| I doubt that I can be said to speak for the University of Texas at Austin. The only time I was on a campus-wide ballot, only 20% of students voted and almost 70% of those voted against me. I am in exile from the campus for the time being, though I’ll be back in the city by the end of the summer. Despite all this, I am hereby taking it upon myself to speak on behalf of the UT community. Professor Norman Finkelstein: we want you.
If you do not know who Norman Finkelstein is, you are not terribly interested or well-versed on matters dealing with the Israeli occupation of Palestine or the Holocaust. |
| The DePaul University professor is among the world’s leading scholars in Holocaust studies, cited by the founder of the field—Raul Hilberg—as among the great minds doing this research today. He is also one of the West’s most prominent critics of Israel’s aggressive policies towards its neighbors and its criminal occupation of the Palestinian territories. He is, as you might imagine with a name like Norman Finkelstein, a Jew. And like all critics of the Israeli government he has been slandered as an anti-Semite and a self-hating Jew. His most prominent critic is the apoplectically pro-Israel Harvard Law Professor (and O.J. Dream Teamer) Alan Dershowitz. Finkelstein was coming up for tenure at DePaul University, and after his department overwhelmingly supported his bid, Dershowitz went to work. Hectoring alumni, professors, administrators and donors to the university for months, Dershowitz made a public crusade out of denying Finkelstein tenure for his views. Today, Dershowitz’s effort succeeded as DePaul’s president decided to deny Dr. Finkelstein tenure.
Finkelstein’s most controversial statements regard the “Holocaust industry:” suggesting that Jews have manipulated the Holocaust for financial gain and political power. Finkelstein is the child of two Holocaust survivors; the rest of his family was killed by the Nazis. He has also argued in the past that Hezbollah is a legitimate armed resistance organization. These are controversial statements. But Dr. Finkelstein has never leveled a gun at anyone, nor has he traded blows. His ideas are spelled out in detailed and highly original, thoroughly researched works of scholarship. It is among the cornerstones of this country’s supposed values and the first and last of academia that a free marketplace of ideas must be supported in order to insure the best ideas are truly represented. DePaul University, a Roman Catholic institution, has shown their lack of agreement with these ideas. As Raul Hilberg has said, “I have a sinking feeling about the damage this will do to academic freedom.”
So that being said, I urge the University of Texas, which cradled this humble blog, to reach out a hand to this fantastic opportunity. Finkelstein is controversial, but he is also brilliant. He angers many people, but his work is respected as among the most important current work in his field by his peers in that field. I once saw him speak at UT (at a time when I was still in the throws of a right-wing virus that made me a defender of Israel. The bombing of Qana cured that ailment), and while he is a dry speaker of densely packed analysis, he is the kind of mind and his is a passion that makes a university great.
And to Dr. Finkelstein (in the instance he has accidentally found his way over here), I hope that if you were offered a spot here in Austin you could brave the heat and join us. This is a town that respects differences in opinion, a school that seeks to encourage debate and dissent. We would love to have you, and hope that if you don’t end up here, that you end up somewhere where your vital work can continue. Your fate is representative of the times we live in—when the dull ache in our belly is brought about by the fear of the spreading stain of tyranny and autocracy. Yours is a voice that challenges these things, and we need you more than ever. |
