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Norman Finkelstein

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Norman Finkelstein

Norman G. Finkelstein (born 1953) is an American political scientist known for advocating controversial positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for criticizing the way the Holocaust is handled by most parties and organizations. He is the author of four books, of which the most prominent are Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict and The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering.

Finkelstein wrote his Princeton doctoral thesis on Zionism, and it was out of this work that he gained his first notoriety. He called Joan Peters' book From Time Immemorial, a "monumental hoax." A "history and defense" of the state of Israel, the book was widely praised in the United States, and Finkelstein's charge initially was received with great hostility. After British media took it up and began promulgating it, however, U.S. media softened their praise. Today, largely as a result of Finkelstein's analysis and criticism, Peters' book is controversial among scholars and largely disregarded.

At Princeton, the hostility that Finkelstein received threatened his ability to earn his Ph.D.. "He literally could not get the faculty to read [his thesis]," Noam Chomsky writes in Understanding Power. In the end, Princeton granted Finkelstein his doctorate only "out of embarrassment," says Chomsky. Still he says, "They will not even write a letter for him saying that he was a student."

Finkelstein has taken other controversial positions. He has praised Hezbollah for armed resistance against the Israeli Army in Lebanon. In The Holocaust Industry, he described Holocaust reparations as a corrupt "racket," in which little of the money actually goes to victims. He has also challenged the characterization of the Holocaust as a unique event in history, and likened Israeli security to the Gestapo. Questioned explicitly about his views on terrorism, Finkelstein has said that rather than violence, Palestinians should pursue independence through "non-violent civil revolt."

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called Finkelstein a "Holocaust denier" and accused him of pursuing an anti-Semitic agenda. Although the ADL is known as a defender against anti-Semitism, it is also a frequent advocate for the government of Israel and opponent of Palestinian interests. Finkelstein has called the ADL's accusations against him empty and undeserved. "I am Jewish and my parents are Holocaust survivors. With others you could say, 'you're an anti-Semite' or 'you're a Holocaust denier,' [but] you can't do that with me," he once responded, "you have to argue the facts." Neither the ADL nor similar groups have quoted Finkelstein denying that the Holocaust actually occurred. Finkelstein was also called a "self-hating Jew" on numerous occasions.

In addition to his denunciation of Peters herself, Finkelstein has accused Alan Dershowitz of using Peters' research without acknowledgement, pointing to passages where Dershowitz quoted exactly the same excerpts that Peters footnoted in her book, but where Dershowitz referenced only their original sources and not Peters. Finkelstein regards this as plagiarism, a charge that Dershowitz denies. (See Dershowitz-Finkelstein affair.)

Bibliography

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