An American university has denied tenure to a prominent Jewish academic who for his outspoken criticism of Israel and support for the Palestinian cause.
"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," said Norman Finkelsteint, an assistant political science professor.
He insists he had been blacklisted and denied a lifelong post at the Chicago-based Catholic DePaul University over his strong criticism of Israel and Zionism. A public debate over the tenure he applied for several months ago raised the ire of many in the US academic and religious circles.
Finkelstein was the target of a bitter campaign by the pro-Israel lobby inside and outside the prestigious US campus. Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, has sent DePaul faculty members a dossier of what he described as Finkelstein's "most egregious academic sins, outright lies, misquotations, and distortions."
Flooded by rejecting letters and e-mails, the administration eventually denied the Jewish political scientist the post in a 4-3 panel decision on June 9. Prominent Jewish intellectuals have criticized the university's submission to the smear campaign.
Famed Jewish linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky dismissed the decision as "outrageous." He said that Finkelstein was "an outstanding scholar." Independent-minded Finkelstein insists that the decision will not stop him from speaking out his views.
"They can deny me tenure, deny me the right to teach. But they will never stop me from saying what I believe," he remarked. "I will not retreat one-thousandth part of one inch."
Finkelstein has earned the wrath of America's powerful pro-Israel lobby for his blunt criticism of oppressive Israeli oppressive policies against the Palestinians. The son of Holocaust survivors, he contends that the Holocaust is being exploited both for political ends and personal financial gain.
In his most recent book, "Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History," Finkelstein accuses Israel of using anti-Semitism as a weapon to stifle criticism.
Criticism of Israel finds a non-fertile soil in the US where the pro-Israel lobby enjoys an overwhelming support. Former president Jimmy Carter has suffered charges of bias and anti-Semitism following his criticism of the Israeli policies in the West Bank in his recent book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid".
American Jewish investment baron George Soros has complained that while discussions about Israel's policies were being freely done in Israel itself, American politicians and intellectuals were being censured when doing the same.
News Agencies
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