Norman Finkelstein, an American political scientist and author specializing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sparked controversy on Friday, Nov. 29, with a lecture at OISE commemorating the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Finkelstein was invited to speak to the crowd of 450 on behalf of the Canadian Palestinian Educational Exchange, an NGO that runs summer volunteer programs in Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon.
Prior to the night’s lecture, U of T alum Faisal Bhabha described Finkelstein as “an intellectual with moral courage.” Addressing the charges of academic dishonesty levelled against Finkelstein by other academics, most notably the vocal Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, Bhabha said: “You just have to read his books to see that the accusations against him are unfounded and unfair.”
The majority of those at the event supported Finkelstein’s views, but a small faction of ardent detractors made their presence known.
Orna Hollander, executive director of the pro-Israel organization Betar Canada, pointed to what she called a “growing current of radicalism” among some anti-Israel advocates.
“This is the third time in two weeks that I had heard an audience member assert that she would ‘strap a suicide belt’ to her body if she were Palestinian,” Orna said.
She and members of the campus group Zionists @ U of T handed out flyers to attendees outside the OISE auditorium where Finkelstein spoke.
Later, an audience member interrupted the lecture to condemn Finkelstein, who asked the audience, “Who thinks this person has exceeded his right to free speech?” The heckler was expelled from the auditorium.
But the shock of the night came when Finkelstein referred to Michael Ignatieff, the former candidate for Liberal Party leadership, as a Zionistsympathizing politician, and “another pig.”
He moved on to argue that four issues block the path to peace between Israel and Palestine: “Borders, settlements, Jerusalem, and refugees.” Borders, he said, should be redrawn to pre-1967 lines, all settlements in the West Bank dismantled, and territory in Jerusalem given back to the Palestinians. Palestinian refugees, he added, should be granted the right to return to their former territory.
Finkelstein insisted that if Israel acquiesced on the four points, there could be a just and lasting peace in the area. “People say this is a difficult and complex problem, when in fact there is no difficulty whatsoever,” he said.
He also discussed the historical relationship of American Jews to Israel. According to Finkelstein, Jews in America were politically and personally distant from Israel until America intervened in the Six Day War. “After the Six Day War, Israel became the religion of American Jews,” he said. He also claimed that, of all the wars Israel has fought, only the 1948 war of independence was a necessary conflict.
At the beginning of the question period following his talk, Finkelstein asked his detractors to air their grievances first. Some members of the audience called this an act of chivalry, while others said it was immature.
Yasmine Ishak, a McGill student, said that she enjoyed the lecture, “If you don’t have a position on either side of the debate it’s good to hear professor Finkelstein speak. It’s interesting to know that not all Jews think the same thing.”
