Norm Finkelstein: Professor With A Cause, But No Tenure

[Dolceliana]

To socaljss: if you belive the nonsense you wrote about Dr. Finkelstein then you must be a criminal lawyer; someone like Mr. Dershowitz? :-D

[JeffKlives]

Benny Morris exposed Finkelstein in a debate I watched.

And Finkelstein came off really poorly on a talk show about remembeing the Holocaust. He was with another guy who in the end made Finkelstein look pretty bad.

[1kkyu]

Finkelstein is basically an attack dog. He has no credibility because, with regard to the Middle East conflict, he is completely one-sided.

[JeffKlives]

I saw Benny Morris expose him. Morris noted that Finkelstein uses his work for a lot of his work on the Middle East conflict but Morris noted that Finkelstein cherry picks facts to look at and and doesn't look at the whole picture.

[28g34ajbsd]

Knowing Hebrew, Arabic, or, for that matter, Arameic, is no prerequisite for speaking about issues of conflicts, justice, and the International Law, socaljss. Finkelstein is not an Orientalist, but a political sciences professor. He's not teaching comparative literature, nor, say, close reading of Urdu poetry. Also, Chomsky reads Hebrew, Said read Arabic, but they were no less villified because of or in spite of that.

[tbgx1]

Zionist propaganda.

The Zionist Alan Dershowitz is afraid of his intellect and honesty and THAT is why he successfully pressured against Dr Finkelsteins tenure.

The facts are clear to any with a rational mind.

Zionism = Nazi

[trance2307]

I don't know about Hebrew, but I've met the man, and he does speak Arabic.

[aewester]

Good man.

I just saw him speak at Clark... it was a big success, hundreds of people came, and he got people talking about the issue.

[taz2k6]

read the descripition of this vid...i dont see what being able to speak the language has anything to do with the issue...so what if he doesn't speak arabic or hebrew...at least he's knows the truth!

[coolioto]

Thanks for putting up this vid. I always thought the Israeli treatment of Palestinians was disgusting and now I have an even clearer picture of that fact.

[gungner78]

Norman Finkelstein, a true hero.

What a laughable attempt ar smearing him this video is!

The truth will prevail.

[Americans4Palestine]

"Trth and justice drives the other side into a PANIC!!"

God Bless you Norman.

[BenjiPars]

God Bless this hard working jew

love and respect

[BenjiPars]

God BlesS Norman !

[Katin11]

A great man!

[sameeh86]

LISTEN TO HIM MANNN...KISS..he's talkin about the palestinians who r being held in open prisons in westbank n gaza..while settlement construction goes on around them

[kissfan7]

There are no Jewish settlements in Gaza. Most Palestinians in the West Bank are under PA rule, not "in open prisons".

And lets not forget that there would be no restrictions on any Palestinians if it wasn't for the constant antisemitic, illegal attacks on civilians. The PA could stop the restrictions in Judea/Samaria in a day if they were really committed to peace.

[kissfan7]

Finkelstein's Hebrew and Arabic are about as good as his German. His claims of expertise on the Arab-Israeli conflict is just as, if not more, unbelievable as his claims of expertise on the Holocaust.

Arabs are 20% of the Israeli population. If 1948 qualifies as an ethnic cleansing then it's a very sloppy one.

[sameeh86]

wat is it other than ethnic cleansing..its still going on..settlement construction in west bank (occupied territory)is going on still at the rate of 5% even noww..

[kissfan7]

Building houses does not equal ethnic cleansing.

Whether or not you agree with the construction, to compare it to ethnic cleansing is an insult to real victims of deportations and racism.

[sameeh86]

hahaha..what does tht mean my friend?plz explain..coz i thought building houses in occupied land removing people from their houses,bulldozing their farms was a part of this ethnic cleansing..building facts on the ground..i appreciate ur perversity.GODD...people like u will understand only when it happens 2 u.

[kissfan7]

Few, if any, Palestinians are forced to move to make way for settlements. Much of the land is bought at very high prices.

To compare this to, say, Srebrenica is obscene.

