Finkelstein wrong! Shock!

For someone who has hung on Professor Norman Finkelstein's every word for some years now it should grieve me to say that he has got something wrong but it's true. A few days ago a despondent Finkelstein announced on his website "Dershowitz wins". He said that the University of California Press had pulled his latest book, Beyond Chutzpah, from publication. Well he was wrong. According to Beshara Doumani the publication is going ahead according to (revised) schedule.

Dear Friends,

Much to the chagrin of Allan Dershowitz and despite his over-the-top attempts to stop its publication, Finkelstein's book will be published and hit the shelves fairly soon. UC Press and Finkelstein reached an agreement today about all outstanding issues. The strenuous efforts by Dershowitz and his supporters to go over the head of the press by mobilizing the governor of California and the top levels of the University of California administration have come to naught. Now the readers will be able to judge the book on its own merits and decide whether they agree with the many scholars who were consulted by the press and who gave the book their enthusiastic endorsement.

Perhaps anticipating defeat, Dershowitz really lowered the bar for civilized discourse when he published an article,"Why is the University of California Press Publishing Bigotry?" in none other than the radical right wing rag Frontpage (July 5, 2005). In this article, Dershowitz suggests that Norman Finkelstein's late mother (a Holocaust survivor) was a kapo, or Nazi collaborator. He also calls Norman Finkelstein a Neo-Nazi, and reiterates his view that this book is the sequel to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Pretty heavy stuff and not very becoming of a Harvard Professor. Dershowitz's only solace, it seems, is that his latest book, The Case for Peace, was endorsed by none other than Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel!

To his credit, and despite his reputation for not mincing words, Norman Finkelstein has held back from responding to these personal attacks.

The end of this chapter may just be the beginning of a longer saga. Wait for more fireworks when the book comes out,

Beshara

I hope this Beshara chap is right only I've just ordered Beyond Chutzpah from Amazon.