The Latest by Norman Finkelstein
I was happy to see that not only has Norman Finkelstein's website been updated, but his latest book is also available.
Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History
by Norman Finkelstein
Hardcover: 253 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (June 1, 2005)
ISBN: 0520245989
Here are some excerpts from the detailed book description:
In this long-awaited sequel to his international bestseller The Holocaust Industry, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an iconoclastic interrogation of the new anti-Semitism to a meticulously researched expose of the corruption of scholarship on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Bringing to bear the latest findings on the conflict and recasting the scholarly debate, Finkelstein points to a consensus among historians and human rights organizations on the factual record. Why, then, does so much controversy swirl around the conflict? Finkelstein's answer, copiously documented, is that apologists for Israel contrive controversy. Whenever Israel comes under international pressure, another media campaign alleging a global outbreak of anti-Semitism is mounted.
Finkelstein also scrutinizes the proliferation of distortion masquerading as history.
The core analysis of Beyond Chutzpah sets Dershowitz's assertions on Israel's human rights record against the findings of the mainstream human rights community.
Thoroughly researched and tightly argued, Beyond Chutzpah lifts the veil of contrived controversy shrouding the Israel-Palestine conflict, enabling readers in search of a just and lasting peace to act on the basis of truth.
If you haven't already, Finkelstein's exposé of Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz is a must read. If you're wondering why, a quick answer can be found in the answer to the rhetorical question "What if a Harvard Student Did This?": he'd be kicked out for plagiarism and Norman Finkelstein demonstrates this very meticulously and effectively. This entire saga is entitled The Dershowitz Hoax and if you read it in detail like I did, the next time you see Alan Dershowitz appear on TV you'll wonder why he's not wearing a bag over his head (or even appearing at all). Now that's chutzpah.
The interesting thing about Norman Finkelstein is that not only is he Jewish, but his parents were Holocaust survivors. In spite of this, he's still sometimes accused of being anti-Semitic. Not only that, but due to his often misunderstood book The Holocaust Industry, he's been accused of being a "Holocaust denier" even though this book does nothing of the sort since its sole intent is to defend the memories of the Holocaust. All of his books are worth reading, by the way.
My final comment is one I always like to make whenever the subject turns to the Holocaust. We all know, since we seem to have a never ending stream of documentaries, movies, museums, books and news casts to constantly remind us, that about six million Jews perished in the Holocaust—and indeed this was one of the greatest tragedies of human history. However, if you do some research you'll learn that in reality roughly nine million people perished in the Holocaust: about six million Jews and about three million non-Jews. My question is: Why are these three million non-Jews almost never mentioned? Don't they matter? Seemingly not to some people who only want to remember their own dead. Food for thought...
By the way, chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning audacity, insolence, unbelievable gall, shameless impudence, brazen nerve, effrontery, etc. Not to mention any names, but that is a pretty good description of a certain Middle Eastern country (i.e. the one with the blue Star of David on its flag).
Labels: Finkelstein vs. Dershowitz, Holocaust
posted by @ 4:15 AM
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The interesting thing about Norman Finkelstein is that not only is he Jewish, but his parents were Holocaust survivors. In spite of this, he's still sometimes accused of being anti-Semitic.Are you sure about that? I remember hearing him inteviewed on the radio in Ireland in 2003, and he said that the only reason he believed that the Holocaust was real was the effect it had on his family - he never had aunts or cousins or other non-immediate family, because they were all murdered. Were his parents actually in the camps, or did they escape? He also accused the exploiters of exaggerating the numbers of survivors alive today, in the name of extorting money from banks for the benefit of "needy Holocaust survivors".
Even though I was pretty sure, your question made me want to verify it. I found an article on his website where a reporter says the following about him: "The flat we are sitting in was inherited from his father, a survivor of the Auschwitz death march. His mother survived the Majdanek camp. Neither his mother or father received compensation sums for their death-camp experiences." Exaggerating the number of survivors in order to get money from Swiss banks and other shameless antics are some of the things he discusses in The Holocaust Industry.
Yep, definitely true (as long as you believe his word to be true!). I heard him say this at a FOSIS conference in Manchester last year, and it's mentioned in his books.
If your commentary lis as astute as the dumb remark that 3 million non-Jews killed and never mentioned then you are not worth reading...visit, for example, the Holocaust museum in Washingto DC and the 3 million are clearly a part of the museum's efforts to keep the record alive. Look at most serious courses at the college level about the holocaust and you will see that the 3 million are always mentioned. I am not sure what you read but you are either silly, naive, or playing games.
: visit, for example, the Holocaust museum in Washingto DC and the 3 million are clearly a part of the museum's efforts to keep the record alive. Look at most serious courses at the college level about the holocaust and you will see that the 3 million are always mentioned. :
In my experience, the millions of others killed by the Nazis is never even mentioned. It may even be more than three million (a Jewish source mentions tens of millions of Russians and others killed in "anti-partisan" warfare), but when the Holocaust is mentioned it's usually only "the six million".
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