The Ecviction Of Norman Finkelstein (Steven Plaut On Why Israel Gave Nazi Norman The Boot Alert)

Frontpagemag.com ^ | 5/29/2008 | Steven Plaut

[goldstategop]

Whenever the media takes note of the antics of Norman Finkelstein, the former DePaul University professor and anti-Israel activist, a flood of disinformation seems bound to follow. Finkelstein’s arrest in Israel last week was no exception.

The facts of the case are clear. Finkelstein had attempted to enter Israel last Thursday to travel into the West Bank. There he would likely have lent support to Palestinian extremists. Unquestionably, he would have caused trouble. And while Israel generally does not prevent foreign trouble makers from entering the country (a highly naive and short-sighted policy), it made an exception this time: Finkelstein was detained at the Tel Aviv airport upon landing, kept under watch for a few hours, and eventually deported to Amsterdam.

The deportation served as a siren call for all Israel’s critics, both foreign and domestic, to protest this alleged "suppression of academic freedom of an academic critic of Israel." The leftist web sites and the liberal media were immediately filled with reports of how "Professor Finkelstein" was kicked out of Israel for, supposedly, having anti-Israel opinions.

Finkelstein’s supporters, like Peter Kirstein of St. Xavier University, cried "outrage” at Finkelstein’s eviction. Israel’s far-Left also got into the fray. Finkelstein's own web site broadcast his martyrdom in lurid terms.

As usual when Finkelstein is involved, the facts all got lost along the way.

First, Finkelstein is no "professor.” In fact, he never was an academic in any meaningful sense of the word. Finkelstein is a crackpot and an open admirer of Holocaust denier David Irving. Finkelstein claims that all Holocaust survivors are liars, hoaxsters, and thieves, extorting Germany. Finkelstein was fired last year from DePaul University in Chicago because he had no academic publications or achievements at all; he has yet to publish his first academic paper. He is regarded to be a Holocaust denier by the Anti-Defamation League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and others. For all the whining of his supporters that in DePaul he fell victim to "outside interference" when he was denied tenure, the fact is that most of the outside interference there was actually in Finkelstein’s favor.

Second, Finkelstein was not denied entry into Israel because he holds anti-Israel opinions. Anti-Israel leftists come in and out of Israel all the time. For instance, the Jewish state has long put up with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), whose members enter Israel to engage in violent hooliganism and to assist Palestinian terrorism, sometimes assaulting Israeli police and soldiers in the process.

Some of Israel's own tenured professors, moreover, are even more extreme and anti-Israel than Finkelstein himself. As is clear from any fair-minded reading of Israeli media reports, Finkelstein was denied entry into Israel because he has spent the past few years serving as an all-but-official spokesperson for the Hezbollah terror group and was suspected of wanting to enter Israel for purposes of espionage and activities on its behalf.

Third, entry into Israel is not a universal entitlement. According to the official Israeli statement as reported in Haaretz, Israeli intelligence said Finkelstein "is not permitted to enter Israel because of suspicions involving hostile elements in Lebanon," and because he "did not give a full accounting to interrogators with regard to these suspicions." The last point is especially critical. While still in Israeli captivity, Finkelstein adamantly refused to answer questions about what he was planning to be doing while in the country, as well as who was paying for his trip. Given his refusal to cooperate, it’s difficult to see that Israeli authorities had any alternative but to deport him.

That’s not how Finkelstein sees it, of course. Moments after arriving in Amsterdam, Finkelstein sent out the following message to his fans (spelling and grammar uncorrected):

"Before rumors report my premature death, I was kept in a holding cell for 24 hours and then deported to Amsterdam. It wasn't a Belgian bed and breakfast but it wasn't Auschwitz either (although after six hours of abusive treatement (sic) I did call them "f**king Jewish Nazis," not taken well). It seems that to see Musa and his family again, I'll have to wait until the end of the occupation. I have been been (sic) banned for "at least 10 years." Another incentive to work towards ending the occupation."

Facts notwithstanding, some on the hard-Left were prepared to see Finkelstein as the victim. The so-called "Association for Civil Rights in Israel" or ACRI took the lead in this regard. The ACRI quickly dispatched once of its leaders, a lawyer named Michael Sfard, to serve as attorney for Finkelstein while he was being held at the airport. Sfard was then cited in the media as saying, "A country that starts to fear what its harshest critics write about it is a country that is already behaving in a manner reminiscent of the darkest days of the communist regime."