[oldjoe5]

How about murdering people by the thousands? Knocking down their homes? Walling them into open air prisons?

[kissfan7]

Simply pointing to dead people is not enough to prove ethnic cleansing. One has to prove that a) the vast majority of the dead are civilians and b) that they were killed on purpose. The facts support neither.

House demolitions are used to destroy tunells that smuggle guns and bombs used to kill innocent Jews and to punish people who support terrorism. I disagree with the later use, but since they aren't blowing up houses just to move Jews into them it isn't ethnic cleansing.

[kissfan7]

Like I told sameeh86, the Palestinians are not in "open air prisions". Most are under PA rule. The building of the fence (the wall is only a tiny part of it) is not ethnic cleansing. In fact, far-right Israelis oppose the wall because they feel it limits any Jewish claim to Judea/Samaria.

It is nothing at all like Srebrenica, and anyone familar with either situation will tell you the same.

[oldjoe5]

Please.

Gazans and W Bankers are completely ruled by Israel.

Try asking them instead of an Israeli propandist

[oldjoe5]

When those dead people have been killed by the occupying power, I think it is damn good proof of ethnic cleansing. In fact, I can think of no better proof.

Israel is demoloshing Pali houses and land and buiding walls precisely to move jews in.

[kissfan7]

100% of Gazans are under Palestinian rule and 96% of West Bank Arabs are under PA administration.

Again, if people died because they were soldiers, it's not ethnic cleansing. In 1926 Arab life expectancy in Palestine was 37. In 2000 it was 72. A fifth of Israelis are Arabs. Palestinians are healthier, better educated, and richer than many Arabs in other countries. How is that ethnic cleansing?

You're last sentence makes no sense. How does destroying a house and building a fence "move Jews in"?

[oldjoe5]

"100% of Gazans are under Palestinian rule and 96% of West Bank Arabs are under PA administration".

You are not a seriosu person

[kissfan7]

Prove me wrong.

[sameeh86]

he is correct..u cant tell anymore if its US or israel..just think about the olmert bush issue recently when olmert disrupted bush's speech to tell him 2 veto a resolution made by condeleeza.

[sameeh86]

learning the language of the conflict zone is not necessary 2 understand it....u wont like him coz u cant dispute him..he is not spreading jewish hatred.he is just speakin out the turth..n truth my friend is bitter..u people can alwayz use the anti-semitic umbrella for protection..but it wont work for long..

[beewz]

amazing,,,, the USA are controlled by

the ZIONIST(ISRAEL) !!

Freedom is controlled by ISRAEL!!!

AMERICANS can not say anything

unless their master allow them to..

I am really ashamed of the cowered American presidents/people that they obey their master blindly... even freedom of speech and human rights are violated... that they usually brag about....bla bla bal bal

GOD BLESS THE REAL AMERICA not the ISRAEL America

( USA stand for The United States of Israel )

I LOVE THE REAL FREE AMERICA

[mrrami77]

Finkelstein is the best! Zionists are liars, thiefs and murderers. Zionism = occupation = apartheid = violation of human rights. Let's bring an end to this disaster calling itself 'israel'. Keep up the good work professor! Amsterdam loves you!

[niunka1]

the truth is- no one believes zionist propaganda anymore

[martok666]

this is cut scenes and video edit to surve the commentary texts nothing more. just becase facts doesnt look good for isreael doesnt mean u can smear the name of a great man who is speaking the truth.

[buckfush187]

I agree that Israel is a terrorist state and I hope to see it abolished. But not all jews agree with israel. there are a lot of jews who support Palestine.

[mingalabaa]

tammer007 is anti-semite.

[lionofthejungle]

I don't need to be Greek to understand how Pythagoras' theorem works and to be able to write mathematical theories based on the theorem. The info bubble on the right of the screen is a silly assertion.

[buckfush187]

no, You're undermining the jews that are fighting the occupation. Again, this is not jewish vs muslim, this is a tyrannical government vs the people.

