Monday, June 25, 2007
Well, the sexist allegation is new. Dershowitz writes: Finkelstein’s Sexism
According to a news story in today’s Chicago Sun-Times, a report filed against his tenure by three members of the Political Science faculty “claims that Finkelstein allegedly called a female staff member a ‘bitch.’†The report also claimed that Finkelstein “shunned†colleagues who disagreed with him and that his boorish conduct extended to “dramatically closing his office door when his colleague arrives.†In addition to describing his abusive sexist behavior toward a subordinate, the report characterized Finkelstein as “mean spirit†and as “unprofessional.â€
This negative report was suppressed by Finkelstein supporters who leaked other, more favorable assessments.
Finkelstein refused to comment on the newly disclosed report, just as he refused to confirm or deny that he had arranged for a neo-Nazi cartoonist to draw a picture of me masturbating in ecstatic joy at dead Lebanese civilians. He did apparently demand that the authors of the negative report provide “proof†of his use of the b-word against a subordinate, but that is his usual way of issuing a non-denial denial.
So in addition to being a Jewish anti-Semite, Finkelstein now emerges as a left wing sexist bigot who is willing to use abusive words to a subordinate. Will he still remain the darling of the hard Left now that this darker sexist side has emerged?
I am not surprised in the least. Frequently, these self-righteous lefties are complete hypocrites.
BHG
"Will he still remain the darling of the hard Left now that this darker sexist side has emerged?"
It will have no impact. This issue falls lower on the hierarchy than being anti-Israel.
(The reaction will be similar to the reaction to the treatment of gays and lesbians, women, and non-Muslim minorities by various Islamist movements.)
For the radical left, matters of individual freedom and rights, whether for women, gays, the handicapped, etc., have ALWAYS taken a back seat to grand schemes meant to bring down capitalism, colonialism, or whatever. Finkelstein won't be shunned by his more rabid supporters. Indeed, they will probably slander the victim of his sexist, offensive behavior for drawing attention away from his anti-semitism. There's an apt axiom here: "Leftists love 'peoples', but hate actual persons."
So in addition to being a Jewish anti-Semite, Finkelstein now emerges ...
So apart from an accident of birth does he participate, even in part of Jewish activities?
Is he a member at all of a Jewish community?
Is he committed to the values the Jewish community cherishes?
A lot of Israel bashers have spent a lifetime as secular, leftwing Americans with no interest in or knowledge of their Jewish heritage until one day they realize that proclaiming their Jewishness is a useful tool in their mindless, soft-Marxist, anti-Israel activism. The Jewish Voice for Peace and almost all Tikkun activists fit this model, with "Rabbi" Michael Lerner as exhibit A.
Finkelstein is different. The child of survivors he bought into the idea that there had to be something wrong with the Jews (or why would nice Germans want to kill them all?) at an early age. From his first book forward, he wrote to destroy the Jews, impelled from all appearances to finish the job Hitler began. this is true, atavistic, anti-Semitism. Rooted in self-hatred. But the anti-Semitism of the raw, untrammeled "I hate Jews and want to destroy them" kind.