Posted on 05/29/2008 10:57:29 AM PDT by goldstategop
"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
The should have deported him to one of the European countries
where Holocaust denial can get you jail time.
Boot him out, boot him out, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out!
"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
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.
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?
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.
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.
Sound pretty thin to me. Please enlighten us as to what "the true sense of the word" is.
I thought he didn't believe in the Holocaust.
Still waiting for a citation to the book, article, speech or any other source where Finkelstein denied that the Nazis murdered millions of Jews.
For a moment I thought this was about the other Finkelstein, the archaeologist who believes there’s nothing true about the Old Testament.
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.
Doesn’t work. De Paul fired Professor Thomas Klocek, when he questioned the assertion of some leftist and Arab students.
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.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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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.
Excellent encapsulation of the man's views, rmlew.
Thus, Mr. Finkelstein:
If you'd like to be on or off this
Christian Supporters of Israel ping list,
please FR mail me ~
There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had
spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. (Joshua 21:45)
Letter To The President In Support Of Israel ~
'Final Solution,' Phase 2 ~
Warnings ~
The Nature Of Bruce ~
"The West has given more significance to the myth of the genocide of the Jews, even more significant than God, religion, and the prophets...."Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Holocaust Chronicle ~
" ... It's time we recognized the nature of the conflict. It's total war and we are all involved. Nobody on our side is exempted because of age, gender, or handicap. The Islamofacists have stolen childhood from the world."FReeper Retief
"Palestine is the wrong name for their State. It should be called Anarchy."FReeper sgtbono2002
"Then let's wait and see what the Arabs do after they take Gaza. There's nothing like Arab reality to break up a Jewish fantasy."FReeper Noachian
A student told his professor he was going to "Palestine" to "fight for freedom, peace and justice,"Orwellian leftist code words that mean "murder Jews."
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