[buckfush187]

I'm A palestinian muslim and I am offended by that. It's about jewish or muslim. There are millions of jews that are against israel. Even many jewish israelis who live in israel are against their government. So I think it's very wrong to says jews are the problem, It really makes no sense at all and it creates conflict for no reason. And as a muslim, I believe that the jewish religion is a peaceful one, and the israeli government who supports the murder of innocents, is no representing real jews

[buckfush187]

i'm sorry, I meant Its NOT about jewish or muslim. Typo

[chucholetsm8one]

You are correct, but you have to understand that there is a difference between Jews and Zionism. when he is talking about Israel he is talking about the Zionist. And thats why you hear Jews protesting against the state of Israel.

[buckfush187]

I do understand the difference.

[procrastinator11]

Really? He can definitely articulate well enough, and he has supporting evidence for everything he says. Don't believe me? Read his books!

[donger77]

Hey socaljss: Israel does more in one minute to inflame hatred of Jews than this guy could do in an entire lifetime.

[ecrisisx177]

Finkestein fucking rocks!

[YaLibnanTV]

I love Finkelstein! Everything he says is true, get off Normans back!

[Amerizionist]

Finkelstein is a two bit demogogue and a scoundrel. It is ENORMOUSLY important for a scholar to have literacy in the language(s) pertinent to the subject of which he is making a scholarly study, but then this shmuck is NOT a scholar. He has not published a single scholarly article in a reputable journal in his field. But then there's quite the death of reputable journals in Finkelstein's "field". Google: Steven Plaut The Passion of Norman Finkelstein for an excellent narative on Norman.

[xadious2]

lol @ the concept of having to learn arabic or hebrew in order to understand the middle east conflict. This lame attempt at trying to discredit Finkelstein is laughable. So ridiculous.

Finkelstein's work will always stand up as being incredibly reliable, with meticulous attention paid to even the smallest things.

[FA8T]

Agenda, Rabbi I think you have an agenda. I get the impression and please forgive me if I am wrong that you think your race and religion have a special interest to you that is above everybody else; isn't that racism and Chauvinism of the highest order given licence by the systematic murder of six million jews, that is a desecration to their memory.

[4449911]

Check the body count ... it IS happening. Did the Nazis want the Jews to move to Israel (aka Zionism) ?? That's not very controversial - the photos of the ships are there. Finkelstein speaks the truth.

[indiapaleal]

If Jews have received far more than their share of Nobel Prizes, and Israel has some of the most vital high-tech industries and one of the best militaries on the globe, it sure isn't doing a very good job of ethnic cleansing. Maybe (and I'll slow it down for Finkelschmuck)...it's...b/c...­it...isn't...happening.

[vegasveiw77]

Norm is a GREAT Thinker and teacher

[ghassan981]

I do not understand what is the exact point that this Rabbi is trying to make? It seems that this Rabbi is Anti Finkelstein..so what is your point Rabbi? Yes he mentions ethnic cleansing..and?

[oldchicken]

Rabbi, give us your thoughts on Raul Hillberg? He was the one, as you know, that courageously published on the Holocaust at a time when America did not care. Hillberg has supported Finkelstein's work, almost without exception. You do not strike me as having the capacity to be as courageous as these two men.

[oldchicken]

It's telling that so many have resorted to smear campaigns against Norman. If they had any real qualm with his scholarship they would be able to prove it. Check out Alan Deshowitz's website for a good example the depths that individuals have sunk to to smear his work.

[4449911]

Morality is a universal language, like mathematics. You don't need to read Arabic or Hebrew to understand Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing.  Dr. Finkelstein is an inspiration - on matters of truth (like beauty) love is the higher law. Go Norman !! Go Norman !!

[djimmy]

Rabbi, it looks as though most people here disagree with you. Maybe you should reconsider your position a bit.

[crazymiles]

Finkelstein doesn't speak Hebrew or Arabic. The person who posted this video cannot reason properly--in any language.

Which is worse?

[pharmaplayer]

Do you need to know Hebrew to watch The Passion?

[chewbaca1989]

Thank you for posting this Rabbi,

Norm Finkelstein, great American. Freeman, freeman!

