Norman G. Finkelstein

هذا الكتاب يوصى قراءته في هذه الأيام
مؤلف الكتاب هو بروفيسور يهودي نجا والداه من المحرقة والكتاب شهادة حق
وهو مدعم بالمراجع المتنوعة لكل جملة وكل استشهاد
يتناول الكتاب القيم تاريخ العدوان الصهيوني على غزة وشعبها من خلال العمليات الحربية المختلفة كالرصاص المصبوب والجرف الصامد و عمود السحاب وغيرها من العمليات التي استهدفت بشكل وحشي ومتعمد المدنيين في المربعات السكنية والمستشفيات وسيارات الاسعاف والتدمير الممنهج للبنية التحتية للمدينة الصامدة
الكتاب يفند كل الدقائق التي حدثت وقت هذه العميات الغاشمة وكثير من التصريحات والمبررات المستهلكة و المتشابهة كثيرا لما يحدث هذه الأيام بيد أن ما يحدث في الساحة الآن هو إبادة جماعية و تطهير عرقي فعلا بكل ما تحمل الكلمة من معنى فمقابل أكبر عدد للضحايا المدنيين داخل الكتاب ١٧٠٠ تقريبا خلال الجرف الصامد.
بلغ تعداد الشهداء في العملية الحالية وحتى تاريخ كتابة المراجعة ل ١٥٠٠٠ معظمهم من النساء والأطفال.
فالعدوان هدفه الرئيسي عقاب أهل غزة على وجود المقاومة وتمثيلهم لها وكذلك تحقيق قوة الردع برسم صورة الجيش الوحشي الذي لا يجب مهاجمته.
كما ذكر الحصار الخانق الذي يمارسه الاحتلال على هذا القطاع
و اظهر انحياز المنظمات الأممية الكامل لاسرائيل وتشويه الحقائق وتبرءة ساحتها والذي أعتقد لن يتكرر هذه الأيام لأن ما يحدث من إبادة جماعية ووحشية للكيان على مرأي ومسمع من كل الشعوب.
هناك الكثير من التفاصيل المهمة حقا داخل الكتاب
أعان الله أهل فلسطين ونصرهم وأزاح عنهم الغمة عاجلا..… (lisätietoja)

*1.5

I feel strongly about reading books you know you might not like: I want my options challenged. I decided then to read this highly rated book for some counter-perspective on Israel through the lens of the Holocaust industry, as someone who engages in pre-Holocaust history and literature as much as possible. I spent the last year in college studying this stuff, I’ve written way too many papers, and I have so, so many opinions on post-Holocaust/Holocaust memorial-ism that I could go on about it for hours.

Anyways, If it’s not apparent, I believe in a Jewish homeland. Generally speaking, I like Israel. Despite this, I am not without criticism, but at the end of the day I am an American with no skin in the game, and the country is not going anywhere anytime soon. As my Israeli coworkers (and chosen family) like to complain about, “These Americans have no idea what our country is like” (and to make it clear, they said this to both our protestors AND the overeager American Jews supporting our business).

To begin with, the political nature of American Jewry beginning in the first chapter is not dealt with well at all. The author makes very strong, very broad condemnations of their power simply because Finkelstein believes them to be in the wrong. There is no moral framework he supplies to us, and we are supposed to agree. Why? I wanted him to convince me! But he refuses to engage! While there are many valid criticisms of the identity of diasporic American Jewry I can think of (mostly surface-level critiques of its shtetl-philia), Finkelstein’s insistence that its alignment with Israel is the lynchpin of its banality is frankly a gross overstatement. I think at its core, and I’m figuring this out the more I read the various theories, is that Finkelstein views world politics through such a contrarian lens that it ultimately horseshoes into extremism. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say Finkelstein’s writing enables extremism and antisemitism on both the left and right.

I was almost not shocked then when I learned the author recently supported noted anti-Holocaust author David Irving and even writes about him in this small book. Finkelstein clearly uses his family’s Holocaust tragedy and his parent’s survivor status as a shield to any countercriticism, in the exact way that he is accusing American Jewry of doing when they do not engage with criticisms of Israel.

The only chapter saving this from a straight 1-star rating is chapter 3. In it, Finkelstein finally lays out the crummy underworld of the Holocaust reparations world, and it is indeed, arguably, bad. Despite this genuine critique, the author continues to couch any moral answer to this to the horrible United States government. I want to shake him because I agree, that the US government can definitely suck, but it still is not enough of a reason for Israel to not exist. Finkelstein delights in whataboutism; I felt like I was reading a Fox News teleprompter as he deflected instead onto American ignorance of Native and African American reparations, the murdered non-Jewish groups during the Holocaust, and of course (Finkelstein’s favorite punching bag) the lies of Ellie Wiesel. All of these suck Mr. Finkelstein, this is not a “gotcha!” moment. I will gladly die on the hill of the need to remember the murder of Polish peasants, not only because they are human but because I believe they offer a key to fighting Eastern European anti-semitism. But none of these negate Jewish suffering. And hey, Mr. Finkelstein, guess what? My entire Polish family was murdered by the Soviets. Eat shit.

Ultimately, this book is polemic without giving me a good reason to change any of my opinions. You should have complicated feelings about Israel—but the book does not offer the nuance the subject needs. Finkelstein is a master of laying down a claim with evidence and construing it to the most inane, dangerous conclusions. These conclusions, when extended with the most forgiving evidence, are weak. There are very valid ways to critique the state of Israel without slipping into vague Holocaust denialism. This book does not offer them.… (lisätietoja)

The books is mainly a response to Alan Dershowitz's "bestseller": The Case for Israel. The title calls to mind an earlier Dershowitz title "Chutzpah". The discussion is mainly focused on arguments brought forth in The Case for Israel, but anyone familiar with the Middle East conflict can benefit from the research.

People have short memories and the longevity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict means that there is almost no living memory of the actual events leading to 1948 and only vague memory of the events leading to 1967. It is useful to read again about the balance of power that led the establishment of the Jewish state and how the international community and the United Nations dealt with the issue since then. The arguments of The Case For Israel are the well-worn pro-Israeli propaganda which surprisingly still finds some acceptance, so it is useful to read a well-researched and documented response to it. As an Arab I also find it great to read about this subject from a western point of view because it does not favour the passionate and emotive over the factual.
That said, I must admit though that I found the Finkelstein's overall treatment of Dershowitz on the caustic side, but the tone does not harm the thrust of his arguments.

… (lisätietoja)

Finkelstein's discussion brings a much needed perspective to the causes and reasons of the on-going Israel conflict. We hear pro-Israeli viewpoints on a fairly regular basis, which tend to condemn and group the majority of Palestinians as terrorists. Admitedly, there are enough situations to sustain that viewpoint. Palestinian perspectives are less frequently offered in mainstream U.S. publications. If a Palestinian perspective is offered, such as ex-President Carter's book "Palestine, Peace not Apartheid", it's almost always labeled as "anti-semetic" or dismissed as naive. In this case, I see Finkelstein as trying to present an often missing and unstated perspective to bring balance and understanding of the issues which lead to the continuing conflict in the region. It's definitely worth reading.
… (lisätietoja)