While much of current criticism aimed at the Israeli government has stemmed from its post-October 7th military operation in Gaza, which has killed upwards of 70,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, there are many who’ve long taken issue with its policies.
Among this group of pre-October 7th critics is 72-year-old Norman Finkelstein, a Jewish son of Holocaust survivors, who finds himself uniquely sensitive to what a United Nations commission has classified as “genocide in the Gaza Strip.”
Ahead of a weekend speaking engagement in northwest Ohio, Finkelstein took some time to talk with the Toledo Free Press. It’s an interview that began with his thoughts on the current leadership of Israel, which includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Finkelstein on today’s Israel
“I wouldn’t say that it’s a far-right government,” Finkelstein told TFP. Rather, he says, “Israel is less discreet about hiding aspects of Israeli society,” and that “it became an in-your-face, far-right — not just government — but an in-your-face, far-right society.”
In other words, he believes that there’s always existed an appetite, and willingness to act on, the more extreme policies championed by Israel’s current government. His theory of the case includes periods in which the country enjoyed more sympathy from the global community than it does today.
However, for a short time following the October 7th, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas, there was an immediacy to the outpouring of support and commitment to Israel by western nations. With approximately 1,200 people having been killed, Netanyahu’s initiation of a retaliatory military response was viewed by many leaders in the western world as having a claim to legitimacy. This meant a significant amount of support from its closest ally: the United States.
Asked about the way in which Netanyahu has become synonymous with Israel, and if a different figurehead would change what he sees as the country’s faults, Finkelstein said that “the question should be, ‘Why does Israel have Netanyahu as its leader?’ After all, it’s a Democratic country for Jews. It’s Democratic. He is an accurate reflection of Israeli society.”
Good and bad press
While Finkelstein is followed by a combined 800,000+ across his Instagram and X (Twitter) accounts, he has not always had a huge megaphone to voice his viewpoints. In fact, there are many who, even before the days of social media, preferred he have no platform at all.
One such example dates back to 2007. According to a New York Times article published in February of that year, Alan Dershowitz — a prominent ally of Israel and then a law professor at Harvard University — “lobbied professors, alumni and the administration” of DePaul University to deny Finkelstein tenure. And while the university did, ultimately, do just that, its then-president denied that outside influence played any role. The school’s verdict was well-received by Finkelstein detractors, including Dershowitz, who view his rhetoric as harmful.
The larger debate about whose voices get platformed is one that remains unsettled in higher education. Asked about the current tension between free speech and academia, in the context of 2024’s campus protests in support of the Palestinian cause, Finkelstein — while not in agreement with how these schools handled student dissent — claims to understand their calculations.
“I think the big issue was alumni contributions, representation of pro-Israel Jews on boards of trustees.”
Pointing to reading he says he’s done about the culture on college campuses, when it comes to Israel-Palestine as a cultural flashpoint, Finkelstein said that professors are “terrified to say anything about Jews, Israel, Gaza— anything.”
Finkelstein is scheduled to speak at the United Muslims Association of Toledo’s annual dinner, which is being held on Sunday, Oct. 11, in Sylvania.
