Norman G. Finkelstein

*1.5

I feel strongly about reading books you know you might not like: I want my options challenged. I decided then to read this highly rated book for some counter-perspective on Israel through the lens of the Holocaust industry, as someone who engages in pre-Holocaust history and literature as much as possible. I spent the last year in college studying this stuff, I’ve written way too many papers, and I have so, so many opinions on post-Holocaust/Holocaust memorial-ism that I could go on show more about it for hours.

Anyways, If it’s not apparent, I believe in a Jewish homeland. Generally speaking, I like Israel. Despite this, I am not without criticism, but at the end of the day I am an American with no skin in the game, and the country is not going anywhere anytime soon. As my Israeli coworkers (and chosen family) like to complain about, “These Americans have no idea what our country is like” (and to make it clear, they said this to both our protestors AND the overeager American Jews supporting our business).

To begin with, the political nature of American Jewry beginning in the first chapter is not dealt with well at all. The author makes very strong, very broad condemnations of their power simply because Finkelstein believes them to be in the wrong. There is no moral framework he supplies to us, and we are supposed to agree. Why? I wanted him to convince me! But he refuses to engage! While there are many valid criticisms of the identity of diasporic American Jewry I can think of (mostly surface-level critiques of its shtetl-philia), Finkelstein’s insistence that its alignment with Israel is the lynchpin of its banality is frankly a gross overstatement. I think at its core, and I’m figuring this out the more I read the various theories, is that Finkelstein views world politics through such a contrarian lens that it ultimately horseshoes into extremism. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say Finkelstein’s writing enables extremism and antisemitism on both the left and right.

I was almost not shocked then when I learned the author recently supported noted anti-Holocaust author David Irving and even writes about him in this small book. Finkelstein clearly uses his family’s Holocaust tragedy and his parent’s survivor status as a shield to any countercriticism, in the exact way that he is accusing American Jewry of doing when they do not engage with criticisms of Israel.

The only chapter saving this from a straight 1-star rating is chapter 3. In it, Finkelstein finally lays out the crummy underworld of the Holocaust reparations world, and it is indeed, arguably, bad. Despite this genuine critique, the author continues to couch any moral answer to this to the horrible United States government. I want to shake him because I agree, that the US government can definitely suck, but it still is not enough of a reason for Israel to not exist. Finkelstein delights in whataboutism; I felt like I was reading a Fox News teleprompter as he deflected instead onto American ignorance of Native and African American reparations, the murdered non-Jewish groups during the Holocaust, and of course (Finkelstein’s favorite punching bag) the lies of Ellie Wiesel. All of these suck Mr. Finkelstein, this is not a “gotcha!” moment. I will gladly die on the hill of the need to remember the murder of Polish peasants, not only because they are human but because I believe they offer a key to fighting Eastern European anti-semitism. But none of these negate Jewish suffering. And hey, Mr. Finkelstein, guess what? My entire Polish family was murdered by the Soviets. Eat shit.

Ultimately, this book is polemic without giving me a good reason to change any of my opinions. You should have complicated feelings about Israel—but the book does not offer the nuance the subject needs. Finkelstein is a master of laying down a claim with evidence and construing it to the most inane, dangerous conclusions. These conclusions, when extended with the most forgiving evidence, are weak. There are very valid ways to critique the state of Israel without slipping into vague Holocaust denialism. This book does not offer them. show less

I only came across Norman Finkelstein's books a couple of years ago. Since then I have been astounded not only by his courage, but by his scrupulous scholarship.

The premise of this book is that there is a growing divide between American Jews who, like Jews in most other Western democracies, tend to be more liberal than their fellow citizens, and the right-wing extremism and warmongering of a succession of Israeli governments which has led to tremendous human rights abuses and lack of respect show more for international law. Those Israeli governments are supported by some American organisations which claim to be representative of their fellow Jews, in their "my country, right or wrong" attitude to Israel. But, as Peter Beinart has also pointed out in his book, The Crisis of Zionism, far from representing their fellow Jews, they actively misrepresent them.

