[act-ma] RFM recording of Norman Finkelstein speaking on Palestine and Israel

[Roger Leisner]

Radio Free Maine
presents

Norman Finkelstein
speaking on
Palestine:  60 Years of Dispossession and Displacement
Part of MIT Palestine Awareness Week

Sponsored by Palestine at MIT, MIT Arab Students'
Organization, MIT Social Justice Cooperative, MIT
Latino Cultural Center and MIT Muslim Students'
Association

Introduced by Ibrahim Kanan

Recorded by Roger Leisner on April 2, 2008 at M.I.T. 
in Cambridge, MA.

Norman Finkelstein speaks for one hour and 43 minutes
and the Q&A Period is 50 minutes

Norman Finkelstein is a political scientist and
author, specialising in the Holocaust and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Internationally
acclaimed scholar, author of Beyond Chutzpah: On the
Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History;
Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict;
and The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the
Exploitation of Jewish Suffering.  A graduate of SUNY
Binghamton  who received his Ph.D in Political Science
from Princeton University.  Beginning with his
doctoral thesis at Princeton, Finkelstein's career has
been marked by controversy.  A self-described
'forensic scholar,' he has written sharply critical
academic reviews of several prominent writers and
scholars whom he accuses of misrepresenting the
documentary record in order to defend Israel’s
policies and practices. His writings, noted for their
support of the Palestinian cause have dealt with
politically-charged topics such as Zionism, the
demographic history of Palestine and his allegations
of the existence of a "Holocaust Industry" that
exploits the memory of the Holocaust to further
Israeli and financial interests.  Citing linguist and
political activist Noam Chomsky as an example,
Finkelstein notes that it is "possible to unite
exacting scholarly rigor with scathing moral outrage."
His scholarship has been praised by eminent historians
such as Raul Hilberg and Avi Shlaim, as well as
Chomsky.
Amidst considerable public debate, Finkelstein was
denied tenure at DePaul in June 2007, and placed on
administrative leave for the 2007-2008 academic year. 
Among the controversial aspects of this decision were
attempts by Alan Dershowitz, a notable opponent of
Finkelstein's, to derail Finkelstein's tenure bid.  On
September 5, 2007 Finkelstein announced his
resignation after coming to a settlement with the
university on generally undisclosed terms.  Despite
having denied Finkelstein tenure, an official
statement from DePaul strongly defended the decision
to deny Finkelstein tenure and asserted that outside
influence played no role in their decision. The
statement also praised Finkelstein "as a prolific
scholar and outstanding teacher".

Available on DVD video, audio CD, VHS video and
audiotape cassette
For information on how to order, please contact 
Roger Leisner at
Radio Free Maine
P.O. Box 2705
Augusta, Maine  04338
 
rleisnerrfm at yahoo.com
(207) 242-0643

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Roger Leisner
Radio Free Maine
P.O. Box 2705
Augusta, Maine 04338
http://www.radiofreemaine.com



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