But Finkelstein is not a substantive "critic" of Israel. By his own admission, he is a supporter of a terrorist group – Hezbollah – that explicitly seeks Israel’s destruction. Contrary to the amen corner loudly commiserating with this disgraced academic, Finkelstein is not a victim of Israeli censorship, but of his own extremism.

[goldstategop]

Israel gave Nazi Norman the boot last week - not because he was a leftist critic of Israel or even a Nazi but because he was a sympathizer with the Hezbollah terrorist group and refused to give security officials at Ben Gurion Airport, where he had been detained, a good explanation for why he wanted to enter Israel to travel to the West Bank. And no - he was never an academic in the true sense of the word. Finkelstein was a crackpot Holocaust denier and inveterate anti-Semite. Israel is under no obligation to allow those who wish to harm the country entry into its territory. Every sovereign state has the right to decide if an alien meets its qualifications for admission. Finkelstein didn't meet Israel's criteria to be admitted into the Jewish State.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Question_Assumptions]

The should have deported him to one of the European countries
where Holocaust denial can get you jail time.

[Convert from ECUSA]

Boot him out, boot him out, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out!

[goldstategop]

Finkelstein was deported to Amsterdam. Incidentally, Haaretz's argument that he could qualify for Israeli citizenship under Israel's Law Of Return, are bunk. He's not eligible to become an Israeli for the same reason Meyer Lansky was denied that status in the 1970s. Some people do not have the moral deportment to be loyal citizens of a country. There's no doubt as to Finkelstein's true views regarding the Jewish State.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[rick_p_stedman]

Finklestein has a Master’s degree and a PhD from Princeton, and taught at many accredited universities, although never obtained tenure, due to the controversial nature of his positions.

Furthermore, his parents were both Holocaust survivors, so he is most definitely not a Holocaust denier.

In fact, I took a class of his — a 200-level philosophy course — at Hunter College, when I was wrapping up my degree. At the time I had no idea of the extent of the controversy he stirred up. (He taught Plato quite well.)

So, while his politics are quite extreme, and he takes positions many, including many pro-Israel Jews believe — he is neither a faux intellectual, nor a Denier. (In fact, his belief in the crimes of the state of Israel, he claims, stem from his moral indignation at what his parents endured in the Warsaw ghettos and at labor camps.)

So, disagree with him vehemently, by all means: but he is very intelligent, and very scholarly, and cannot simply be dismissed with such facile terms, even if you think what he says and believes is dangerous.

[joe.fralick]

"Finkelstein was a crackpot Holocaust denier . . ."

I'm not a Finkelstein fan, but I think "Holocaust denier" is a quite a charge to lay against a guy who has pointed out many times that his parents are both Holocaust survivors and that, yes, there really was a Holocaust.

That said, he assails many of the contemporary Holocaust reparations claims as scams and his writings are, to say the least, highly intemperate and grossly offensive to many people. He's also extremely pro-Palestinian. Israel had a perfect right to keep him out of the country and keep him away from the West Bank.

Back to my original point, though: no matter how loathsome you think somebody is, "Holocaust denier" is a very serious charge these days. I confess to having read two of Finkelstein's books, and I can't find a single place where he denies that millions of Jews were butchered by the Nazis just because they were Jews. Can you tell us, chapter and verse, where he denied the Holocaust?

[bamahead]

I find it very interesting that you signed up today, just to post your happy glowing recap of a proven ardent Holocaust denier and terrorist supporter.

SNIFF.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks C from E.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/1300381/posts?page=150#150

[riverdawg]

Norman Finkelstein was denied tenure because his publication record did not meet standards of scholarship required by DePaul University. The accuracy and integrity of his writings have been repeatedly challenged by experts who would otherwise be sympathetic to his anti-Israel views. This was not an academic freedom case but rather an academic standards case.

[joebuck]

"And no - he was never an academic in the true sense of the word."

Sound pretty thin to me. Please enlighten us as to what "the true sense of the word" is.

[ontap]

It wasn't a Belgian bed and breakfast but it wasn't Auschwitz

I thought he didn't believe in the Holocaust.

[joe.fralick]

Still waiting for a citation to the book, article, speech or any other source where Finkelstein denied that the Nazis murdered millions of Jews.

[Berosus]

For a moment I thought this was about the other Finkelstein, the archaeologist who believes there’s nothing true about the Old Testament.

