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Norman Finkelstein’s Anti-Israel Rhetoric Given Center Stage in Biased Gaza Report
In both a televised segment and online report on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Boston 25 News interviewed controversial academic Norman Finkelstein, presenting him as a “noted expert on Gaza.”
According to Finkelstein himself, this was the first time that he had ever appeared on American television.
There’s a good reason for that.
While Boston 25 News presented Norman Finkelstein as a dispassionate scholar capable of giving an objective analysis of the current war as well as South Africa’s allegation of genocide against the Jewish state at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), this is far from the truth.
In the almost half-century of his career as both an academic and a public persona, Norman Finkelstein has made a name for himself by engaging in the trivialization of both the Holocaust and modern-day antisemitism; the whitewashing of terrorism; and the vilification of the Jewish state.
In his controversial 2000 book The Holocaust Industry, Finkelstein asserted that the Holocaust is exploited by Jewish organizations and Israel in order to shield the latter from criticism.
In more recent years, he has made the same argument about allegations of a resurgence in antisemitism, claiming that there is no “new antisemitism” and that it is merely a cynical ploy used to defame critics of Israel.
In the past, Finkelstein has also invoked classic antisemitic stereotypes, claiming that “Jews are over-represented in the media” and “Jews are tapped into the networks of power and privilege” in the United States.
In 2020, Finkelstein even went so far as to assert that Holocaust deniers should not be considered antisemites and praised renowned Holocaust denier David Irving as “a very good historian” who “produced works that are substantive.”
Norman Finkelstein says infamous #Holocaust denier David Irving is a “very good historian” who “knew a thing, or two or three”. He said that at a meeting of @LAW_witchhunt which #antisemite Jackie Walker says was the “best” she attended this year. Golly.https://t.co/ZLLehis1zF
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) August 13, 2020
When it comes to internationally-recognized terror organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, Finkelstein has gone on record as justifying their actions against Israel.
In a 2011 interview, Finkelstein said that “it is impossible to justify terrorism” but, one sentence later, stated, “I do believe that Hezbollah has the right to target Israeli civilians … until Israel ceases its terrorist acts.”
In the same interview, he denied that Hamas uses human shields.
In response to Hamas’ brutal invasion on October 7, Finkelstein’s initial response was to say that the attack “warms every fiber of my soul.”
Two weeks later, as the full gravity of the attack was becoming more known, Finkelstein said it was difficult to “morally evaluate” those who committed the atrocities and also called into question certain aspects of the massacres themselves.
Along with venerating terror organizations, Finkelstein has referred to Israel as a “Jewish supremacist state,” accusing it of practicing apartheid.
In the past, Finkelstein has also referred to Israel as a “lunatic state” and accused it of committing a “holocaust” during its defensive military operation against Hamas, Cast Lead, in 2009.
Boston 25 News’s Biased Reporting
The uncritical reliance of Boston 25 News on Norman Finkelstein’s “expert” analysis is not the only concerning issue with this report.
In both the televised segment and accompanying article, Hamas’ brutal invasion is casually referred to as a “sneak attack.”
In addition, the article puts doubt into its readers’ minds as to the extent of Hamas’ atrocities as it claims that “it’s not clear whether friendly fire played a significant role in the bloodshed.”
Referencing those killed on October 7, the article says that “some 1,200 Israelis were killed,” minimizing the fact that the majority of those killed were civilians.
However, in the next paragraph, it states that “Israeli armed forces have killed more than 20,000 Palestinian civilians, most of them women and children.” There is no mention that a substantial percentage of this number (which is provided by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health) includes Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.
Similarly, the article notes that “hospitals, schools and refugee camps have been bombed,” and also that “Israel cut off water, food, medicine, electricity and fuel to Gaza after the October 7th Hamas attack.”
This picture of Israel’s activities in Gaza is deficient without mentioning how Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as cover for its terrorist activities, and how Israel has been cooperating with the international community to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza for use by the territory’s civilian population.
Additionally, both the televised segment and the article give voice to Finkelstein’s false claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, while the article goes further, uncritically parroting his assertion that the power of the Jewish communities in some of the ICJ justices’ home countries might affect their adjudicating South Africa’s case against Israel.
When a media organization gives a platform to the likes of Norman Finkelstein to provide the sole analysis of such a contentious topic, the report will ultimately fail to meet any journalistic standards of objectivity.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Norman Finkelstein’s Anti-Israel Rhetoric Given Center Stage in Biased Gaza Report first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Palestinian Detained after West Bank Terror Ramming
Illustrative: Israeli police at the scene of a car-ramming terrorist attack near a market in Jerusalem on Monday, April 24, 2023. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters.
JNS.org – A Palestinian rammed his vehicle into a cop car in the West Bank on Saturday in what the military was investigating as a terror attack.
The incident occurred at the Eli gas station, the scene of repeated acts of terrorism against Israelis.
“A Palestinian vehicle accelerated towards a police car and collided with it, there were no casualties,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“Troops caught the terrorist and transferred him to security forces for further investigation,” added the statement.
