US professor critical of Zionism resigns

http://wsws.org/articles/2007/sep2007/depa-s11.shtml

US professor critical of Zionism resigns after tenure denial
By Joe Kay
11 September 2007

Norman Finkelstein, an author and prominent critic of Zionism and Israeli policy, resigned from DePaul University on September 5. His resignation came after he was denied tenure at the Chicago university and then had his final classes cancelled.

The resignation of Finkelstein comes under duress—after an extensive campaign of vilification in which the professor and author has been portrayed as anti-Semitic and unprofessional. Finkelstein is a renowned scholar who is known for his many books, including The Holocaust Industry—an examination of the way in which the Holocaust has been exploited to advance interests that have nothing to do with the victims of the Nazi genocide.

Finkelstein, the son of Holocaust survivors, has been one of the most prominent targets of right-wing professors and media figures for years. He has been targeted in particular for his opposition to Israeli policy and to the attempt by Zionists to use the charge of anti-Semitism as a means of suppressing criticism and justifying Israel’s violations of human rights and international law.

In June, Finkelstein was denied tenure at DePaul, despite support from his department, his students, and the faculty of the university. In a highly unusual move, the University Board on Promotion and Tenure, supported by DePaul’s president, Fr. Dennis Holtschneider, and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Charles Suchar, overruled the faculty.

According to standard procedure, a faculty member who is denied tenure is allowed to continue teaching for one year, while he or she looks for work at another campus. In August, however, the university moved abruptly to cancel Finkelstein’s remaining classes and bar him from using his office on campus.

Finkelstein responded by pledging that he would hold his classes with or without the support of the university, and had planned on giving his first lecture outside, on the university quad. He vowed a campaign of civil disobedience, and threatened a hunger strike if he was arrested.

Last week, however, Finkelstein issued a statement declaring that he was resigning and that he would not continue to fight the university’s decision. In a statement he read aloud on September 5, Finkelstein said that his denial of tenure was the outcome of “external pressures climaxing in a national hysteria that tainted the tenure process.”

Among those most active in pressuring for denial of tenure was Harvard University professor Alan Dershowitz, who has clashed numerous times with Finkelstein on questions relating to Israel and Palestine. Dershowitz wrote a memo attacking Finkelstein, which he distributed to DePaul’s faculty. He also waged a campaign to prevent publication of Finkelstein’s new book, Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History. The book was published earlier this year.

In his statement, Finkelstein thanked DePaul for providing him a place to teach for six years, “despite overwhelming external pressures.” For its part, the university released a statement insisting that there was no external influence in the tenure decision process. DePaul also called Finkelstein “a prolific scholar and an outstanding teacher.” The statement did not attempt to square this with the decision to prevent Finkelstein from continuing to teach at the university.

The decision to cancel Finkelstein’s remaining classes was made in response to the allegedly confrontational behavior that he exhibited after being denied tenure. According to a June 26 memo obtained by the Chicago Tribune, written by university Provost Helmut Epp, Finkelstein “angrily confronted” other faculty and engaged in “threatening and discourteous behavior.” He was said to have argued with Dean Suchar and when the dean tried to duck into an elevator, Finkelstein allegedly held the door open to prevent an end to the discussion.

The political science department, which had originally backed Finkelstein, seized on this memo to recommend that he be given “non-residential leave” for one year—essentially pushing him out without an additional year of teaching. This was a cowardly retreat on the part of the department.

Finkelstein was never given an opportunity to reply to the charges, which were not raised as a reason for canceling his classes until August—two months after the alleged incidents occurred and too close to the beginning of the semester for Finkelstein to respond.

DePaul has never adequately explained its reasons for denying Finkelstein tenure. A statement from President Holtschneider in June cited his supposed “ad hominem attacks on scholars with whom you disagree.” Finkelstein’s lack of collegial behavior was said to violate the Catholic university’s code of conduct.

A statement from the University Board on Promotion and Tenure said, “Some might interpret parts of his scholarship as ‘deliberately hurtful’ as well as provocative more for inflammatory effect than to carefully critique or challenge accepted assumptions.” While the board did not indicate whose opinions it was citing, they evidently were not those of DePaul’s faculty and students, who generally supported Finkelstein.

