November 29, 2007
The Norman Conquest
Thursday evening, CEPAL (the Canadian-Palestinian Educational Exchange) presents a talk by Dr. Norman Finkelstein at U of T's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Just a few months ago, he was Professor Norman Finkelstein, but he made himself some powerful enemies, and now he's pretty much out on the street (i.e. lecture circuit). Apparently, that's not an uncommon development for academics—even Jewish ones—who are critical of Israeli policies and the advocates for same.
Finkelstein, who has made a career out of deconstructing and debunking right-wing propaganda concerning Israel, is probably best known for being Chomsky's protégé, and for his book The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, in which he examines the way the memory of the Holocaust is exploited for certain political ends. More recently, however, Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History picked apart in extreme detail the Alan Dershowitz bestseller The Case for Israel. He and Dershowitz have sort of become mortal enemies, Dershowitz having now played a role in Finkelstein's denial of tenure at DePaul.
Tonight's lecture is on the broad topic of "Israel and Palestine: Roots of Conflict, Prospects for Peace" and will surely be a fascinating complement to Dershowitz's recent visits to U of T. Admission is ten dollars, but five if you're a student. OISE is located at 252 Bloor Street West (on the north side, between the two entrances of the St. George subway station), doors open at 5:30, the talk gets started at 6:30, and the hysterical heckling will probably be under way by 6:35.
Photo by mick's pics from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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Tthe hysterical heckling will probably be under way by 6:35.
Sounds like it's already started.
Given the anti-semitism and terrorist advocacy of OISE linked groups, it's unsurprising that Finkelstein shows up here. What is interesting is that Hamas shills are writing for Torontoist. Next up TATP cooking demos?
Further, the oh so chic Al-Durra image in the graffiti is a lie. Despite the best efforts of the jihadi sympathisers at France 2 to depict otherwise, Mohammed Al-Durra was not hit by Israeli fire during a riot - in fact he wasn't even killed, as was shown in a Paris courtroom. http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/11/al_dura_affair_the_raw_footage.php
As always, the jihad has infiltrated its agents into the media and has used the pervasive leftist network to pursue their eliminationist goals. From Hezbollah "photographers" 'shopping "news" photos at Reuters http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5625098 , through jihadis working at Reuters headquarters http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=20760_A_Death_Threat_from_Reuters_(Bumped)&only and Al-Quaeda operatives working for AP (photographer Bilal Hussein was captured with Al-Quaeda leaders and is on trial for collusion with them http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071120/wl_mideast_afp/usiraqunrestmedia_071120114432).
More info on OISE's notorious links with anti-semites and jihad: http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2006-10-19/news_story3.php Then there's the CUPE Ontario boycott of Israel http://www.macleans.ca/canada/national/article.jsp?content=20060619_128959_128959, a nice thing to remember a few weeks after the 69th anniversary of Kristalnacht.
I do love that Torontoist agrees with me - only the right is opposed to the second Holocaust demanded by Ahmadinejad, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Quaeda, the NDP and CUPE. The left, as always, supports and a bets genocide wherever it occurs: Mao in China, Stalin in Ukraine, Pol-Pot in Cambodia, Hussein in Kurdistan, Castro in Cuba, Chavez in Venezuela, and whoever can kill the most Jews in Israel. Whether it is Socialism or National Socialism, the Left will be there as handmaidens of tyranny and then pursue the "debunking" of the crimes of tyrants decades later.
Realitycheck, I think you are right to critize Jonathan Goldsbie for his ridiculous assertions re: the ability of those who criticize Israel's existence or question the existence of the Jewish people to hold posts at America's most prestigious universities and publish in its most powerful publishing houses. And the choice of the A-Dura photo to illustrate the story, just when the Karsenty libel chill case is wrapping up, is indeed ironic. You're right about that.
On the other hand, articulating it through shrill conspiracy theories and overblown language is quite silly. I don't know what you do or don't think, of course. But what you say makes you sound like, well, Norman Finkelstein.
(Who recently had his 15 minutes of fame when a new Montreal-based show on French-language international station, Le 3950, had as one of its guests French comedian and Lepenist Dieudonné -- who proceeded to cite Finkelstein as an "Israeli sociologist" who would "never" be able to say the things he says in the U.S.
Except, of course, that Finkelstein is American, was awarded his doctorate by Princeton and, for his most recent (2007) book which is now touring, shifted publishers from British imprint Verso -- distributed in the U.S. by American giant WW Norton & Co. -- to the University of California Press, one of the largest university presses in the world.
But I digress!)