[rick_p_stedman]

Take a look at this memo: http://english.sxu.edu/sites/kirstein/?p=680 Chuck Suchar, Dean College of Liberal Arts and Sciences "Dr. Norm Finkelstein, Assistant Professor of Political Science, has applied for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure. The Department of Political Science, as noted in its majority report, voted 9 in favor and 3 against supporting Prof. Finkelstein’s application for promotion with tenure. A minority report was submitted along with the departmental report. The department also submitted an addendum to the majority report as a response to the minority report. The College Personnel Committee (CPC), by a unanimous vote of 5-0, also recommends promotion to Associate Professor with tenure. On balance, the CPC views Prof. Finkelstein’s contributions as a teacher and scholar as meeting the College’s criteria and standards for promotion and tenure. I, however, do not concur in this recommendation and withhold my support of this application." (My emphasis) "...My own estimation of the tone and substance of his scholarship is that a considerable amount of it is inconsistent with DePaul’s Vincentian values, most particularly our institutional commitment to respect the dignity of the individual and to respect the rights of others to hold and express different intellectual positions... In agreement with the minority report, I find the personal attacks in many of Dr. Finkelstein’s published books to border on character assassination and, in my opinion, they embody a strategy clearly aimed at destroying the reputation of many who oppose his views." His scholarship and integrity aren't an issue -- he's a bit of an angry guy. He clearly goes too far in attacking the character of the people whose intellectual positions he opposes. I'm not saying I love the guy, by any means -- please don't interpret it that way. I just thought he was a philosophy adjunct at Hunter College. I've merely followed him since, having learned how controversial he is. He did tell a hilarious story in class once: apparently he was living in Washington Heights, when it was a pretty rough neighborhood. And his neighbors were being particularly loud, so he called the police, and their response was: "Noise control is not a priority in your precinct."

[joe.fralick]

Good post.

The Finkelstein tenure decision was no ordinary assessment of the quality of a candidate's scholarship. The academic personnel most familiar with his work recommended him for tenure, by a 9-3 vote of the Political Science Department and a 5-0 vote of the Arts and Sciences Personnel Committee. The three dissenters in the 9-3 vote of the Political Science Department expressly cited his "demeaning attacks" on Alan Dershowitz and others -- not his scholarship -- as the reason for their votes against tenure.

The campaign directed against Finkelstein from outside of DePaul, led in part by Dershowitz, who had a huge grudge against Finkelstein for accusing him of plagiarism, was so intense that it's impossible to say whether the ultimate denial of tenure by a 4-3 vote of the Board on Promotion and Tenure was a dispassionate decision. Upon his resignation, however, DePaul University issued a statement that referred to Finkelstein as "a prolific scholar and an outstanding teacher."

All in all, a real mess, but it should have been no surprise to a guy as rabid as Finkelstein to find that he had made powerful enemies. That said, the facts give no cause for dismissing the guy as an academic nonentity or concluding, without some room for doubt, that he was denied tenure solely because of scholarly shortcomings.

Also, still no support for the "Holocaust denial" claim? I guess some FReepers think that as long as your target is widely despised (as Finkelstein certainly is), it doesn't matter what you accuse him of.

[rmlew]

Finklestien is not a denier. But he is a deconstructionist for whom facts are less important than the power they imply. Hence he seeks to deconstruct the Holocaust to aid those attacking Israel, while he also attacks Judaism and Jewish culture.
He has appeared at Holocaust Denial events and has essentially been a propagandist for Hizbullah for years.

[rmlew]

Doesn’t work. De Paul fired Professor Thomas Klocek, when he questioned the assertion of some leftist and Arab students.

[joe.fralick]

"Doesn't work. DePaul fired Professor Thomas Klocek . . ."

I don't know what that has to do with Finkelstein. I had to look up Klocek, but it seems he was a non-Ph.D. adjunct instructor who got in some kind of confrontation with pro-Palestinian students at a student activity fair. He was escorted from the area by police, then came back to continue the argument. He was offered a chance to apologize and continue in his position, but refused and now is in litigation with the University.

I'll assume Klocek is a good man and the lefty students were at fault, but I still don't know how this proves that the denial of Finkelstein's tenure was based purely on his scholarship.

[SJackson]

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----------------------------

Hasta la vista, Norman.

I hear Syria is nice this time of year, since you're in the neighborhood, how about Iran.

[Salem]

"Finklestien is not a denier. But he is a deconstructionist for whom facts are less important than the power they imply. Hence he seeks to deconstruct the Holocaust to aid those attacking Israel, while he also attacks Judaism and Jewish culture. ... He has appeared at Holocaust Denial events and has essentially been a propagandist for Hizbullah for years. "

Excellent encapsulation of the man's views, rmlew.

Thus, Mr. Finkelstein:

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