In showing how young American Jews have become disenchanted with Israel, Finkelstein, in this book and his previous one, Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History, reveals the intellectual dishonesty of people like Alan Dershowitz (a person to whom I'd never really paid a lot of attention until I came across articles of his, justifying torture, after September 11). It's no surprise that Dershowitz was the prime, intellectually dishonest, mover behind the refusal of academic tenure to Norman Finkelstein at DePaul university.

In reading Finkelstein's descriptions of American organisations and intellectuals, I was reminded of the situation in France, where, in some quarters, there is a similar level of intellectual dishonesty and disregard for Palestinian human rights. The CRIF, which justifies Israeli extremists in ways reminiscent of the U.S. Anti-Defamation League, has extreme right-wing opinions. It claims to represent French Jews, but articles by liberal Jews in Le Monde Diplomatique, Médiapart and other center-left publications virulently dispute this claim and condemn the CRIF's stance on Israel.

I am one of the people who once thought Israel could do no wrong. The turning point for me was the Sabra and Chatila massacre in 1982. Like many people who will read this book, it has taken me three painful decades to move from not knowing enough to now knowing too much. show less

Ein Buch, das einem die Sprache verschlägt. Die Ungerechtigkeiten, die Norman Finkelstein als forensischer Wissenschaftler darlegt, machen einen wütend. Das Buch ist sehr gut lesbar, weil es viel von Finkelsteins Reisen nach Westbank handelt zur Zeit der 1. Intifada. Er gibt immer wieder gut faktische und geschichtliche Einordnung durch Quellen und Vergleiche. Es bleibt aber trotzdem gut lesbar. Es ist anfängerfreundlich für Novizen auf dem Gebiet des show more Israel-Palästina-Konflikts.

Finkelstein hat eine sehr große Empathie gegenüber den Unterdrückten, dessen Stimmen nicht gehört werden. Seine komplette Familie auf väterlicher Seite und mütterlicher Seite wurden im Holocaust ausgelöscht. Seine Eltern und seine zwei Geschwister sind Überlebende. "Israels Terrorkrieg gegen die Palästinenser hat auch das Andenken von sechs Millionen jüdischen Märtyern beschmutzt." S.44 Es gibt viele Juden, die sich nicht hinter die Menschheitsverbrechen (siehe UN, Amnesty) von Israel stellen. Manche Deutsche haben selbst unsere tragische Geschichte nicht aufgearbeitet - manche lernten aus der Aufarbeitung, dass Juden "kritisieren" schlecht ist, nicht dass "töten" schlecht ist.

Kapitel 3 fand ich besonders spannend, als er die Doppelmoral der USA gegenüber Irak/Kuwait und Israel/Libanon analysierte. Er analysiert sachlich gestützt auf Quellen.

In Kapitel 5 fand ich die sachliche Gegenüberstellung der Enteignung und Vertreibung der indigene Cherokee und der Enteignung und Vertreibung der Palästinenser klug. Ersteres wird schon längst verurteilt, zweiteres behauptet sich noch immer - aber mit erschreckend ähnlichen Mitteln. Geschichte wiederholt sich. Wenn wir sie nicht studieren, sind wir verdammt, sie zu wiederholen. show less

It’s very sad that the Israelis, propped up by Europe and the US, repeat the same cycle of lies as they dehumanize the indigenous people of Palestine.

Here Norm Finklestein, with painstaking detail, lays out the horrific treatment of the Gazans during the early 21st Century. Israel kills with impunity, while the West continues to pretend to believe their justifications.

We are no longer fooled. Netanyahu holds to power through endless slaughter and the dream of a Zionist state dies as the show more children of Gaza bleed. His regime will pass, but our eyes are opened and like so many other colonizers, he will take the State of Israel with him.

The Star of David has become a Swastika. show less