Finkelstein triumphs at Cambridge debate on “Israel"

Norman Finkelstein triumphs in debate at Cambridge University on “Israel" as a rogue state

March, 2015 — In front of a large, cheering student audience, Dr. Finkelstein nails the long record of Israeli massacres of Arabs:

“If Jews are allowed to talk about six million, six million, six million, we can talk about the number of Palestinians killed.” -Norman Finkelstein

In the last 72 hours of the Israeli war in Lebanon in 2006, Israelis “dropped four million cluster munitions on south Lebanon…saturating entire villages, population centers…” -Norman Finkelstein

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Finkelstein: Israeli army “most cowardly on earth"

There are many reasons Israel can't invade. The most obvious is, this time there are lots of foreign journalists in Gaza.  The IDF (Israeli army) is the most cowardly army on earth. They don't attack without first destroying everything in front and to the sides of them, which of course means massive civilian casualties.

 This time they can't do this because the operation was largely spontaneous, unlike Operation Cast Lead (in Gaza 2008-2009), so they weren't able to seal the borders.

There's even a NY Times reporter in Gaza, and she's plainly not happy with what she's seeing.  The Times even made an “error" yesterday and referred in the headline to the Israeli attack on "civilian buildings."  A few hours later they referred to "government buildings.”  But today the Times led with the deaths of 11 people, five women, four children (killed by the Israelis Sunday, Nov. 18; the victims are now said to be 12).

Of course, Israel can't be thrilled with this, and they know that in the event of a ground invasion, it'll be scores of civilians killed, not just because they like to kill civilians (which they do) but also because that's the only way the know (how) to fight: destroy everything in your path for miles around.  They can't do that now, but also Netanyahu can't risk significant IDF casualties.  (It would be a) Disaster with an (Israeli) election looming.  So, I still say, no invasion. --Norman Finkelstein

New York Times online, Monday Nov. 19, 2012

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The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Zionists

In a little over three minutes Dr. Finkelstein reveals the basis of both Left wing and Right wing Zionism: the expulsion of the majority indigenous people from the land of Palestine. He cites this as a central principle of the Zionist ideology of the Israeli state.

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Finkelstein: Opponents of Israeli occupation are "cultic" and not pragmatic

Dear Norman Finkelstein

re: "Norman Finkelstein Interview with Frank Barat: BDS Campaign, Imperial College London" (England)

I watched your talk with Frank Barat from last February (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASIBGSSw4lI).

I don't disagree with everything you said, but Mr. Barat seemed overwhelmed by your passion and did not ask questions that should have been asked of you.

According to you, some of the opponents of the Israeli occupation, and of the Israeli state itself, are "cultic" and not pragmatic, and are bound to fail due to the fact that their legal arguments are hypocritical. Therefore they are lacking in appeal to the masses of people because they want the law upheld with regard to the Israeli occupation but not with regard to the Israeli state's right to exist.

Mr. Barat should have asked you, what masses are you talking about, if not the Western masses? Surely the fall of the Fourth Reich in Jerusalem would have enormous appeal to the region's 100 million Arabs, but for some reason they don't seem to comprise a meaningful constituent in your realpolitik. Why?

A haven for Judaic persons can be guaranteed in the pre-1967 borders without that haven being based on racist Zionist laws of return that give residency rights to Judaics from New Zealand and Brooklyn over the children of native Palestinians.

The Nazi/Talmudic Israeli government can be legally overthrown without overthrowing a guaranteed safe haven for Judaic people now resident in Palestine. What would be wrong with such an overthrow? If it worked for South Africa why can't it work for Palestine?

Your reference to the "law" of the United Nations smacks of a divine mandate. There is nothing divine about the U.N. and if the Divestment and Solidarity people were to drop references to U.N. law and harken to appeals to the immemorial law against colonial empires and racist reichs, then the hypocrisy you excoriate would be resolved.

