Thursday Jul 03, 2008
Double Standard Watch: Demeaning Jewish victims of terrorism
Posted by Alan M. Dershowitz
Comments: 21
Comments: 21
Following the terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Wednesday which killed at least 3 Israelis and injured approximately 50 others, discredited academic Norman Finkelstein sunk to a new low--which is saying something for a man who has trivialized the Holocaust, defended the use terrorism, and claimed that Libya had nothing to do with the downing of Pan Am 103. On his website he carries the following faked news story, which he attributes to the New York Times writer who covered the terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
Times Exclusive: Deranged Arab in bulldozer attacks NY Times's Isabel Kershner at her pedicure. Reporting live from the scene still in her curlers and with her beautician at her side, Kershner gives a minute by minute account of the horrifying moment when the bulldozer crashed through the pedicure's windowfront crushing the nail on her little toe. "My friends in the Catskills just won't believe it," she said. "A smashed toenail. How can Israelis live with so much anxiety?"
The kind of people who regularly read Finkelstein's despicable website may actually believe that the story is accurate. Most relatively intelligent people will recognize it as a really horrid attempt at humor, that stereotypes Jewish women and trivializes the suffering of victims of terrorism. Had a right-wing academic stereotyped any other minority in this manner, he would have been brought up on academic discliplinary charges, considering the atmosphere of selective political correctness that dominates so many campuses today.
Having failed as an academic, Finkelstein is now trying to emulate Ann Coulter, except that Coulter is actually sometimes funny, where Finkelstein is merely disgusting. He has mocked Holocaust survivors and victims of terrorism. He has used anti-Semitic stereotypes to describe Jewish leaders. He also specializes in making up phony quotes and attributing them to his enemies. This was one of the reasons he was denied tenure at DePaul University.
Just yesterday he made up another quote and placed it on his website. Referring to one of my clients he wrote the following: "Dershowitz predicts 'Second Holocaust' if conviction is not overturned." Of course I never said anything of the sort, but Finkelstein's readers won't know that.
The only questions are: How could anybody take Finkelstein seriously? And how could any university have even considered giving this manufacturer of false quotations and phony news stories tenure?
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1 | Joseph A. Pyatkevich, USA, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
Dear Professor Dershowitz:
Thank you very much for your infallible voice of reason and your indefatigable efforts in supporting the causes of reason, morality and justice in our turbulent world.
Speaking about this specific instance of your commentary which, of course, and as always, is unassailable in its factual and moral clarity. There is one recurring problem that keeps disturbing me (I understand that it is an old dilemma, but still).
On the one hand, your reaction is completely understandable: a person of good will simply cannot let the despicable absurdities "du jour" of this sick mind go unchallenged. But, on the other hand, taking into consideration the enormity of the Wednesday's tragedy and the degree of Finkelstein's baseness, his "comments" are so beyond the level of elementary human decency and morality, that they should not, probably, deserve the honor of being noticed at all.
Thank you once more.
2 | Julian, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
Finkelstein is not take very seriously in the US. With countless news channels desparately trying to fill up 24 hours of news, I never see him. In an academic field contolled by the anti Israel left. Finkelstein can't get a job.
Finkelstein thrives on hatred and conflict. He encourages others to fight (the Lebanese, the Palestinians etc.), while he is safe and secure and alone in his parent's old apartment in Brooklyn.
He attacks Israel's existence endlessly, but when he was arrested trying to get into Israel, he kept asking to be released because, get this, he's not an enemy of Israel.
3 | David Katcoff, Jericho, Vt, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
Finkelstein is not the only one demeaning Jewish victims of Islamic terror attacks. Try most of the mainstream media, which seems to consider every post-mortem on terror as an opportunity to make a condescending remark about Israeli policy, somehow implying that Israel's defense against the Jihad is contributing to it. Everyone needs to remember that throughout the years of the Holocause, Jews never wantonly attacked Axis power civilians, since Judaism, unlike Islam, values all human life and not just believers..
4 | Herbert Kaine, Hebron Israel, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
I dont see why Finkelstein doesnt try his hand at getting tenure in England. With "luminairtes" such as Ilan Pappe, David Irving, Stephen and Hillary Rose, Canon Paul Oestreicher, Derek Summefield and others, Finkelstein should be a shooin to become an Oxford don
5 | Ruben Misrahi, US, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
Nevertheless Finkelstein was on... The History Channel!
Considering him irrelevant would not do. Someone needs to stop him. There are enough crazy people and people full of hatred and well-designed agendas that consider him "interesting."
When being interesting is the core a person's goal, you know he has run out of substance. In Finkelstein's case, he never had one.
Some has to sue this guy!
6 | Hilla H. Israel, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
I am real happy that this idiotic paragraph appeared in Finke-Stein web site. It is a proof that the guy is an idiotic clown and there is no need to take his views seriously. There is a limit to sarcasm and making fun of terror attacks victims. Let him RIP in his parentsÂ’ apartment and continue spreading his venom in the dark.