[chewbaca1989]

I don't know either language, so what? Ill tel what I do know OUR AMERICAN TAX DOLLARS are being squandered in this conflict. This conflict is only bleeding AMERICA FOR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Our children our going off to fight Arabs to defend Israel. For what benifit? Both Arabs and Israelis act like capricious children except for the fact that they have the will to anialate eachother it would be laughable.

[felonious83]

i think youre just worried that he speaks english a little too clearly.

[kazoh0lic]

With Chomsky and Finkelstein the world makes sense.

[midihc]

good luck trying to make this guy look less racist than yourself sir

[veffari]

Hebrew or Arabic? Who cares?

Politically these text inserts are for low IQ's.

Good luck.

[battletestedsavage]

it is much easier to challege a man with unpopular beliefs/facts then to face the facts and admit that mayhaps you have been misled by your own blind self rightousness, and have fallen victim to a propaganda filled imperialistic doctrine.however you choose to discredit him I suspect that he is far more informed than most PHDs on the topic.

[bu1letpr00f]

the author of this video is a retard for the above said reasons

[hollycalder]

Can't you see that the practice of dismissing Finkelstein through insults and vague accusations actually serves his integrity very well. Above all it exposes your fear that he will be heard. The text in this video amounts to the same kind of name-calling which Alan Deshowitz has totally discredited himself by resorting to.

[sandrup]

You dont have to speak Arabic or Hebrew to read UN security council resolution 242.

[WestW7]

Right on Finkelstein! I feel he's very brave to take on such a "taboo" subject (why it's taboo - I don't know)and stand up for the truth and the rights of everyone. Every country has done wrongs to its neighbors or its indigenous peoples - why not admit them so you can help atone for these wrongs? Don't you want peace?

[migrantworker007]

It's the occupation, silly!

[Griffin669662]

'marblecake18' is one mean individual. You know nothing of Norman Finkelstein yet you say he has "some odd self hate syndrome.". You are a hater. Very bitter too. Why? So sad. Are you poor or lonely or had it bad? I surely disagree with you but wish you no harm and only wish you some happiness and growth. Anyway take care and bye. PS We all know you are backtracking from your baseless accusations: be honest.

[marblecake18]

Griffin is one mean individual. You know nothing of me yet you say I have an "unimpeachable lack of net worth". You are a hater. Very bitter too. Why? So sad. Are you poor or lonely or had it bad? I surely disagree with you but wish you no harm and only wish you some happiness and growth. Anyway take care and bye. PS We all know you are changing names from Rosenbaum to Appelbaum etc. Be honest.

[Griffin669662]

This is true only in terms of the legal system. In a broader cultural sense, slander can indeed refer to 'statements' or 'reports'. Please see the following dictionary definition:

2. a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report: a slander against his good name.

As far as I can see, Mr Appelbaums's statement therefore holds because this is a website, not a courtroom.

[Griffin669662]

It may benefit you to look in the mirror. You state that Finkelstein: "has some odd self hate syndrome". This is a casuistic effusion. Whilst it may prove beneficial for you to toss this infantilist muck anywhere but onto your bib, there thankfully exist people who argue via evidence. Henceforth, the delightful irony is that you are the one who is simply incapable of grasping the elementary principle of definition. In short, your lexical effluence betrays your unimpeachable lack of worth.

[marblecake18]

quick point: Libel is written defamation, slander is spoken defamation. So if you want to be correct you should say I commited libel not slander. I may make typos but I know the definition. Now be nice Mr Appelbaum I mean you no harm.

[marblecake18]

Finally a reply! I knew I'd smoke ya out. This is fun. Thanks Mr Appelbaum. Please get a sense of humor and try to be nicer...if you can. What do you mean by "sex starved" Dr Freud, and how is that relevant here? Sorry the spelling error upset you. Just been too busy to spell check. As a Jew (sorry) why do you hate or dislike Israel...really? Sorry for the slander of Buchanan and Germany but talk to Molly , I stole her line.

[marblecake18]

Yes we should look at giant mega Israel and see how much it has grown, why its almost the size of ... NJ, but without the toxic waste. To be serious, I bet pal Pat Buchanan has the piece available without subtitles, but probably in the original German as Molly Iven says.