You are willing to support the right to exist of the racist Zionist regime on the basis that its "rights" were established by the UN (at the behest of Stalin and Truman). You don't want the fate of the Israeli Arabs to trump considerations of the survival of the Zionist system since many other countries subjugate their minorities, so why single out the Israelis for doing it?

And by extension, your argument implies, why try to stop this oppression by overthrowing the Israeli government and creating a new government with an equalitarian constitution?

One thing that makes the Israeli oppression different from your example of the Dalits ("untouchables") in India or another flagrant instance, that of the Shiites in Bahrain, is that those governments don't run morality pageants and daily "Holocaust" museum tours showcasing the supreme ethics of their nations over the rest of humanity, with "lessons" for all mankind that no should ever forget. Whether or not this Talmudic megalomania plays in Peoria should not be the main criterion for whether or not we should call it to account.

Unlike some of your Leftist critics, I accept the fact that you are basically honest and that you have arrived at your latest views from a  desire to be politically effective and fair to all.

I see some serious holes in your position however, and I hope that at some point you will address my questions in some forum.

Sincerely,
Michael Hoffman

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"Censure anti-Semitic teacher, Italian Jewish leaders say"

ANNALS OF THE NEW INQUISITION

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LICEO LINGUISTICO MANZONI, UN BLOG SUSCITA LA POLEMICA 

«Quell'insegnante è negazionista e antisemita». Ispettori dal ministero

Avrebbe definito, tra le altre cose, la Giornata della memoria «una forzatura» e l'Olocausto «un mito»

http://tinyurl.com/5rfeqbg

MILANO - Respinge ogni accusa. Proprio non ne vuole sapere di passare per «negazionista e antisemita». Perché sono addebiti «campati per aria che non credo neppure di dover prendere in considerazione». Scoppia la polemica su Barbara Albertoni, una professoressa del liceo linguistico Manzoni che nel suo blog «cloro al clero» avrebbe definito, tra le altre cose, la Giornata della memoria «una forzatura» e «l'Olocausto un mito». Poi ancora altri «post» ritenuti «offensivi». Il mondo politico, da destra a sinistra, condanna la vicenda. E intanto il ministero dell'Istruzione vuole inviare un'ispezione per fare chiarezza.

L'assessore comunale alla Scuola, Mariolina Moioli, ha chiesto «una relazione sui comportamenti dell'insegnante e sulla base di quanto emergerà verranno presi gli opportuni provvedimenti». E difende l'istituto dove «è ben salda e convinta l'adesione ai principi e ai valori costituzionali». Ma la docente trova la situazione «assurda». E le accuse sono «parole grosse di una persona che nell'ambito professionale violerebbe la Costituzione in modo grossolano perché significherebbe che vede la vita in modo razzista, quindi discrimina e discriminare vorrebbe dire violare la Costituzione, appunto».

Inoltre, sempre dalle colonne del suo blog, promette battaglia: «Ho 30 anni di carriera nella scuola come insegnante di storia e fior di testimoni che mi aiuteranno». E afferma anche che «la lobby sionista ha campo libero, evidentemente anche sui giornali, al fine di stroncare le voci di dissenso soprattutto sulla questione palestinese».

Redazione Cronaca di Milano
15 aprile 2011

Censure anti-Semitic teacher, Italian Jewish leaders say

April 17, 2011 • http://tinyurl.com/3qhbvj7

ROME (JTA) -- Italian Jewish leaders have called on Italy's education minister to take action against a Milan high school teacher accused of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.

A statement by the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Renzo Gattegna, and the president of the Milan Jewish community, Roberto Jarach, said the teacher in question, Barbara Albertoni, had "spread historical falsehoods, also on the Internet, which insult the memory of the millions of innocent victims of barbarism and savagery of the Nazis and fascists, and also illicitly carries out an action aimed at distilling prejudice, racism and hatred." 

Controversy over Albertoni erupted after an article in the La Repubblica newspaper described her as a Holocaust denier and anti-Semite. The newspaper based its description on her posts on her anarchist and pro-Palestinian blog that made "repeated attacks on Jews and Israel," and pictures and cartoons showing the Israeli flag with a swastika. It quoted her in one post as calling the Holocaust "the founding myth of Zionism."

