A Sad Day for Academia

[Sincere]

Norman Finkelstein finally decided to resign after being denied tenure by Depaul University. Despite having academic heavyweights like Noam Chomsky and Edward Said and a slew of other respected scholars advocating for him, they still cut him loose. The Jewish Lobby groups and their lackey Alan Dershowitz must be having a field day, their persistant bickering cost this man his job

 

The long-running battle between outspoken professor Norman Finkelstein and DePaul University administrators ended Wednesday as the two sides agreed on a private settlement, cutting short a planned day of protests.

 

But the underlying struggle between supporters of Israel and champions of the Palestinians continues, not just at the North Side campus but across the academic world.

 

Finkelstein's case attracted far greater public attention than tenure struggles usually do, with supporters across the nation demanding the Catholic university grant him tenure and detractors just as vehemently insisting he be fired. Wednesday's settlement did little to calm those waters. Read On.

 

Here's a must read debate between him and the former Israeli Foreign Minister Debate

[Ibtisam]

I'm really looking forward to his new book. Norman Finkelstein unlike Noam Chomsky has never mixed his words or tried to please the pro Israel Lobby groups.

 

I doubt he will miss his job much, but he can now join the growing list of academics being frozen out by lobby groups including John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (also looking forward to reading their book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy) The list is growing and they cannot be silenced for ever. The pro Israel lobby is weaking at an alarming rate in America which was always their back bone (for finance and they had full y control of education, publication etc) they seem to be losing that grip, slowly but surely as Americans realize that it is not in their best interest.!

[Paragon]

..By Ghanima:

the growing list of academics being frozen out by lobby groups including

John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt

(also looking forward to reading their book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy)

Ghanima, never thought Mearsheimer really needed the membership of any lobby. If anything I always thought he'd be very comfortable with his other political connections as someone who has played a great role in government business. Still, I know his and Walt's The Israeli Lobby manages to cause few frowns in some circles.

 

But Finkelstein on the other hand, he has been through alot in the last several years, I would've thought. I vividly remember his plagiarism accusation against Dershowitz's The Case for Israel , which he later left it alone. I think he's had something coming towards him all alone..and I guess for him to resign from academia was somewhat a likely follow-up. Some of these lobby or pressure groups are rooted well enough in all sectors that those who oppose them would pay a hefty price.

 

A sad day for academia indeed, Sincere.

[Elysian]

Sincere, thanks for the interesting links! Didn’t know much about Finkelstein. Unless you have a name like Greenberg, Goldstein etc. in which the accusation of being an anti-semitist is disqualifying your arguments, a Kafka’s process is soon initiated to eliminate you.

 

Ghanima, I’m wondering when Noam Chomsky ever uttered any words or attempted to please pro-Israeli lobbyists???

 

Paragon... have you seen the film yet?

[Paragon]

^^No, I haven't yet Elysian. Just read something along those lines.

 

PS: Chomsky isn't a lobby-appeaser. Heck, I am hearing Osama has included his name in the latest tape release...not to mention Hugo Chavez's recommondation of his books .

[Elysian]

^^ What did bin Laden say?

 

This is the pic posted on my work desk notice board

 

 

A must see movie in these times

[Paragon]

One man has already started calling it: Osama Bin Chomsky

 

...From PowerlineBlog:

...Second, the affinity between Muslim extremism and Western leftism has never been so clearly displayed. Bin Laden sounds for all the world like a Marxist. He praises Noam Chomsky as one of the "most capable" of American war opponents. Over and over, he attributes American foreign policy to "the owners of the major corporations." In bin Laden's view, "[t]hose with real power and influence are those with the most capital," and "the essence of man-made positive laws is that they serve the interests of those with capital and thus make the rich richer and the poor poorer."

Bin Laden Slams Dems, Praises Chomsky, and Promises Lower Taxes

 

Osama lured the Americans that:

"There are no taxes in Islam, but rather there is a limited Zakaat [alms] totaling 2.5 percent."

 

Read his lips: very low taxes! Pandering for support just the way George Bush would have drawn it up.

Newyorkpost: TERROR LORD'S LEFTY 'CHUM' CHOMSKY

[Sincere]

Paragon, the controversy surrounding Finkelstein dates back to his post graduate days when he penned a doctorate thesis on Zionism. Therein, he strongly criticized the Jewish state and the displacement of the Palestinian people. Incidentally, that’s when he first surfaced on the pro Israeli group’s radar, and they subsequently labeled him an apologist. They have been gunning for him ever since.

 

Ghanima, the portrayal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the academic world is a major concern for the pro-Israeli camps. They fear the magnetic influence “apologist” professors wield and the podium which gives them access to sway the fragile minds of students. Hence, not only are “apologists” political views being scrutinized but their very means of livelihood are being infringed upon- from discrediting their scholarly achievements and literary contributions, to stacking the deck against tenure candidates, in essence blacklisting them. The time, effort and manpower they put into this is very illustrative. Here's one of the many ways they achieve this, including soliciting students help

 

Ah Elysian, fanning the flames with the El Diablo speech huh. You might appreciate the irony in this next picture of Edward Said, from the Ivy League halls to the forefront of the conflict. The caption reads “Doing his part for the Jihad, Said throwing a stone at Israeli soldiers”