Given these circumstances, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that Finkelstein was denied tenure, and eventually pressured out of DePaul, because he is outspoken in his political views—opposition to Zionism and the misuse of the charge of anti-Semitism. His firing constitutes a dangerous precedent and a further erosion of democratic rights in the US.

DePaul Cancels Class Taught By Professor

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C294902%2C00.html

DePaul University Cancels Class Taught By Professor Critical of Israel
Associated Press
Tuesday , August 28, 2007

DePaul University canceled the one remaining class taught by a controversial professor who has accused some Jews of improperly using the legacy of the Holocaust.

Norman Finkelstein, whose work led to a long-running public feud with Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, says he may respond by committing civil disobedience when classes resume Sept. 5.

Finkelstein, 53, was denied tenure in June after six years on the DePaul faculty, but he was permitted to teach for the one year remaining on his contract.

On Friday, however, the university e-mailed students saying that Finkelstein's sole political science course had been canceled. By Monday, the books for the course had been pulled from the DePaul bookstore's shelves.

Finkelstein's most recent book, "Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History," is largely an attack on Dershowitz's "The Case for Israel." In it, Finkelstein argues that Israel uses the outcry over perceived anti-Semitism as a weapon to stifle criticism.

Dershowitz, who threatened to sue Finkelstein's publisher for libel, urged DePaul officials to reject Finkelstein's tenure bid in June.

The American Association of University Professors is preparing a letter to the university protesting Finkelstein's treatment as a serious violation of academic ethics, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

Finkelstein told the newspaper that he planned to wage his own campaign against the administration.

"I intend to go to my office on the first day of classes and, if my way is barred, to engage in civil disobedience," Finkelstein said. "If arrested, I'll go on a hunger strike. If released, I'll do it all over again. I'll fast in jail for as long as it takes."

After he was denied tenure, Finkelstein, a son of Holocaust survivors, posted a letter on his Web site explaining the school officials' reasons, including Finkelstein's "deliberately hurtful" scholarship along, lack of involvement with the school and tendency for public clashes with other scholars.

"In the opinion of those opposing tenure, your unprofessional personal attacks divert the conversation away from consideration of ideas, and polarize and simplify conversations that deserve layered and subtle consideration," school President Dennis Holtschneider wrote in a letter dated June 8. DePaul at the time verified the letter was authentic.

Denise Mattson, the university's associate vice president for public affairs, released a statement saying Finkelstein was on administrative leave with full pay for the academic year.

"Administrative leave relieves professors from their teaching responsibilities. He was informed of the reasons that precipitated this leave last spring," the statement said.

An attack on academic freedom

Chttp://wsws.org/articles/2007/jun2007/fink-j18.shtml

An attack on academic freedom
Critic of Zionism denied tenure at US university
By Joe Kay
18 June 2007

Earlier this month, DePaul University denied tenure to Norman Finkelstein, a professor of political science who has written numerous works criticizing the policies of Israel and the misuse of the charge of anti-Semitism against opponents of Zionism. The denial of Finkelstein’s tenure, and with it the termination of his position at DePaul, is a clear attack on academic freedom and the victimization of a professor because of his political views.

The denial of Finkelstein’s tenure at DePaul, a Catholic university that is one of the largest private universities in the country, was confirmed in a June 8 letter from DePaul’s president, Dennis Holtschneider. Holtschneider affirmed a 4-3 vote by the University Board on Promotion and Tenure. In a highly unusual step, the board overruled both the department of political science faculty and a university-wide faculty committee, both of which supported Finkelstein’s tenure bid. Finkelstein’s tenure was opposed by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Charles Suchar.

“I met the standards of tenure DePaul required, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the political opposition to my speaking out on the Israel-Palestine conflict,” Finkelstein said. He called the decision an “egregious violation” of academic freedom.

Also denied tenure at the same time was Professor Mehrene Larudee, who works in an unrelated field but who had helped organize support for Finkelstein. Larudee had received the unanimous backing of the college faculty and Dean Suchar.

In the months leading up to the June vote, opposition to Finkelstein’s tenure had become a national campaign, spearheaded by Harvard University Professor Alan Dershowitz. Dershowitz, who has most recently achieved notoriety for his arguments in favor of torture, has been one of the targets of many of Finkelstein’s writings.

