Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History

Finkelstein is a man motivated above all else by the need to find truth and honesty. In this work - perhaps his best - he debunks the lies and fabrication of leading Zionists and their pitiful use of the Shoah to brook no real examination of the murderous policies of the Israeli state.
The real gem of this work is how Finkelstein lays bare the lies and fabrication of Alan Dershowitz in that man's travesty of a book 'The Case for Israel'.
Finkelstein is a man who, from his earliest days as a Princeton graduate student in the early 1980s, put integrity and truth above his own career. Precisely, when he pushed and pushed to get a hearing for his research that showed that Joan Peter's book (no one has ever managed to find a 'Joan Peter') 'From Time Immemorial' was a complete fabrication. He knew that, and showed that by corresponding with every journal in the US that reviewed that book ('outstanding', 'brilliant', 'seminal work'), only for them to ignore him. Only when it was published here in the UK, where the Zionists have no such control, was his research read by scholars here, and that book - that suggested Palestine was in fact 'unpopulated' until the 1948 wars - was discarded as the worst kind of fraud. That one act, piece of work, by Finkelstein sealed his future fate. Immediately after, no single Academic at Princeton would ever agree to meet him again - he was completely shunned. In fact, Princeton granted him a Phd with NO supervision and out of 'embarrassment'.
This man has virtually sacrificed any chance of a 'tenured' Academic career in the US (8 June 2007 DePaul University, Chicago refuses his application for tenure, despite 17 out of 24 committee professors voting in his favour, as a result of a 'jihad' against him by Alan Dershowitz, the plagiariser and fabricator)and it is to be hoped he will be given the chance to teach students here in the UK or Europe generally.

Libel and Slander against Dr. Finkelstein (10/12 people found this helpful)

As other reviewers have written this book is a fair and moderate expose of zionist crimes and Dr. Finkelstein is having his name dragged through the mud for daring to defy the holocaust and anti-semitism industries.

Zionism begone! (8/11 people found this helpful)

This isn't a five star book. It isn't a one star book either. I'm voting it this high because of the rabid zionists that have voted it so low. These people support illegal occupation, house demolitions, torture, genocide, and much more. This book exposes their lies and hatred, which is why they rated it as they did. The fact that they're so disturbed by it is all the more reason to buy this and learn from it.

Banging the Drum (4/76 people found this helpful)

Finkelstein feels uncomfortable in his own skin, which is sad. He has decided that he wants the world to love him, which is predictable and understandable. He has decided to secure that love by attacking his own identity which is probably understandable if you are a psychiatrist. He has made himself feel better by attacking lots of other people in the same position, which is pretty unpleasant.

And, I ought to say, compared to how Finkelstein treats real heroes like Eli Wiesel, I am being really nice about him.

Ultimately this book is about what it means to feel that if you could only change one little thing in your life everything would be ok. And as with most people unhappy enough to believe such a thing, empathy with those who are in the way of the realisation of the dream is utterly lacking.

Finkelstein is aware of this and plays on his parents' survivor status, giving it more weight than it can really bear. Whether you are revolted by that or regard it as proof positive that his thesis is unanswerable is, I suspect, determined by your pre-existing views.

But the book is worthless save as a peep into one man's psyche. The clue is in the constant assertion that the book contains "genuine scholarship". That's Finklestein's way of having a crack at Dershowitz. But any objective analysis must conclude that such accolades are for other's to give, not for the author to award himself! In reality Finklestein knows what he wants and only sees facts in the way that gets him to his desired point. As such, any pretensions to scholarship are exactly that - pretensions.

It is often said, as a joke, that the definition of a Jewish festival is, "they tried to kill us, we won, let's eat." This book is the precise opposite - but this author means it seriously. The world just ain't that simple.

Can't win (42/51 people found this helpful)

It's interesting to observe how most people who dare to criticise Israel are almost automatically labelled as anti-Semites, while those few Jews (like Finkelstein) who dare to do so are called 'self hating Jews'.

You really can't win.

One almost has to laugh when Finkelstein is attacked because he "totally ignores Jewish victims". That of a man whose parents survived the Holocaust and many of whose relatives did not.

Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History

Norman G. Finkelstein

Reader Reviews:

Quite simply a PRICELESS piece of scholastic brilliance (13/13 people found this helpful)

Libel and Slander against Dr. Finkelstein (10/12 people found this helpful)

Zionism begone! (8/11 people found this helpful)

Banging the Drum (4/76 people found this helpful)

Can't win (42/51 people found this helpful)

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