Why I Norman Finkelstein Not Allowed To Teach?
“When I learned in June 2007 that respected author and political science professor Norman Finkelstein had just been denied tenure at DePaul University, I sent a letter of protest, in concert with hundreds of other academics around the world, to the president of DePaul. I had never met or spoken with Finkelstein, but I knew that he was a leading scholar of the Israel-Palestine conflict. With a Ph.D. from Princeton, he was the author of five books (with a sixth now in progress) published in 46 foreign editions. At DePaul he was a popular instructor, with a loyal student following and teaching evaluations among the highest in the university.
Recognizing his accomplishments in scholarship and teaching, Finkelstein’s colleagues in the Political Science Department had voted overwhelmingly in the Spring of 2007 to award him tenure and promotion. This was followed by a unanimous vote in his favor by the college personnel committee.
Finkelstein was not denied tenure because of any shortcomings in scholarship or teaching. Noam Chomsky had earlier described Finkelstein’s book Beyond Chutzpuh as “a very careful scholarly book” and “the best compendium that now exists of human rights violations in Israel” (Goodman, “Chomsky Accuses”). The late Raul Hilberg, widely recognized as the founder of Holocaust studies, said of Finkelstein, “his place in the whole history of writing history is assured,” and praised his “acuity of vision and analytical power.” (Goodman, “It Takes”).
There can be little doubt that Finkelstein was fired because of his criticisms of Israel’s human rights violations against the Palestinian people, and for his fact-based criticisms of the Israel lobby. Raul Hilberg warned at the time, “I have a sinking feeling about the damage this will do to academic freedom” (Grossman). Even the DePaul administration tacitly conceded that his firing was politically motivated when it acknowledged Finkelstein as a “prolific scholar and outstanding teacher” in a later legal settlement (Finkelstein, “Joint Statement”).
An unstated axiom for U.S. universities is that criticism of Israel by untenured faculty members is not allowed. Academic freedom protects critics of the national policies of the U.S., France, England, and every other country in the world, save one: Israel. Norman Finkelstein violated this axiom. Had he not been Jewish he would have been vilified successfully as anti-Semitic, and that slur alone would have isolated him from supporters. As it is, his detractors also smear him as a “Holocaust denier,” knowing full well that Finkelstein is the son of two Holocaust survivors, and that the remainder of his family died in the Nazi death camps. His first book includes a dedication “to my beloved parents,” ending with, “May I never forget what was done to them” (Finkelstein, The Rise i, “Biography”).
Following an exchange of emails, I asked Finkelstein on July 1, 2007 if he had any job prospects. His reply was, “No job prospects. None.” So, that same day, I sent an email letter to the president and the provost of my university, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where I am a math professor. I wrote, not as a mathematician, but as a faculty member of the university in order to make the case for a unique opportunity. I urged them to consider hiring Finkelstein for a university wide faculty position, explaining that his presence would catapult CSUN to the front ranks of universities worldwide, in his areas of research. Such university wide faculty appointments at CSUN had previously been offered, and resulted in extended visits by outside scholars.
The provost, Harry Hellenbrand, wrote back indicating that he was interested and was willing to look into it. Through the summer months of 2007, we held informal meetings and colleagues from several departments sent letters to the provost urging him to bring Finkelstein to CSUN.
Hellenbrand agreed to invite Finkelstein for a series of lectures across a five-day visit. Such a visit, we reasoned, might kindle greater interest among faculty and lead to an appointment. The natural location for Finkelstein was the Political Science Department, and Mehran Kamrava, a Middle East expert, a professor, and a former chair of that department, had already written to the provost and to his own department in support of bringing Finkelstein. Faculty members in other departments related to Finkelstein’s areas of expertise also expressed support.
Finkelstein visited CSUN the week of February 11, 2008. In the weeks preceding his arrival, the provost and president were lobbied heavily by Jewish groups, Rabbis, and various individuals to disinvite Finkelstein. He was denounced in the most degrading terms. Shelly Rubin of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) posted a memo to a JDL Blog entitled, “Stinky Finky Coming to LA”. In it Finkelstein’s email address was provided, and he was described as “a sick, disgusting example of self-hatred” (Rubin). Readers were urged to contact CSUN’s president, Jolene Koester, to register their indignation. The Pro-Israel advocacy group, Stand With Us, similarly lobbied the administration against allowing Finkelstein to come, as did the Jewish campus organization, Hillel, and faculty members and students in the Jewish Studies Program at CSUN. A few letters called for the removal of the provost, and some of the letter writers threatened never to make financial donations to CSUN again. Hellenbrand received a small number of death threats from out of state, which he ignored. The chancellor of the 23 campus California State University system also received some letters which he forwarded to the campus.
Members of the JDL attended this talk, contributing much counterpoint to both the speaker and the title of his talk. Three of them sat together in the front row, just a few feet from the speaker. They interrupted the provost’s introduction, one of them shouting, “Good one, Harry. The Nazi loves you.” They hissed and jeered throughout. They aimed cameras at the audience, panning from left to right focusing their camera lenses on individuals throughout the meeting, so as to document those in attendance as a form of intimidation. They issued a steady stream of vitriol at Finkelstein, including: “You’re a sick puppy,” “Don’t call yourself a Jew,” and “Holocaust denier!” Finkelstein responded only to the last of these. During the question and answer period, he shot back, “You have to understand, it’s a deeply offensive statement to say that I deny the suffering that my parents endured.” The JDL did not spare audience members either. One young woman in attendance, a CSUN student wearing a Palestinian scarf, was ordered, “Go hang yourself with your scarf!”
The provost adeptly diffused the situation by speaking to JDL members individually in the hallway outside the presentation room. In one exchange, a JDL member repeatedly accused Finkelstein of being a “Holocaust denier,” and Hellenbrand calmly responded each time, “No, he isn’t” until the detractor finally asked, “He’s not?”
Despite compelling letters of recommendation, and substantial faculty lobbying, we faced a formidable barrier in March. We were told by the administration that because of faculty union regulations, the university could no longer hire any university wide visiting scholars. Instead, all hires would have to originate from academic departments. This broadly anti-intellectual restriction put a freeze on potential future visitors with interdisciplinary interests, and it appeared to undo our effort to bring Finkelstein to CSUN. (The Political Science Department seemed to want to have nothing to do with him. Mehran Kamrava had accepted an academic position in December at another university, and none of the remaining CSUN political science faculty members even attended Finkelstein’s talks.)
However, our effort was resuscitated during the final week of April, when the Chair of Journalism asked the provost to bring Finkelstein as a visiting professor to his department. This was a good fit. Finkelstein would make an excellent resource for faculty members interested in the important area of Middle East affairs. He was also more than capable of directing research projects for students, and contributing seminars, lectures, and class visits for a range of courses. To proceed the Journalism Chair was instructed by the provost to make a formal request to his college dean, which he did. He submitted the necessary paperwork, but from May to mid-June, almost nothing happened. Many of us had worked for much of the preceding year to bring Finkelstein to CSUN, and we were anxiously waiting for the formal offer to go out.
The coup de grace came from the campus president, but it came discreetly. The provost informed me on 26 June 2008 that the president had made a policy decision not to award visiting positions, even when they originate within a department. That policy decision put an end to our project. It was a sharp departure from past practice, and an extraordinary bow to the Israel Lobby, as the university had hosted departmental visiting professors in recent years.”
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