Finkelstein, a Jewish son of Holocaust survivors, has been a professor at DePaul since 2001. He is best known for his 2000 book The Holocaust Industry, the central thesis of which is that the Holocaust has been exploited for ends that had nothing to do with historical truth or the victims of the Nazi genocide—including support for Israel and calls for reparations. Finkelstein has also written critical studies of Daniel Goldhagen’s book Hitler’s Willing Executioners, which argued that the cause of the Holocaust could be located in the inherent anti-Semitism of the German people as a whole.

Finkelstein’s most recent book, Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History, continues on these themes, as well as documenting in detail the human rights violations of the state of Israel. Among the targets of the book, published by the University of California press, are Dershowitz and others who have used the charge of anti-Semitism to suppress criticism of Israeli policies.

The campaign to suppress Finkelstein’s views did not begin with the attempt to deny him tenure. When The Holocaust Industry first came out, it was the subject of vicious attack in the American media. A review in the New York Times by professor Omer Bartov slandered it as “a novel variation of the anti-Semitic forgery, ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.’” Other reviews were no less objective, seeking to create a false amalgam between Finkelstein and anti-Semitic Holocaust deniers.

As Finkelstein sought to publish Beyond Chutzpah, Dershowitz organized a campaign to try to prevent its publication, threatening expensive libel lawsuits against anyone who decided to print it. He even wrote to Arnold Schwarzenegger in a failed attempt to get the California governor to intervene and stop UC from publishing the book.

When Finkelstein’s tenure came up for review, Dershowitz produced a memo attacking him, which he sent to DePaul faculty and administration. Nevertheless, Finkelstein received strong support from fellow faculty members and prominent scholars in the field, including Raul Hilberg, considered one of the fathers of Holocaust studies.

Given this support, the quality of Finkelstein’s scholarship could not be the rationale given by the university in denying him tenure. Instead, the members of the University Board on Promotion and Tenure, along with Dean Suchar and President Holtschneider, focused on the alleged “hurtful” character of Finkelstein’s writings and their supposed failure to follow strictures of “collegiality.”

In its statement rejecting tenure, the board acknowledged that Finkelstein is “a nationally known scholar and public intellectual, considered provocative, challenging and intellectually interesting.” It also wrote, “By all accounts, he is an excellent teacher, popular with his students and effective in the classroom.”

However, the board when on to declare without providing any examples, “some might interpret parts of his scholarship as ‘deliberately hurtful’ as well as provocative more for inflammatory effect than to carefully critique or challenge accepted assumptions.” Carefully using the passive voice to avoid attribution, it declared, “Criticism has been expressed for his inflammatory style and personal attacks in his writings and intellectual debates ... It was questioned by some whether Dr. Finkelstein effectively contributes to the public discourse on sensitive societal issues.”

While not indicating who fell under the category of “some” people, and while denying that the board was subject to the pressure of the campaign against Finkelstein, it is evident that the board and top university administrators were reacting to the pressure of Dershowitz and his backers, no doubt including some prominent donors to DePaul.

The concern of those seeking to deny Finkelstein tenure had nothing to do with “collegiality.” If there were any group best able to evaluate Finkelstein’s performance in this regard, it would certainly be his colleagues at DePaul, who the university was forced to overrule in making its decision. In any case, such reasons are generally considered to be insufficient for denying tenure to a professor, especially one who has the backing of his fellow faculty members and students.

President Holtschneider ended his letter to Finkelstein explaining the decision with the incredible statement, “Some will consider this decision in the context of academic freedom. In fact academic freedom is alive and well at DePaul.”

If the decision stands, as appears likely, Finkelstein will serve one more year at DePaul before being dismissed. Faculty at DePaul are considering advancing a vote of no confidence against Dean Suchar and President Holtschneider. Students staged a sit-in of the President’s office, but were driven off by campus police and threatened with expulsion last week.

The attack on Finkelstein is by no means unique. Other academics in the US have been victimized for their views on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including Joseph Massad of Columbia University and Sami al-Arian of the University of South Florida. Al-Arian was imprisoned and is to be deported on the basis of trumped up conspiracy charges.

Students on college campuses who have campaigned for divestment from Israel have been smeared as anti-Semitic, and organizations have been set up, including Daniel Pipes’ Campus Watch web site, to monitor and intimidate professors critical of Israeli and US policy. These campaigns have been part of a growing attempt to suppress debate and intimidate oppositional sentiment at universities in the US.