Moonlighting: Non-Specialists in the News

Letter to the Editor: Finkelstein Is Dishonest and "Inimical" to Truth

by Jonathan Abbett
The Justice (Brandeis Univ.)
March 20, 2007

http://media.www.thejusticeonline.com/media/storage/paper573/news/2007/03/20/LettersToTheEditor/Letter.To.The.Editor.Finkelstein.Is.Dishonest.And.inimical.To.The.Truth-2781328.shtml

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/3152

To the Editor

In "Finkelstein visit loses club support" (March 13 issue), you lend Norman Finkelstein far too much credibility. His book does not, in fact, merely "describe" Jewish exploitation of the Holocaust; it alleges such behavior in an offensive, academically dishonest and thus ultimately antisemitic way. Furthermore, describing him as a "Middle East scholar" is exceedingly generous for a man so inimical to truth and even-handedness.

The article, though, raises a larger issue: When will students start rejecting extremists like Finkelstein outright, rather than hide behind club politics? A "democratic society" certainly demands more of its thinkers, and Brandeisians shouldn't be afraid to say so.

-Jonathan Abbett '02
Brookline Mass.

Note: Articles listed under "Moonlighting: Non-Specialists in the News" provide information on current developments concerning Middle East studies on North American campuses. These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of Campus Watch and do not necessarily correspond to Campus Watch's critique.

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