Albertoni rejected the accusations. Some of her words were taken out of context, she said, but she added that the "Zionist lobby" was behind efforts "to cut off the voices of dissent, above all on the Palestinian question." (End quote from JTA)

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“Con quale paura!Perduto tra due milioni di pazzi,eroici e scatenati e armati sino ai denti (…) cacciati sotterra come in un manicomio, per distruggere tutto (…) tutto cio’ che respira,più arrabbiati che cani,adorando la loro rabbia(…)"  -L.F. Celine    

(From the blog, cloro al clero)

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Marco Pasqua: un cretino qualsiasi,che solo in un contesto come il nostro puo’ essere pagato per scrivere

http://networkedblogs.com/gDtxO

Cioè…sono assurta alle cronache di “milano-Repubblica”  NIENTEPOPO’DIMENO che come professoressa “negazionista”" e “antisemita”. Parole grosse, di una persona che nell’ambito professionale violerebbe la costituzione in modo grossolano perchè significherebbe che vede la vita in modo razzista, quindi discrimina e discriminare vorrebbe dire violare la costituzione, appunto. Quello che Repubblica ha lasciato scrivere è la prova evidente del suo essere un giornale guerrafondaio e carta veramente da culo atta ad impacchettare solo la merda.

Con questo articolo di questo Pasqua ,che in parte estrapola frasi dal mio blog senza dimostrare neppure di saperle leggere (su Faurisson scrissi che era vile avergli alzato le mani e che al negazionismo bisogna opporre  argomenti  di portata scientifica e non botte) e in parte s’inventa periodi che non ho mai scritto. In quanto al mio negazionismo (avrei scritto che l’Olocausto è “un mito”) è un’accusa così campata per aria che non credo neppure di doverla prendere in considerazione: ho 30 anni di carriera nella scuola come insegnante di storia e fior di testimoni che mi aiuteranno a far ricacciare in gola al Pasqua i suoi insulti a suon di migliaia di euri .

In realtà si sa che la lobby sionista ha campo libero (vedi Giorgio Israel, patron didattico della gelmini), evidentemente anche su giornali come Repubblica, al fine di stroncare le voci di dissenso soprattutto sulla questione palestinese. L’ultimo diverbio che ho avuto coi sionisti pochi giorni fa è stato su Facebook, a proposito di Vittorio Arrigoni, un amico continuamente dileggiato e calunniato perchè “osa” mandare informazioni di prima mano agli italiani sul lager di Gaza, che negli ultimi giorni ha subito bombardamenti assassini la cui conta è di circa 10 persone la settimana.

 Per il resto che altro dire? Che credo sia un onore trovarmi nelle fila dei Finkelstein, dei Pappe’, dei Caracciolo e di tutti coloro che sono stati perseguitati ingiustamente per le loro opinioni. Infamie che trovano fondamento nell’ingiustizia strutturale del presente. Un periodo storico nel quale pochi potenti decidono di buttare uranio impoverito sul popolo libico mentre la gente muore in Palestina nel silenzio complice di politici e media. Tra le varie inquisizioni del nostro tempo c’è questa: l’intento è intimidatorio, ma come scrissi tempo fa ad un’altra persona che mi diffamò, sono figlia di un valoroso italiano che servì nella seconda guerra mondiale come artificiere ad El Alamein e che s’è fatto le sue “belle” prigionie e torture da parte degli “amici” inglesi. Il conflitto mi carica. Se poi mi porta soldi, ancora di piu’. Certo non vinceranno, per quel che mi riguarda, dal lato della paura e della persecuzione perchè, nonostante possa sembrare un target di semplice esecuzione (madre single, prof di liceo ecc…) l’ho sempre spuntata contro chi voleva farmi del male e sarà così anche questa volta. Come filosofa temo solo la morte che, come si sa, puo’ sopravvenire in ogni momento, nessuno ne è immune. C’è gente che soffre per molto meno (per esempio Pasqua quando fa le figure di merda) ma io non faccio parte di quella categoria.

