Posted by David Bernstein:
The Finkelstein Affair:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_09_30-2007_10_06.shtml#1191298186
I keep getting emails asking what I think about DePaul University's
denial of tenure to Norman Finkelstein. The short answer is that while
I certainly haven't tortured myself by reading everything Finkelstein
has written, I've read enough to broadly agree with Cathy Young's
assessment, which you [1]can find here.
What I find irritating about the Finkelstein controversy it's almost
always portrayed as a lightning rod for controversy because he is
"anti-Israel." He certainly is anti-Israel, but the reason he attracts
such enmity is that he uses rhetoric that is unmistakably
anti-Semitic, including in contexts only tangentially related to
Israel. Whether he's actually anti-Semitic (yes, I know he's
ethnically Jewish; so?) or just uses anti-Semitism as a rhetorical
prop in an attempt to stir the masses against the Jewish establishment
in the hopes that this will ultimately weaken Israel, I don't know.
By now some of you are thinking, "there goes Bernstein conflating
criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism." No, I'm conflated
anti-Semitism with anti-Semitism. Writing that leading American Jewish
activists "resemble stereotypes straight out of [Nazi newspaper] Der
Sturmer" has nothing to do with criticizing Israel. Neither does
claiming that American "Jewish elites" have "a mindset of Jewish
superiority." If Pat Robertson had made these remarks instead of
Finkelstein, is there any doubt that many of Finkelstein's staunchest
allies would not hesitate to proclaim them anti-Semitic?
Both of these quotes can be found in his book, Beyond Chutzpah. But
what about context? Here's the context for the first quote:
Legitimate questions can surely be posed regarding when and if Jews
are acting as people who happen to be Jewish or acting "as Jews,"
and, on the latter occasions (which plainly do arise), regarding
the actual breadth and limits of this "Jewish power," but these
questions can only be answered empirically, not a priori with
politically correct formulae. To foreclose inquiry on this topic as
anti-Semitic is, intentionally or not, to shield Jews from
legitimate scrutiny of their uses and abuses of formidable power.
In an otherwise sensible treatment of the new anti-Semitism, Brian
King maintains that "it is a form of anti-Semitism" if an
accusation against Jews mimics an anti-Semitic stereotype such as
the idea of Jews being "powerful, wealthy . . . pursuing [their]
own selfish ends." Yet if Jews act out a Jewish stereotype, it
plainly doesn't follow that they can't be committing the
stereotypical act. Can't they commit a vile act even if it conforms
to a Jewish stereotype? It is perhaps politically incorrect to
recall but nonetheless a commonplace that potent stereotypes, like
good propaganda, acquire their force from containing a kernel�and
sometimes even more than a kernel�of truth. Should people like
Abraham Foxman, Edgar Bronfman, and Rabbi Israel Singer get a free
ride because [Finkelstein's italics] they resemble stereotypes
straight out of Der Sturmer? [To give you some idea of how grossly
offensive this is, [2]here are some cartoons representing Jewish
stereotypes in Der Sturmer.]
And heres the context of the second quote:
Jewish elites in the United States have enjoyed enormous
prosperity. From this combination of economic and political power
has sprung, unsurprisingly, a mindset of Jewish superiority.
Wrapping themselves in the mantle of The Holocaust, these Jewish
elites pretend�and, in their own solipsistic universe, perhaps
imagine themselves�to be victims, dismissing any and all criticism
as manifestations of "anti-Semitism." And, from this lethal brew of
formidable power, chauvinistic arrogance, feigned (or imagined)
victimhood, and Holocaust-immunity to criticism has sprung a
terrifying recklessness and ruthlessness on the part of American
Jewish elites. Alongside Israel, they are the main formentors of
anti-Semitism in the world today. Coddling them is not the answer.
They need to be stopped.
If anything, the context of these quotes makes them look worse!
Those so inclined can turn Finkelstein into a free speech martyr if
they wish. But, putting aside the merits of his claim to tenure, it's
fundamentally dishonest to suggest that he attracted notoriety and
criticism simply because he's a critic of Israel. I'm waiting for the
first, honest, defender of Finkelstein to say, "yes, he's guilty of
anti-Semitism, and that anti-Semitism is directly related to the work
on which his tenure relied, but I think DePaul should have granted him
tenure anyway." It's certainly plausible to argue that the fact that
one's work on Jews and the so-called "Holocaust Industry" is tainted
by anti-Semitism should not be a barrier to tenure if the work
otherwise makes a significant contribution to the literature, but I'm
waiting for someone to forthrightly make the case.
References
1. http://www.reason.com/news/show/121045.html
2. http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/sturm28.htm
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