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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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To Be Holy Is to Live Morally and Treat Others With Respect
Reading from a Torah scroll in accordance with Sephardi tradition. Photo: Sagie Maoz via Wikimedia Commons.
Chapter 19 of Leviticus, known as Kedoshim, includes a range of laws that concern ethical standards that were relevant back then and today.
It starts with respecting one’s parents and then goes on to talk about the importance of giving charity and helping the poor and the indigent. It also includes such basic ethical rules as don’t steal, don’t deceive, don’t lie, don’t oppress your neighbor, etc. ( Leviticus 19:2-18).
However, interspersed in this collection are ritual laws, and the repeated refrain “Be Holy because I am holy,” “I am your God,” or “ I am your God who took you out of Egypt.”
To the modern skeptical mind, they seem out of place. We are so used to thinking of morality and ethics as being divorced from concepts of God, that these ritual-based commands seem to be irrelevant to many people. Yet the Bible is based upon the principle that humans are fallible, changeable, and unreliable, and are often not the best judges of good and bad. Greek philosophical culture, on the other hand, thought that logic alone could determine what was right or wrong. The Torah established the concept of Divine Authority as a safeguard against overweening human arrogance.
The anthropologist Margaret Mead discovered that there is a universal pattern that explains all this strange connection between morality and ritual. The ancient world was concerned with order. Each culture was regulated in its own way. The Torah, too, is concerned with order, a holistic approach to life that includes the spiritual as well as the physical. It is a template of the complete life, in which one finds room for a way of life that connects with God through ritual and behavior.
In our case, the universal sacrificial system that once dominated our ritual life soon fell away. Instead, we have focused on the laws that make up what is called halacha — how we behave day-to-day and how all our actions should be predicated on forethought, consideration, and a value system.
An ethical system predicated on a ritual one, however irksome, adds a level of spirituality to our daily lives. If religious behavior does not improve one’s morality or behavior towards others, it is failing. Holiness in the Torah means being better — not automatically through birth, but rather what we do, and how we behave.
When we say be holy because God is holy, we’re not describing God. We may disagree as to what is good and what is bad, what is fair and what is not, and whether there is a God and to what extent God controls our lives. But, in the end, we should live a life of consideration and respect for ourselves as well as for the rest of humanity.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post To Be Holy Is to Live Morally and Treat Others With Respect first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Macklemore Leads ‘Free Palestine’ Chant After Performing New Anti-Israel Song in New Zealand
Macklemore performs at Alcatraz Milan on May 3, 2023 in Milan, Italy. Photo: Roberto Finizio via Reuters Connect
Macklemore performed his new anti-Israel song live for the first time on Wednesday night during a concert in Wellington, New Zealand, where he also led the sold-out crowd in chanting, “Free, free Palestine.”
The Seattle-based rapper, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, performed Hind’s Hall at his first of two Wellington shows in the TSB Arena.
In the song, which was released a day earlier, the Grammy winner expresses solidarity with anti-Israel activists demonstrating at colleges and universities across the US, criticizes US support for Israel, and denounces the Jewish state’s military actions in its ongoing war against Hamas terrorists controlling the Gaza Strip. The war was launched in response to the deadly Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Images of the Palestinian flag were projected across the stadium in Wellington as Macklemore performed Hind’s Hall. Later in the concert, the rapper allegedly called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, The Guardian reported. The music video for Hind’s Hall also played on a screen behind the stage while Macklemore rapped the track’s lyrics on Wednesday night.
He told the audience: “I stand here today and every day forward for the rest of my life in solidarity with the people of Palestine, with an open heart, in the belief that our collective liberation is at stake — that we all deserve freedom in this life of ours.”
Macklemore said on Tuesday that all proceeds from Hind’s Hall will be donated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees had 19 of its employees allegedly participate in the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7. UNRWA has also been accused in the past of providing Palestinian schools with textbooks that incite antisemitism, terrorism, and anti-Israel sentiments.
The post Macklemore Leads ‘Free Palestine’ Chant After Performing New Anti-Israel Song in New Zealand first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Miss Israel Gets Threatened by Knife-Wielding Antisemite While Talking to New Yorkers About Israel
Former Miss Israel Noa Cochva talking to New Yorkers about Israel on May 6, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
Former Miss Israel Noa Cochva was threatened by an antisemitic woman in New York City this week while trying to have peaceful conversations with locals about Israel.
On Monday, Cochva participated in a social experiment with the organization Facts for Peace in which she walked around Washington Square Park in New York City while holding a sign that read, “I’m an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldier, ask me anything.” The 25-year-old beauty queen, who represented Israel in the Miss Universe pageant held in Eilat in 2021, was approached by some pro-Israel supporters who hugged her and thanked her for being brave and speaking out in solidarity with the Jewish state. Speaking to an American military officer who stopped to talk with her, Cochva discussed feeling a sense of purpose for serving her country. Cochva served as a combat medic in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
However, she also received a negative response from other New Yorkers, some of whom called her a “war criminal” and said, “This is f—king stupid. You guys should go home.” When one man asked Cochva,”“How do you sleep at night?” she clapped back: “I sleep really well because I know I’m on the right side of history.”
In a video from the social experiment that was shared on Instagram by both Facts for Peace and Cochva, the former beauty pageant queen could be seen talking to a man on camera when a woman crashed their discussion and said, “Sorry to interrupt, I heard there was a Zionist here.” The same woman lunged at Cochva’s team with a knife, cursed at them, and berated the group by calling them “little Zionists.” She also told Cochva’s cameraman, “My daddy owns your little Jewish b—ch daddy.”
When Cochva’s group invited her to have a conversation with the beauty queen, she avoided the opportunity by giving excuses such as, “No, I only care about being seen” and “I only speak ASL [American Sign Language].” When she asked one man in Cochva’s group for some of his water and he said no, she replied, “Oh, you’re a Zionist. I get it.”
Cochva filmed a video after the incident commenting on what took place and the criticism she faced from Israel-haters. While holding back tears, she told the camera, “I was just trying to have peaceful conversations with them. But it’s a whole different experience to witness something like that. We can’t let things like this happen.”
On Wednesday, the Instagram account Jew Hate Database exposed the knife-wielding woman as Ruby Marzovilla, a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio who works as a “professional performing artist” and “transformative mediator,” according to her LinkedIn page.
On March 30, Cochva was attacked with a protest placard during an anti-Israel rally in Times Square and got a black eye as a result.
The post Miss Israel Gets Threatened by Knife-Wielding Antisemite While Talking to New Yorkers About Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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