little snipet, he seems to have a point. i’m jewish by heritage. i don’t practice, never have. i’m not touching this story. my views might not be taken too kindly, and i like being a member of FR.
When they make a movie of this, they can call it, “Fear and Self-Loathing in Chicago.”
His class was cancelled. Was his office cancelled?
The guy’s view is that Jews have exploited the Holocaust to defend Israel’s right to exist. He thinks that’s a bad thing. I’m scratching my head trying to figure out just what is wrong with justifying Israel’s existence with reference to the massacre of half the world’s Jews. Isn’t the point of nationalism that every nation should have its own country? The Arabs have many countries. Shouldn’t the Jews have one as well?
He’s a charlatan, who has been fired by every college at which he taught. I’m not a big fan of Alan Dershowitz, but you might want to go to his website and read the short essay on “Finklestein’s Bigotry.”
He’s a self-hating Jew. Really really bucked up. And really sad. He’s a ready tool for the far left to bash Israel.
I know, I even hesitated before posting it! But what strikes me is the way that what used to be required academia has given way to notorious posturing ala Ward Churchill. That they get away with it is what is shocking, and it’s indicative of the decay of education, IMHO.
This fink has an opinion, as do we all. Doesn’t make him ‘worthy’ of tenure! He needs to do some SCHOLARLY writing to earn that!!!
Thank you. I’ll check it out.
Didn’t he tell the truth? There are Kapo Jews everywhere. I don’t get it.
The University should ignore him. Assuming his office has not been reassigned to someone else, make sure the office door has a solid core and a new lock, then close and lock it, and ignore him.
See how long he stands outside the office door waiting for someone to let him in.
Some blacks have exploited slavery...
yes, some have.
I see no argument here.
I guess at the school, you cannot say such things.
I believe several of the playing-dumb posters on this thread actually know EXACTLY who this guy is and what he does.
Oh, how will life go on without this tool teaching these clearly valuable courses? Freedom is empowering? Gee, I think I need 4 months of lectures on this before I can really grasp the concept.
More evidence that most college education is about the biggest fraud and waste of money in the world today...
This guy, Finklestein, is a polemicist. Think “Ward Churchill.†He’s bragged that he doesn’t write scholarly articles. Read Alan Dershowitz’s essay, reprinted from the WSJ, on Dershowitz’s website.
It's called criminal tresspass. And you have all the academic freedom in the world here, go see if you can teach along with the Iranian cited "scholar" David Duke. THIS university does not owe you a podium.
Ahhhh another fine example in America from the bastions of free thought and open mindedness!
I think that's a pretty good and fair analogy. I heard him interviewed once, and he wasn't any crazed anti-Semetic ranter. He made an argument that there are Holocaust-exploiting groups that have benfitted financially.
BTW, He had a famous debate with Alan Derschowitz, where he cleaned Derschowitz's clock, that has been discussed earlier here on FR.
Good points, all. It boggles the mind what passes for educators nowadays!
Seems Finkelstein is exploiting the Holocaust as well.
“Bastions” should end with ‘ards,’ huh?
See my post above. It's fair to say that you won;t get an unbiased view of Finklestein from reading Derschowitz. Finklestein DESTROYED Derschowitx publicly in a famous debate that Dersch is still trying to recover from.
His class was cancelled. Was his office cancelled?
He doesn't have an office there. He's going to squat in someone else's office.
I notice a lot of Holocaust deniers are in academia. Norm Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky come to mind.
How does this work? Can anyone teach a class at the CPL? I have in mind a class I would call "Academic A$$hole$." I could probably have it ready in a week or two.
ML/NJ
It is puzzling to me that people who would, presumably, leap at the chance to attack Ward Churchill have come to the defense of Norman Finklestein. Those two are cut from the same cloth.
I can see why you would group them together, if just for the reason that they received the same fate, but they are not cut from the same cloth.
Finklestein is obsessive, but not an intellectual fraud and charlatan like Churchill.
By the way, I don't begrudge DePaul its right to remove Finklestein, and his attempt to stay on it farcical. He needs to just move on.
I can see why you would group them together, if just for the reason that they received the same fate, but they are not cut from the same cloth.
Finklestein, though he may be obsessive, is not an intellectual fraud and charlatan like Churchill.
By the way, I don't begrudge DePaul its right to remove Finklestein, and his attempt to stay on it farcical. He needs to just move on.
Then you're relying on second-hand accounts and letting others shape your opinions, and that's never a good thing.
I urge you to google "Finklestein and Derschowitz" and you can find the transcript of the debate, the background,etc.
Finklestein credibly accuses Derschowitz of plagiarism, and backs it up with facts. Dersch had to do some gymnastics to avoid having Harvard reprimand him, and I for one think that Derschowitz was proven guilty by Finklestein, It was quite a brush-up, and its not surprising that Dersch is central in the group trying to silence Finklestein.
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