On Sunday, three Israeli police officers were killed in a drive-by shooting near the Tarqumiya checkpoint, some 7.5 miles northwest of Hebron in Judea.
They were named as Chief Inspector Arik Ben Eliyahu, 37, of Kiryat Gat, who is survived by his wife and three children; Command Sgt. Maj. Hadas Branch, 53, of Sde Moshe, who is survived by her husband, three children and granddaughter; and 1st Sgt. Roni Shakuri, 61, of Sderot, who is survived by his wife, daughter and granddaughter.
Shakuri’s other daughter, 1st Sgt. Mor Shakuri, 29, was killed on Oct. 7 while battling an attempt by Hamas terrorists to take control of the police station in Sderot, in southern Israel near the border with Gaza.
The post Palestinian Detained after West Bank Terror Ramming first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Ukraine Concerned at Reports of Iranian Ballistic Missiles to Russia
A missile unveiled by Iran is launched in an unknown location in Iran in this picture received by Reuters on August 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it was deeply concerned by reports about a possible impending transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.
In a statement emailed to reporters, the ministry said the deepening military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, and called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia.
CNN and The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, citing unidentified sources.
Reuters reported in August that Russia was expecting the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles from Iran and that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran on the satellite-guided weapons for eventual use in the war in Ukraine.
On Friday, the United States, a key ally of Ukraine, also voiced concern about the potential transfer of missiles.
“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said on Friday that Tehran’s position on the Ukraine conflict was unchanged.
“Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict – which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations – to be inhumane,” it said.
“Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict.”
The post Ukraine Concerned at Reports of Iranian Ballistic Missiles to Russia first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pakistani Man Charged with Planning Terror Attack Against NY Jews on Oct. 7 or Yom Kippur
The flag of the ISIS terrorist group. Image: Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani/File Photo.
JNS.org – A Pakistani national, whom Canadian authorities arrested on Wednesday, planned to carry out an ISIS-styled, mass shooting terror attack against Jews in New York, the U.S. Justice Department alleged on Friday.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, who also answers to Shahzeb Jadoon, “attempted to travel from Canada to New York City, where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, N.Y.,” per the complaint.
Khan allegedly distributed ISIS videos and literature and expressed support for ISIS on social media and via encrypted messages. Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is a U.S.-designated terror organization.
The defendant allegedly wrote that he wanted to target “Israeli Jewish Chabads … scattered all around,” per the 19-page complaint.
The Justice Department alleges that Khan “conveyed that he hoped to carry out this attack on or around Oct. 7, 2024—which Khan recognized as the one year anniversary of the brutal terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas, a designated foreign terror organization, which, on Oct. 7, 2023, launched a wave of violent, large-scale terrorist attacks in Israel that resulted in the deaths and hostage taking of hundreds of civilians, including American citizens.”
Khan allegedly told undercover officers that he wanted to “go for Oct. 7 or Oct 11, Yom Kippur, a major festival for the Jews,” per the complaint. “Khan emphasized that ‘Oct. 7 and Oct. 11 are the best days for targeting the Jews,’ because ‘Oct. 7 they will surely have some protests and Oct. 11 is Yom Kippur,’ and ‘they don’t have any other major festival then till next summer.’”
“In selecting New York City as his target location, Khan told the undercover law enforcement officers that ‘New York is perfect to target Jews’ because it has the ‘largest Jewish population In America,’ and, as such, ‘even if we don’t attack a event, we could rack up easily a lot of Jews,” the complaint adds.
The defendant told the undercover officers that “he intended to kill as many Jewish civilians as possible, proclaiming that ‘we are going to New York City to slaughter them,’” per the complaint, which added that Khan allegedly sent a photograph “of the specific area” where he planned to attack to the undercover officers.
Per the complaint, Khan also allegedly told the undercover officers not to wear beards, so they wouldn’t attract attention, and that “you guys will even have to attend some synagogue or Chabad sessions” to “check the insides of the buildings.” He told them it was necessary to identify emergency exits in buildings, “so we can trap them and kill them inside,” per the complaint.
“In addition, Khan also explained that they should not record their ISIS allegiance video, or ‘bayah,’ until later because it would run the risk of them being caught by law enforcement prior to the planned attack,” the complaint alleges.
One of several cities that Khan flagged had “more relaxed” gun laws, he allegedly told the undercover officers.
“What’s the point of living till you’re 70 and dying on a hospital bed when we can attain shahadah in our youths, Inshalah,” he said, per the complaint. (The complaint defines the first term as a declaration of faith and the second as God willing.)
“The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around Oct. 7 of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible,” stated Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general.
“Thanks to the investigative work of the FBI, and the quick action of our Canadian law enforcement partners, the defendant was taken into custody,” Garland said. “Jewish communities—like all communities in this country—should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack.”
The post Pakistani Man Charged with Planning Terror Attack Against NY Jews on Oct. 7 or Yom Kippur first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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