Norman Finkelstein's Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History
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Alan Dershowitz—Harvard legal scholar, O.J. Simpson defense team player, and outspoken advocate for Israel—fought long and hard to keep Norman G. Finkelstein’s latest book off shelves. He urged the University of California Press not to publish it and even threatened legal action. Beyond Chutzpah, as the Chronicle of Higher Education put it, “unfavorably dissects the writings of certain pro-Israel commentators, including Mr. Dershowitz.” Dershowitz did not succeed; the book is out. But does it live up to the debacle, covered in both the American and British press, surrounding its publication?
Finkelstein, a political scientist at DePaul University and the son of Holocaust survivors, gained notoriety with the Holocaust Industry, about those that exploit the Nazi Holocaust. In his new book, Beyond Chutzpah, Finkelstein documents how the Israel lobby shamelessly charges critics of Israeli foreign policy with being anti-Semites.
Over half the book is dedicated to debunking Dershowitz’ attempts in The Case for Israel to exonerate Israel of allegations of torture, collective punishment against Palestinians, assassinations and other violations of international law. Finkelstein shows how many of Dershowitz’ claims are uncorroborated and lack citation, based on quotations taken out of context, and engage in other suspicious forms of reason. He also presents Israel’s “copiously documented record of egregious human rights violations.”
Drawing from information provided by human rights organizations based in Israel and the United States, Finkelstein offers a damning argument against Dershowitz’ whitewash of Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories.More importantly, Finkelstein exposes the nastiness of smearing the label of anti-Semitism on Israel’s critics. Mostly, he tells us what we already know. Many American pro-Israel pundits charge that even the pettiest of claims about Israel’s record of human rights abuses are a sign of Jew hatred, while many conservative politicians who make questionable statements about the Holocaust get a free pass because they support Israel for foreign policy reasons.
Finkelstein examines the “new anti-Semitism.” It is a phenomenon where about once a decade, a Zionist writer publishes a text charging baselessly that because of worldwide criticism of Israel’s ill treatment of Palestinians we are once again on the verge of another mass butchering of world Jewry. It is an attempt, he shows, to use fear tactics for shoring up support from the Jewish political base and thus oiling the wheels of the Zionist political apparatus in America.
The book is subtitled the “misuse of anti-Semitism.” Therefore there must be a proper use, but Finkelstein does not discuss that. He only discusses contemporary anti-Semitism in terms of criticism of Israel and anti-Zionism, rendering his examination superficial. Finkelstein’s retort to the Israel lobby says that anti-Semitism no longer threatens society, but all you have to do is read about the rise of the far right in places Europe to know that’s not true. For example, in September, a London barrister and advisor to Tony Blair claimed that the Iraq war was designed by the “Jews” and “Freemasons.”
Nor does Finkelstein realize that while much criticism of Israel is wrongly labeled as anti-Semitism, there is plenty of Jew-hating on the pro-Palestine side. Look at some cartoon depictions of Jews in much of the Arab media, and notice their resemblance to those that appeared on posters in Nazi Germany, for example.
Finkelstein is absolutely right to assert the absurdity of linking criticism of Israel’s horrendous treatment of Palestinians to anti-Semitism. And his documentation of human rights abuses in the Occupied Territories is invaluable. Yet at times, Finkelstein looks at contemporary anti-Semitism as myopically as Dershowitz.
It is very easy to disregard this mentality as mere political extremism - on both sides of the equation. However, the fact of the matter is that it is emblematic of the severe political polarization that characterizes the American Jewish community's relationship with Israel at the present time.
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