[Appelbaum197654]

Excellent slander against the people of Germany. Brave stuff.

[Catalonia]

POV... it's funny.. who is this guy? He's brilliant. Everyone can look at a map and see where Israel started and where it is now. Somebody should post it without the subtitles.

[marblecake18]

His parents were victims and he has some odd self hate syndrome. Lets move on with with a two state solution and peace. The political sprectrumm is a circle. The alleged left winger is, in fact, a supporter of what the Nazis wanted... . Norman, boychick, you r a knish eating Jew, face it. They will not love you cause you suck up to those that will put you in a very hot oven or turn ya into a fabulous lampshade...beige I think with a nice brass base.

[Appelbaum197654]

There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever for this facile, sex-starved charge. It tells us a lot about you in that instead of dealing with arguments, you throw this sort of milkshake diarrhoea around.

Glad to see you brought the Holocaust into a debate wherein it has no relevance. Great stuff too about the lampshade: brainless but sweet.

P.S

"The political spectrumm is a circle".

Two 'm's: nice.

[Appelbaum197654]

There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever for this facile, sex-starved charge. It tells us a lot about you in that instead of dealing with arguments, you throw this sort of milkshake diarrhoea around.

Glad to see you brought the Holocaust into a debate wherein it has no relevance. Great stuff too about the lampshade: brainless but sweet.

P.S

"The political spectrumm is a circle".

Two 'm's: nice.

[socaljss]

FInkelstein does not speak Arabic or Hebrew. He is a fraud. You cannot be a scholar of the region without speaking the languages.

Secondly that quote about from Ben Gurion was fabricated and is a myth.

[Rosenbaum7890]

Of course you can. Its called 'translation'.

[Rosenbaum7890]

"That quote about from Ben gurion"

Brilliant grammar.

[Rosenbaum7890]

Come on then, did you spot my deliberate mistake?

Come on its not that hard! I mean you've already proven your tundra of intellectual worth by throwing slanderous video garbage against the kindergarten wall.

You are an atrociously servile human being and your spelling is worse: or should I say 'wurse' ?

[zanzalot]

@socaljss Very few Jews actually speak Hebrew. They mostly speak Yiddish.

[mustang19ms]

@socaljss Really?! so let me see.. he is a fraud because he cannot speak Arabic or Hebrew, and he is not a scholar for the same reason too.. you sound like a very intelligent man (sarcastic), I say sarcastic because your level of intelligence might not help you understand that I'm being sarcastic..

[QUINTUSMAXIMUS]

Everyone has an agenda. That is part of being human. Most mainstream historians acknowledge what Finkelstein states. I understand there are Jews who think some of what he says is hard to believe, but there are ignorant Jews, Arabs, and Americans. Whatever methods are used to uproot a population is ethnic cleansing. You do not need to kill all those people who are no longer there to fit that definition. Serbians who were removed from the Krajina area by the Croats were ethnic cleansed.

[Plato86]

Thank God somebody is talking the truth about Israel, I wish more professors would speak out against the despots in Jerusalem.

[alienentity]

'We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population." -- (David Ben-Gurion, May 1948)Does that constitute ethnic cleansing?.

[socaljss]

This is a fiction. Ben Gurion never said that.

[Rosenbaum7890]

Wow. What counter-evidence.

[OldAthenian]

@socaljss Yes he did.

[OldAthenian]

@socaljss Yes he did and that is what they are doing today...

[maltedm]

You know the victims of the Russian gulags must feel so left out up in heaven.Nobody fights over THEIR corpses.They dont get to be tv & film stars either.

[Rosenbaum7890]

Finkelstein is a U.S citizen so he criticizes the crimes of which his own state is involved. Any honest intellectual would do the same.

[maltedm]

A video debunking Finkelstein draws largely positive support & all from anti zionists!Not your intention methinks!When is a jew not a jew?That's a question that the Jewish community has yet to address,because like Finkelstein,they too have an agenda.