ps quasi tutti i link sono roba mia, cosicchè chi passa di qui possa farsi un’idea del mio “antisemitismo” nonchè “negazionismo”. Se si dicono robe del genere bisogna dimostrarle con una certa puntualità, non con l’astio vendicativo di un articolo a suo carico, mal digerito, covato per piu’ di un anno, poi uscito per essere stato maltrattato nel facebook di arrigoni. E chi ha orecchie per intendere intenda, chi no, in roulotte. Perchè la casa l’ha persa….

so che il paragone è forte, ma…lo schema è il medesimo di quello rappresentato…uno schema che si è fermato lì, ancora oggi nel 2011. E forse con piu’ crudeltà di quanto facessero allora. L’illuminismo per ‘sta gente, non è mai esistito…

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This information is courtesy of Michael Hoffman • www.revisionisthistory.org

"Against all odds"

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VIDEO: Talmudic Mentality in the History of World War II

Hoffman analyzes the propaganda system’s presentation of the religion of Holcaustianity as objective history, in terms of its function as the expression of the Talmudic mentality, and the dual standards which this mentality imposes on the genocide debate, with certain prerogatives and immunities reserved solely for a privileged few, denominated by Hoffman as the "Master Race of Holy People." Hoffman's point of departure is a Zionist protest over the appearance of Dr. Norman Finkelstein at Rutgers University in November, 2010.

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Norman Finkelstein: Israel is a Satanic state

An interview with Norman Finkelstein, the son of holocaust survivors 

He has a right to be heard and the public has the right to read and study his words

American Jewish Professor Norman Finkelstein has heavily criticized Israel over its operation in Gaza. A son of Holocaust survivors, Finkelstein has been barred from Israel for 10 years and was denied tenure at DePaul University in Chicago because of his critical stance on Israeli policies.

According to Finkelstein, Israel, a state built on the ashes of the Holocaust, is now committing a holocaust against Palestinians in Gaza. In a telephone interview with "Today's Zaman," Finkelstein said Israel was a "terrorist state" created by the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948. Praising Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people for their courage in supporting Palestinians, Finkelstein referred to Israel as a  "satanic" and "lunatic" state. Finkelstein's parents survived the Nazi camps in World War II and then immigrated to the US.

After his book “The Holocaust Industry,” in which he accused many prominent Jewish leaders of abusing the victims of the Holocaust, was published, Finkelstein was almost declared persona non grata by America’s influential Zionist circles.

What does Israel want to achieve with this operation?

Basically, Israel wants to achieve two goals: to restore what it calls its deterrence capacity -- that means to spread fear among Arab states about itself. This is a core principle of Israeli strategic doctrine. Arab states have to be afraid of Israel, afraid of its military might, and Arabs should do what Israelis want. They shall follow Israeli orders.

Israel’s military deterrence suffered a setback in May 2000, when Hezbullah succeeded to expel Israeli occupying forces from south Lebanon. Almost immediately in the aftermath of the failure, Israel planned another war with Hezbullah to re-establish its deterrence capacity. In 2006, after long preparation and using its air force, Israel suffered another ignominious defeat in Lebanon against Hezbullah.

The second goal was to defeat the Palestinian peace offensive. This has been another basic principle of Israeli doctrine: You do not negotiate with Arabs. You give them orders. The Palestinian organization Hamas was becoming too moderate; it was transmitting, giving the signal that it was ready to go along with the two-state settlement based on pre-1967 borders. The leadership of Syria and the West Bank have also been making statements like this. So Israel started to get worried that it would be obliged to negotiate a settlement which the international community has been supporting for the last 30 years.

