As part of Palestine Awareness Week, Saint Louis University Solidarity with Palestine invited controversial academic Norman Finkelstein, Ph.D., to speak on Tuesday, Jan. 30, about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Finkelstein is a professor of political theory at DePaul University in Chicago, and has written several books, including Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict.
Some have criticized him for presenting false information, yet others have praised him for his originality and courage to tell the truth behind the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Finkelstein’s audience included students, faculty, rabbis and members of Veterans for Peace. Fabrication of the Israel-Palestine conflict is Finkelstein’s main point surrounding the controversy.
He said, “A question that a historian looking at the Israel-Palestine conflict 100 years from now would ask is, why did it take so long to resolve?”
According to Finkelstein, most Americans either believe the issue is controversial or do not know much at all.
The peace process, or final status issues, are “uncomplicated” questions presented by Finkelstein that allow the conflict to be straight forward: What is the border of Israel? What is the border of Palestine? What should happen to the Israeli settlements and settlers in the Gaza Strip and West Bank? Who gets East Jerusalem? What is the future of the Palestinian refugees?
Finkelstein presented the answers to these questions as facts according to international law as ruled in the World Court. Israel is not entitled to Palestinian territories of West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli settlements in these Palestinian territories are illegal. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel but is occupied Palestinian territory, in which they have the right to return.
Finkelstein believes the Israelis are deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians.
The most recent statistics show that 811 Palestinian children have been killed, which is more than the total number of Israeli civilian casualties.
Rabbi Hershey Novack, with Chabad on Campus, an organization that serves local Jewish college students, disagrees with Finkelstein.
“His views are extreme and border on the absurd. Israel only targets terrorists. Sadly, many armed terrorists deliberately hide among the civilian population, which is a violation of the Geneva Convention,” he said.
While 1,017 Israeli soldiers have been killed, 4,046 Palestinian soldiers have died.
Finkelstein said, “The doer of any act must be taken to have intended its natural and foreseeable consequence.”
Even though Israelis say the deaths of the Palestinian civilians are unintended, Finkelstein thinks otherwise.
Novack said, “It is ironic that, the day before Finkelstein’s speech, three innocent Israeli civilians were blown up by a suicide bomber while [they were] purchasing bread at a bakery.”
Finkelstein said, “The principle obstacle of the conflict is Israel’s refusal to fully withdraw from Palestinian occupied territory.” He believes Israeli Jews depict themselves as victims rather than perpetrators.
During the question-and-answer session, a student challenged Finkelstein’s career and lack of professional book reviews.
After agreeing with the student’s comments of his inability to hold a position at a university and receive book reviews, Finkelstein said, “My beliefs and personality are irrelevant. It’s the facts I have proven that matter.”
Novack said, “Any human being should be deeply troubled by Finkelstein’s trivialization of the Holocaust. His statements about the Gaza strip are outrageous-especially after Israel completely withdrew from every inch.”
Other events during Palestine Awareness Week included “Palestine 101: A Crash Course” There esd also a presentation by SLU alumna Jennifer Presson, who experienced the Palestinian occupation first-hand.
Finally, students perfomed Beautiful Resistance: Confessions of a Human Rights Hoosier in Palestine, a theatrical presentation of the Palestinian occupation.