[auzucena]

This is the kind of information America needs to know to stop the Facist state of Israel wiping palestine off the map. Support for Israeli policies, US ISraeli lobbyists through Congress is putting American lives in danger. The Jewish Defense league is a violent organization and should be disbanded.

[walawee]

the author uses an instance of him saying ethnic cleansing twice.

[maltedm]

Yep,maybe he has an agenda too...an agenda that spells z.i.o.n.i.s.m.

[walawee]

agreed

[cookzana]

Correction: Perceptions on Palestine..... their influence on US and middle east policy by Kathleen Christison

[cookzana]

Correction: Kathleen Christison is the author above. Let's care about American interests, not Israeli interests. Let's fight for accurate and undistorted media reporting which is sensored by AIPAC (the america zionist elitist lobby). They are to blame, not these crazy terrorists. Stop AIPAC contributions to congressmen and senators and we will see a new leadership. Mr. Lieberman is only the first domino.

[cookzana]

I think the speech was informative and closely and accurately argued. IT WAS AN ETHNIC CLEANSING, THANK YOU.

[cookzana]

The Israeli Offense Force is guilty of Nuremberg type crimes. Go to three Jewish websites: Ifamericansknew.org, Betselem.com, and ofcourse Normanfinkelstein.com and learn people. Watch the videos on Ifamericansknew.org. Read the Holocaust Industry by Norman Finkelstein or Perspectives on Palestine by former CIA analyst by Kathleen Chrisison and stop the occupation. Wake up America and boycott Israel.

[Alessandro1985]

That is one sinister looking jew. And what a gay voice.

[Alessandro1985]

Not that there's anything wrong with being jewish - or looking sinister for that matter :)

[Rosenbaum7890]

What putrescent backtracking. Tremendously brave.

[raydar878]

Those who put others down, do so to inflate their defalted ego's.

[Rosenbaum7890]

Excellent response. Well done you.

[jaunkarachi]

This video is a great injustice with a talented intellectual like Finkelstein.

[raydar878]

Get your head out of the Zionist quagmire and smell some reality. It might do you some good, you schmuck!!

[guywoodhouse]

Finkelstein is absolutely correct.

[assihassan]

who ever made this clip is an idiot, Norman Finkelstein is a genius, no doubt

[sassybritches]

I didn't realize not speaking a specific language impedes someone's ability to grasp facts. I was also unaware that speaking in terms outside of academics makes one less knowledgable.

the best thing about this clip is, even with editing to suggest the opposite, prof finkelstein still illustrates his depth of knowledge and understaning of the israel-palestine conflict.

[ephemerol]

exactly!

[raydar878]

Perhaps once you stop agreeing with Zionists you will soon become a realist!!

[robertetaylor]

Wow Finkelstein knows his facts.

[TheSobrietysRule]

Just curious -- do you speak Arabic and Hebrew?

Regardless, since when is fluency in a regional language a pre-requisite to political analysis? Can you imagine a Stalinist dismissing a critic of Soviet human rights violations because he 'didn't speak Russian?' People would laugh; kind of like I am now.

That sort of comment is what idiots say when they are factually bankrupt.

[TheSobrietysRule]

Norman Finkelstein is right, I'm afraid. Your videos might be more effective if they pertained to the factual record, as opposed to these transparent smears.

[walawee]

this is hilarious. The maker of this video is so immature and ignorant, that the only thing he can come up with to criticise mr. finkelstein is "he doesnt sound like an academic".

[andrewucc]

Of course, Finkelstein's mother was a survivor of the ghetto and Madjenk camp. Nice!!! Have you no shame????

[andrewucc]

When finkelstein accurately describes those few zionists who collaborated with the Nazis, saying

"one of those who..." (3.15), someone ( maybe the author) says "your mother."

[andrewucc]

While Finkelstein is indeed speaking english to an audience of english speakers, I fail to see what this proves????

I feel that Prof. Finkelstein disproves the point that the video's author is trying to convey. Afterall, in the case of ethnic cleansing, he accurately points to the historiographic consensus on the matter, even quoting Benny Morris.

Is Israel immune not only from criticism, but also from analysis?