Those who are against this settlement are the US or Israel, backed by the US. So when Hamas was becoming moderate and holding to the cease-fire it agreed in June 2008, it was showing herself to be a credible negotiating partner. Hamas was standing by its word. In the meantime, Israel has neglected another core principle of cease-fire, namely easing the blockade. So Israel had to defeat this Palestinian peace offensive. It always does this. It provokes Palestinians into reacting, and it wants to either destroy Hamas or inflicts so much damage that Hamas will have to say it will never negotiate with Israel. That is exactly what Israel wants. Israel never wants a moderate negotiating partner because if there is one, pressure on Israel will grow. Hamas is willing for a settlement; Hamas stands by its word. But Israel does not want to negotiate.

What you are basically saying is that Israel is not interested in peace at all.

Israel wants peace in its terms, and its terms are that West Bank should belong to their state.

Will the operation be successful?

First of all, we have to use proper language. There is no operation, and there is no war. What is happening is a slaughter, a massacre. When you have 200 to 300 kids killed, that is not a war. When you have a strong military going in against a defenseless population, that is not a war. When you shoot a fish in a barrel, we do not call it a war. As an Israeli columnist put it, it does not need too much courage to send jets and helicopter gunships to shoot inside a prison. What just happened was not a war. One-third of the casualties were children. It was not a war; it was a just a massacre.

In terms of the Israelis’ goals, you have to say it was successful. It inspired fear among Palestinians and Arabs generally that Israel is a lunatic state and that you have to follow its orders. No. 2, it destroys Hamas as a negotiating partner. You now hear from Hamas that it will not negotiate peace. That is what Israel wanted.

On your Web site, there is an argument that the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors are doing to the Palestinians exactly what was done to them by the Nazis. Do you agree with that?

I think Israel, as a number of commentators pointed out, is becoming an insane state. And we have to be honest about that. While the rest of the world wants peace, Europe wants peace, the US wants peace, but this state wants war, war and war. In the first week of the massacres, there were reports in the Israeli press that Israel did not want to put all its ground forces in Gaza because it was preparing attacks on Iran. Then there were reports it was planning attacks on Lebanon. It is a lunatic state.

But do you agree with the characterization?

Look at the pictures and decide for yourself. I am not going to tell people what they should think about it. But what I say is they should look at the pictures and decide for themselves. (For the pictures go to: http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=2510)

Why have you been barred from entering Israel for 10 years? As the son of Holocaust survivors, you cannot enter Israel.

Let’s be clear on a certain point. I was not entering Israel; I have no interest in going to Israel. I was going to see my friends in the occupied Palestinian territories. And Israel blocked me to go and see my friends in the West Bank. Under international law, I do not think they have any right to do that. I was not posing any security threat to Israel. The day after I was denied entry to Israel, the editorial of "Haaretz" was asking, “Who is afraid of Norman Finkelstein?” They were also saying that I was not a security threat. I do not have any particular interest to go and visit that lunatic state.

There are Jewish intellectuals who now call Israel a “terrorist state.” Is that a correct description?

I am not sure how you cannot agree with that. The goal of the operation was to terrorize the civilian population so that Palestinians would be afraid of Israel. This is the dictionary definition of terrorism. The dictionary definition of terrorism is targeting a civilian population to achieve a political goal. The goal of this operation or rather massacre was to terrorize the civilian population and to wreck and destroy as much civilian infrastructure such that the Palestinians would submit. When you attack schools, mosques, ambulances, hospitals, UN relief organizations, what is that? If this is not terrorism, then what is terrorism?

In your famous book, The Holocaust Industry, you argue that the state of Israel, one of the world’s most formidable military powers, with a horrendous human rights record, cast itself as a victim state in order to garner immunity to criticism. Have we seen this during the Gaza operation?

They tried to use the Holocaust; it was funny in a very sick way. The leader of the American Jewish Committee, David Harris, wrote an article, and he said it is no coincidence that this war in Gaza is occurring around Jan. 27, which is Holocaust Remembrance Day. He wants to pretend some connection. In fact there is a connection, and the connection is Israel is committing a holocaust in Gaza. But that is not the connection he had in mind. He wanted to play the Holocaust card; I think that it is not working very much anymore. It was clear that during this last massacre in Gaza, liberal Jewish public opinion turned against Israel. If you look at the petitions, demonstrations, letters, support to Israel, not only in the international community but also among the Jewish community, is diminishing. So the Holocaust card, the anti-Semitic card, is not working as efficiently as it was working once.

