Editor’s note: Full pre/post-Columbia coverage w/ video here.

“LionPAC – is a campus Israel political action group affiliated with the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC). Programs include bringing local and national politicians to campus and hosting forums on Israeli/American relations.”

Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2006 23:05:02 -0500 (EST)
From: “LionPAC” lionpac[at]hillel.columbia.edu
Subject: *LionPAC Announcements* Norman Finkelstein Comes to Columbia

Norman Finkelstein is Coming to Columbia March 8, 2006*

Norman Finkelstein has fomented controversy since his graduate student
days at Princeton University where he earned his PhD in 1988. Born in
1953, this son of two Holocaust survivors has devoted his career to
venomously attacking Zionism, Israel, Jews and what he calls the Holocaust
industry. He has understandably been called a “Jewish anti-Semite” and
historian Peter Novick called him a “zealot” on a “hate campaign.”
What follows is a brief overview of Norman Finkelstein’s views.

In his own words:

On the Holocaust:

• “If everyone who claims to be a survivor actually is one,’ my
  mother used to exclaim, ‘who did Hitler kill then?’“
  – Norman Finkelstein,”The Holocaust Industry,” p. 81
• “Elie Wiesel [is] resident clown of the Holocaust circus.”
  – Irish Times, “‘I Won’t Lie Down and Take the Insults.'”

On Terrorism

• “[T]he honorable thing now is to show solidarity with Hezbollah as
  the US and Israel target it for liquidation. Indeed, looking back my
  chief regret is that I wasn’t even more forceful in publicly defending
  Hezbollah against terrorist intimidation and attack.”
  – Norman Finkelstein, “A Reply to Michael Young”)
• “Frankly, part of me says…’you know what, we deserve the problem on our hands because some things Bin Laden says are true’. One of the things he said on that last tape was that ‘until we live in security, you’re not going to live in security’, and there is a certain amount of rightness in that.“
  – Norman Finkelstein, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People: A
  conversation with Professor Norman Finkelstein,” CounterPunch, December 13,
  2001 by Don Atapattu)

What Academics Say About Finkelstein:

• In his controversial book, The Holocaust Industry, Finkelstein argues that “Jewish elites” have created an “industry” to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust as a ploy to extort money and to gain influence, as well a tactic “to crush any dissent, any criticism, of the State of Israel.” The New York Times’ review of the book described its premise as a “novel variation” of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the fraudulent essay concocted in the late nineteenth century by the Czarist secret police which purports to uncover a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. Accordingly, the Times’ reviewer described Finkelstein as “juvenile,” “arrogant,” and “stupid.”
  (Omar Bartov, Brown University professor, NY Times Book Review, “A Tale of Two Holocausts” Aug. 6, 2000)

We encourage you to attend and show Finkelstein that his hateful
rhetoric is not welcome at Columbia.
Please wear white shirts and blue jeans and look out for the
informational materials that will be distributed at the event. If you are
interested in helping distribute materials please contact Becky Abrams at
bsa2102@columbia.edu.

****RSVP REQUIRED by MONDAY at 5:00 PM
finkelsteinCUID@gmail.com for Columbia Affiliates
finkelsteinevent@gmail.com for non-Columbia

Wednesday
Roone Arledge Auditorium
Doors Open at 7:00 pm
Event Begins at 8:00 pm

This event is cosponsored by: Muslim Students Association, Safa’a,
Turath, Qanun, Arab Students Association, United Students of Color
Council, Organization of Pakistani Students, Columbia Student Solidarity
Network, Students Promoting Empowerment and Knowledge.

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