I am so disappointed to see that this event even showed up on the Torontoist.
How come there was no press about "Unsettled," a documentary about the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip through the eyes of six young Israelis? The director, Adam Hootnick, was present for the screening on the UofT campus tonight.
I look to the Torontoist to let me know what is going on in Toronto. The Globe and Mail is good for global news. And if I wanted to learn more about ferrets, I'd hit up ferretsmagazine.com.
If I wanted to read about highly sensitive and political affairs, I would look to those who know the topic intimately and prefer to get both sides of the story.
Please stick to what you know, which is exploring this city we know and love.
Also, when was Dershowitz recently at UofT? I tried searching but didn't find any hits.
I am also curious how "CEPAL" comes from "Canadian-Palestinian Educational Exchange." I get the "C-PAL" but where did the E come from?
For balance, I'll thank Torontoist for advising of this talk - since I see the Zionist brownshirts are out in force to again squelch any discussion that might be the slightest bit critical of Israel.
Good call, btw, about the heckling. It was about 5 minutes in when the under-medicated started going off their rockers...
And Alan Dershowitz hasn't had time to get to Toronto in the last year. He's been too busy invoking the Nazis use of torture in occupied France in support of his campaign to legalize torture - hey it worked for the Nazis, why can't it work for us?. I can't believe that all self-respecting Jews aren't embarrassed by him. What a disgrace...
If the dispassionate request (per comments (3) and (4)) for the writer/publisher not to publish unsubstantiated doggeral on an issue that many are understandably sensitive about makes you a Zionist (I won't repeat your odious modifier), what does that make you?
what does that make you?
Um, an anti-Zionist?
And the "request" was hardly dispassionate, nor was the original publication "unsubstantiated doggerel" - except from the radical perspective of the Zionist thugs who do not want to debate, but to silence, any discussion that might be critical of Israel.
I mean, it speaks for itself, doesn't it? The commenter you refer to was wrapped in contradiction: "I read Torontoist to tell me what's going on in Toronto, so I'm disappointed they alert of an event that is happening in Toronto." Brilliant.
The Torontoist post was 100% objectively, factually, true - with perhaps one single word that may be subject to argument: the word "debunking", depending on which definition you use; regardless of which definition you use I'd say he does, but others may disagree.
This is, of course, a separate issue from whether or not you disagree with Finkelstein. But the vitriol is as much (misguidedly) directed at the Torontoist as it is Finkelstein. Presumably because some Zionists disagree with Finkelstein, they believe nobody should hear him or know about him. And of course having failed to silence the Torontoist, there were thugs in the crowd to shout down Finkelstein - and absurdly picking the least controversial aspect of his talk to start barking.
Given the apoplexy of the people who denounce Finkelstein, his talk was on a rather mild subject (that the affinity of the Jewry for Israel is no longer as strong as it was). That doesn't mean people might not disagree with it (I'm not sure I agree with him on the subject), but it certainly doesn't merit burning books over.
100% objectively, factually true?
The link in the post for "not an uncommon development for academics" takes you to the story of one person - Finkelstein. And an oblique reference to dissidents of no particular stripe and not necessarily in universities being kicked out. So uncommon may also be an "overstatement". No other facts provided to back it up.
Not commenting on anything else, but try not to get too worked up in making your non-dispassionate point.
Yes, 100% objectively, factually true.
You seem to quibble with the material in support of the assertion, which is an entirely different question from whether the assertion is true.
If a Torontoist post made reference to the Holocaust and the death of 6M Jews, the absence of a citation (or the inclusion of a questionable one) would not make the statement any less objectively true.
As for whether or not it is "factually true" that academic criticism of Israel makes for powerful enemies, you should acquaint yourself with Campus Watch:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_Watch
It advertises itself, rather ominously, as "Monitoring Middle East Studies on Campus". Its raison d'etre is to bully and silence academic criticism of Israel. If you think this is just leftist agitprop, check out The American Conservative, which calls it a "self appointed, on-line thought police".
If Torontoist had written an article about Unsettled and Hootnick, would you have complained they didn't balance it with mention of Finkelstein, Rachael? Would you have been 'so disappointed' then? Somehow I doubt your motivations. You don't even bother trying to find fault with the content of the article; just that it exists is enough.
It seems whenever Palestine or a Palestinian or anything connected to the notion that maybe they aren't all inherently evil is mentioned, the B'nai Brith or their emulators swoop in with complaints. Fortunately Torontoist and the Star and G&M (etc) aren't FOX or Global, and don't owe you a perspective you agree with.