You will probably be called anti-Semitic as well.
I do not think this propaganda is successful anymore.

In your book Beyond Chutzpah, you argue that Israel was created after the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, but the question whether it was premeditated remains to be answered. If it is premeditated, then can it be called genocide?

Well, it was premeditated, and I think the record is pretty clear. Even Israel’s former minister of foreign affairs, Shlomo Ben-Ami, in his book published several years ago called “Scars of War,” said that it was quite clear that it was a premeditated expulsion in 1948 and it was anchored in the Zionist philosophy of transfer. Ethnic cleansings are ethnic cleansings, and they are war crimes.

Why do you think US media is so one-sided and so pro-Israeli?

I think it has two components. First of all, Israel serves American interests in the region and American media always give a free pass to those states that serve American interests. That is the overall picture and not much different from other parts of the world. The horrendous governments like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, they also get free passes in the American media. This is the larger context.

And there is, of course, the secondary factor, which is the ethnic element. In many of these newspapers and the media in general, there is a large Jewish presence, and there is a sense of Jewish ethnic solidarity, which plays a role. But I think we have to qualify the secondary factor in two ways. We should not lose sight of the primary factor, which is Israel is the client state of US.

No. 2: In this past war, the liberal Jewish population mostly under the age of 40 completely defected from the war, the massacre. They have been opposed to the massacres from the first day.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been very critical of Israel on Gaza, and some American circles lambasted him in return. What do you think about his stance?

I wish he had gone further. I wish he had gone as far as Qatar, Mauritania, Bolivia and Venezuela in breaking diplomatic relations with that lunatic state. But as far as he has gone, the point on which he stands, has been terrific. And I was glad to see Hamas respected the gestures of the Turkish government and said they would be willing to have Turkish troops stationed on “our border.” That is a very high praise for the Turkish government.

Turks are showing Palestinians compassion, decency and justice. All the Turkish people should take pride in this stance, as was the case on the eve of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was the Turkish people and government who showed courage. Ninety-six percent of the Turkish people opposed the war in Iraq. The Turkish government refused to give Americans use of their land to attack Iraq. Now Turkish people and the Turkish government are redeeming themselves again by standing on what is right, what is decent and what is just. I say the highest praise for Erdogan and the Turkish people.

How do you feel about Israel’s operation in Gaza personally as the son of Holocaust survivors?
It has been a long time since I felt any emotional connection with the state of Israel, which relentlessly and brutally and inhumanly keeps these vicious, murderous wars. It is a vandal state. There is a Russian writer who once described vandal states as Genghis Khan with a telegraph. Israel is Genghis Khan with a computer. I feel no emotion of affinity with that state. I have some good friends and their families there, and of course I would not want any of them to be hurt. That said, sometimes I feel that Israel has come out of the boils of the hell, a satanic state. Ninety percent of the population continues to cheer, to exalt and feel proud and heroic. They send a Sherman tank to a playground and torch children. Is this heroism? Is this courage?

You were not allowed to teach at DePaul University despite a very good academic record and also had some problems in getting your Ph.D. from Princeton. Why?

Well, I had some problems. I really cannot discuss my problems in the face of what is going on in Gaza. It will be so silly, trivial and stupid. Three hundred or so children -- they were incinerated to death; phosphorus bombs were thrown indiscriminately over Gaza. Everything these people wanted to rebuild was destroyed again. This Israeli state invaded in 1978, again in 1982, again in 1993, again in 1996, again in 2006, and 2008, and it always destroys, destroys and destroys. And then these satanic narcissistic people throw their hands up in the air and ask, “Why doesn’t anybody love us? Why don’t our neighbors want us to be here?” Why would they?

Interviewed by
SELÇUK GÜLTASLI

"Today's Zaman" (Turkey) Jan. 19, 2009

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