On Finkelstein

A few weeks ago I attended one of the movies shown in the CJP (Committe for Justice in Palestine) organized "Palestine Film Festival" on campus. I have to say, I was actually impressed. It wasn't as anti-Israel as I expected, and I agreed with a great deal of the issues raised in the film, as well as in the discussion that followed. I asked to be put on the CJP mailing list so that I can follow CJP's future events and maybe even attend a few meetings.

Today I received this e-mail, and considering the vigil that is planned for later tonight, I thought I would share it with all of you:

Dear CJP,

I am writing this letter in response to all the backlash that the Resource Center for Nonviolence has, unnecessarily, had to endure as a result of bringing Norman Finkelstein to Santa Cruz. The labeling of Finkelstein as “anti-Semitic” and a “holocaust denier” is completely false but, at the same time, painfully predictable. As he said in his books, if you expose and criticize Israel for the crimes they’ve committed you automatically are labeled a “Jew-hater” and “anti-Semitic”.

Finkelstein did not write 4+ books on this issue to preach hate on his own people, but instead, courageously looks past his cultural and religious identity, enabling him to see and expose the crimes that Israel commits against the Palestinian people on a daily basis. He is in no way “anti-Semitic” or a “holocaust-denier” and if there is some quote that may be interpreted as such, it must be looked at in context and not in a vacuum, quite similarly to the way that the Palestinians are looked at in the American media today.

Norman Finkelstein is one of the few people that expose the complete, one-sidedness, of the American media due to American interests and an extremely powerful and effective Israeli lobby. No where else in the world is Israel excused for their crimes to the extent that they are in America and there is no sense of real dialogue, in the mainstream media, as a result of the denial of the facts on the ground.

His book, Beyond Chutzpah, exposes the lies and false perceptions that are so widely believed due to charlatans like Alan Dershowitz. Beyond Chutzpah proves that Dershowitz’s best seller, The Case for Israel, is a “hoax”, through scholarly and academic research, that Dershowitz obviously lacked in his attempt to convince the American people of the validity of his hateful agenda. If Dershowitz’s book, which has proven to be far from respectable or truthful, can become a best seller, and Harvard can turn a blind eye to his fraudulence, there is no reason that Finkelstein should be stopped from doing a simple lecture in our so-called “liberal” town of Santa Cruz.

From time immemorial, Palestinian suffering has been almost completely ignored and people who expose the corruption and the brutality of Israeli and American policy towards the Palestinian people, in its raw form, are labeled “anti-Semitic” among other outrageous and unreasonable things. I support Finkelstein coming completely and if anything, I urge you all study his work and research, ignore his opinions and learn something new. It will open your eyes to the reality of the situation and deepen you understanding of the corruption of the American media. I urge you all to come see Finkelstein speak (Tomorrow, March 15th at 8pm at the Veterans Hall) and see, that what he has written in his books is exactly what is taking place in Santa Cruz today.

Linda