7 | Michael Lewis/ tucson, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
I find thst people like Finklestien cannot and will not match minds with alan Dershowitz. I have followed Alan Dershowitz for years and find a clarity of thought that is most refreshing. Alan is no doubt an ardent Zionist as I am, and he has a keen eye on anti semetic people. I have done my guard duty in Israel and I know you just cannot deal with a deranged paalistinien, they do not understand what they are doing. When I find condesending remarks in the media I look for Dershowitz to respond, his voice has a power that people understand. He is a hawk that we need.
8 | EM, NYC, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
The New York Times already demeans Jewish victims of terror. The headline of their real online news story was something along the lines of "Bulldozer Kills 3 in Israel Attack." That's right: a Palestinian didn't kill these people, a bulldozer did! And the term "Israel Attack" would lead a casual reader to assume that Israel had attacked and not been attacked.
9 | Jo Ellen Davey Cohen Oak Park, Illinois, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
Norman Finkelstein has joined the ranks of Patrick J. Buchanan and David Duke with his crafty demonizing posture related to the State of Israel. That said, he remains a hero in Oak Park, Illinois to the radical left 'nakba' churches where Palestinian support is rampant [First United Church, First
United Methodist Church et al]. As a parent of a De Paul University graduate, I am fully aware of
his brutal rhetorical positions against Israel and the IDF in particular. He was an ineffective lecturer
at best, and generously spent his idle hours on the De Paul pro-Palestinian-propaganda soapbox.
10 | simple man, usa,, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
Dear Allen Dershowitz
I do assure you the only sane man who reads Mr. Finkelstein website, is yourself.
Sincerely,
Cyrus
11 | Tod Zuckerman, Sunday Jul 06, 2008
Great column. The phony baloney hardcore Jewish left actually likes Finklestein - take the little creepy rabbi from Berkeley, Michael Lerner. This pompous jackass - who some gentiles actually believe is a Jewish moralist - publishes Finklestein's screeds in his lefty publication of "progressive Jewish thought." Jeez, it is enough to make one vomit.
12 | last zionist, Monday Jul 07, 2008
you're a saint. fighting against this.....needs a lot of courage. tank god u have those qualities.
13 | Josh, Ottawa, Monday Jul 07, 2008
Finkelstein *has* been angling for rehabilitation, in Canada. He has been a guest "lecturer" at York University and the University of Ottawa during the past six months. The administrations of both universities have both denied - in writing - that they've had anything to do with the invitations extended to him, but his website claims that in each case, the *sponsor* is the university itself.
There's little doubt that Finkelstein is fabricating the "sponsorships". But most people who visit his site don't know this.
14 | Carolyn, Boston MA, Monday Jul 07, 2008
Nice job not mentioning the last sentence of the fake news story - way to miss the point.
15 | Verna M. Black---Jerusalem, Israel, Monday Jul 07, 2008
Dear Dr. Dershowitz,
No one can bring Batsheva Unterman's life back to us, her husband, baby, parents, sisters, family,
and friends of whom live here in Rechavia, (a neighborhood of Jerusalem, around the corner from the OU/Israel Center) are "sick" over this. Efrat, (the baby) was brought into the library perhaps six weeks ago by her proud father, Ido Unterman, and as we oohed and aahed over her who in the world knew what the fate of her mother would be last Wednesday. No, I am not rambling on to pluck
sympathy from you, I'm hurt, angry, a mother and a grandmother myself.
HELP!!!!
16 | Daniel Mendoza NJ, USA, Monday Jul 07, 2008
Finklestein is the most self hating person I have ever seen. Its clear by the expression on his face at all times. It is sad. almost sad, anyways.
sad is the the story of the infant who lost her mother during the attack last week.
17 | Dan Fairfield CT, Monday Jul 07, 2008
Israel will not be treated like a normal nation until it acts like one. A normal nation would never tolerate this level of terror if it had the means to stop it. Israel has the means but not the will.
18 | Josh, London, Monday Jul 07, 2008
After reading this article I decided to see Finklesteins website..just to get an idea about this guy. I think an excerpt from an interview of himself that is posted of his website should giv a bit of clarity...
'Who wants destruction? Even Hitler didnÂ’t want war. He would much prefer to have accomplished his aims peacefully, if he could.' It seems that here we have the disturbed mind of someone who is shutting out all common sense...
19 | Martin Leaf F.Hills, Tuesday Jul 08, 2008
Alan, just sue him for defamation. That will bankrupt him financially. He is already bankrupt morally. I will volunteer to help. Otherwise you are giving him more attention than he is worth and it makes you look petty. We have bigger fish to fry. Like Ahmedinijad.
The Fink is just a typical sociopath, begging for attention, that criminal defense attorneys see all the time.
20 | Dan, TEXAS, Wednesday Jul 09, 2008
Finkelstein is to be ignored. On the odd occation when it is actually published in a periodical or article that is actually read, it needs to be put in its place. What a schmuk. Indeed, I totally agree with Mr. Leaf who suggests that you sue him for defamation - that will bankrupt it completely.
21 | Daniel in TX, Friday Jul 11, 2008
Dershowitz criticizing Finkelstein's scholarship is like the hunchback of Notre Dame criticizing someone's posture.
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Analyses of burning topics by leading American attorney and stalwart defender of Israel Alan Dershowitz
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