Indicative of the ideological leanings of The Guardian and Independent newspapers is the fact that they have seen fit to cover the denial of tenure to US “academic” Norman Finkelstein at DePaul University in Chicago. Why is this American story worthy of print coverage in these British newspapers? As The Independent darkly puts it: “Mr Finkelstein, whose family survived the Holocaust, has been public enemy number one of the Israel lobby in the US for a number of years.”
The Independent, simply by failing to cover the story in any detail, leaves the impression that Finkelstein has been denied tenure simply for criticising Israel. Thus, for those unfamiliar with the full story, academic freedom has been crushed by the “Israel lobby”. Some credit then to The Guardian, which links to a copy of the actual letter (PDF format) to Finkelstein from DePaul University’s president explaining the decision to deny him tenure.
To see what The Guardian and Independent do not tell you, our colleagues at CAMERA detail Finkelstein’s fraudulent scholarship:
Anti-Zionists and anti-Semites often reference Finkelstein’s books despite the fact that they are marred by factual inaccuracies, omissions and selective mention of fact. Much of his work is seemingly shaped by his antagonism toward the Jewish establishment and his avowed anti-Zionism. Thus, he routinely accuses pro-Israel writers of being “frauds” and “plagiarists,” and labels their work “hoaxes.”
Stephen Plaut catalogues a litany of criticism of Finkelstein’s works from a variety of credible academic sources and highlights some of Finkelstein’s shocking pronouncements, including outright anti-Semitism. Finkelstein’s most vehement critic, Alan Dershowitz, refers to Finkelstein’s:
screed against Holocaust survivors called “The Holocaust Industry.” The scholar whose work on the Holocaust was the “stimulus” for this volume, University of Chicago professor Peter Novick, warned that: “No facts alleged by Finkelstein should be assumed to be really facts, no quotation in his book should be assumed to be accurate, without taking the time to carefully compare his claims with the sources he cites. . . . Such an examination reveals that many of those assertions are pure invention.”
While we do not wish to give publicity or credibility to Finkelstein’s fringe views, some British media outlets, notably the BBC have previously been happy to give him a platform and may do so again. Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with the sources provided above so that you can respond to any media that is prepared to give Finkelstein the time of day.
Letters to The Independent – [email protected]
UK EDUCATION MINISTER DEFENDS UK MEDIA ON ISRAEL
We were bemused to see the following report of Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell’s visit to Israel. Speaking to the Jerusalem Post, he
mounted a spirited defense of the British media on Monday, declaring that it generally presents all sides of the conflicts raging in this region and is “more balanced” than critics in Israel contend. … [Rammell] rejected the notion that British public opinion was being skewed against Israel, in part, by a lack of fair coverage from here. …
Asked whether the British media had distinguished for viewers and readers between the freedom of access enjoyed in Israel, as opposed to much of the Arab world, he said that, during the Second Lebanon War, “I can certainly recall last summer some of the reporting did actually make clear that ‘we are under greater restrictions to report what is happening from the Lebanon than in Israel.'”
HR UK subscribers may wish to write to Mr. Rammell, thanking him for visiting Israel and opposing the UCU boycott, but politely asking whether he is seeing the same media as the rest of us – [email protected]
TAKE OUR SIX DAY WAR QUIZ
Take our short quiz and test your knowledge on the history behind the events of June 1967. Also, take a look at our list of resources to better enable you to put the Six Day War into its proper context – even when the media fails to do so.
to media bias.
