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1:31 PM
Reut R. Cohen
The Orange County Independent Task Force just issued a press release.
Please note that the report can be read here in its entirety. From the OC Independent Task Force:Orange County Independent Task Force
Task Force on Anti-Semitism on Campus
____________________________________
PO Box 7859
Huntington Beach, CA 92615
Huntington Beach, CA – September 19, 2008 – The Orange County Independent Task Force on anti-Semitism will continue to monitor fresh allegations of ongoing anti-Semitic activity at The University of California, Irvine (UCI). The Task Force consists of Jewish and non-Jewish members of the community, and includes current and former faculty members, religious and lay community leaders.
On February 12, 2008, the Independent Task Force completed its year long investigation at UCI. Over 80 hours of interviews, as well as, documents, written complaints and numerous visits to the campus were used in the compilation of the subsequent Report and Recommendations.
The complete 34 page report can be found at:
http://octaskforce.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/orange-county-task-forcereport-on-anti-semitism-at-uci.pdf
Over the past several months, the Task Force has continued to receive disturbing reports including the following:
•Anti-Semitic programs sponsored by MSU have continued, with guest speakers ratcheting up anti-Semitic hate speech.
• On March 30, 2008, twenty current and former Jewish and non-Jewish UCI students issued a press release expressing (in part) deep concern “...about the anti-Semitism at UCI that has been frequently couched as false and hateful attacks on Israel. We do not believe that UCI Chancellor Michael Drake has exercised his responsibility as an educator and university leader in response to the anti-Semitism...”
• According to The Orange County Anti-Defamation Leagues (ADL) press release on March 5, 2008:
"......The Jewish communities in Orange County and Long Beach remain the religious group most targeted for attack. Unfortunately, many of these incidents continue to occur on school campuses. We are particularly disturbed by those incidents that occur in the lower grades," said Kevin O'Grady, ADL Orange County Regional Director. Incidents across the region included vandalism, hate mail sent to community leaders and organizations, and white supremacist newspapers distributed throughout Orange County.
• In May 2008, concern was raised that MSU has been allowed to utilize its own members as “security” at its' controversial and inflammatory events.
• When asked about the relatively small number of campus police in attendance at large, often inflammatory MSU events, a senior campus police officer explained that “lack of funds” from the University was the reason. The officer complained that “several years ago an officer was injured at one of these events”.
• Recently, the UC Irvine Anthill Pub prominently displayed a photograph of
Amir Malik Ali. Some of Malik Ali's most notable statements made during his hateful speeches at UCI:
"The truth of the matter is your days are numbered. We will fight you. We will fight you until we are either martyred or until we are victorious." "They [Jews] think they are superman, but we, the Muslims, are kryptonite. They [Jews] know that their days are numbered.”
• A Jewish student was quoted as saying the campus situation is sometimes “intense and hostile.” This student claims said that he wont “go around wearing a Jewish star because you never know what is going to happen.”
• According to recently obtained documentation, MSU received $6,500 from Associated Students of UCI for “Palestine Awareness Week”. The MSU sponsored hate speakers Amir Abdel Malik Ali, Imam Muhammad al Asi and noted Holocaust denier Norman Finkelstein. Many campus student groups regularly receive funding for their particular programs; however there is no evidence to demonstrate that any groups other than MSU use such funds to promote programs featuring incendiary and hateful speakers.
• According to the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is currently investigating alleged incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation and discrimination that occurred in May 2007 at UCI. This is the second Title VI investigation initiated by ZOA on behalf of Jewish students at UCI. The first complaint was initiated in 2004.
Anyone in the community with knowledge of, or who has witnessed acts of anti-Semitism at UCI, is encouraged to contact the Task Force:
Jan Mark Dudman Esq., President
Robert L. Winer M.D., Executive vice-President
Ted Bleiweis, Executive Director
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/
11 comments. Leave a comment:
It is a lie that Norman Finkelstein is a Holocaust denier. That says to me that this task force is either incompetent or biased. Whichever it is, that means either way it can't be trusted.
Here's Finkelstein earlier this year at UCI, mentioning that his parents were in a Nazi concentration camp and that his family was wiped out during the Holocaust:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyDrP2EsYGo
So he's saying his family was wiped out by something that he also denies happened? I don't think so. He is NOT a Holocaust denier.
The reliability of this entire report is now tainted.
My late mother used to exclaim, "if everyone who claims to be a Holocaust survivor actually is one, who did Hitler kill?" -Norman G. Finkelstein
The above quote is accessible on Finkelstein's website. He is a defrocked academic and is associated with some of the most notorious Holocaust deniers. He has denied several known facts about the Holocaust. He speculates on the number of people who were massacred. He denies the implications of the Holocaust and several events associated with it. That makes him a Holocaust denier.
On a Holocaust denial program on Lebanese TV, he claimed that Holocaust survivors are liars and that Swiss banks -- which have agreed to pay back millions of dollars belonging to deceased Jewish depositors and their heirs -- never withheld any money from Jews.
Finkelstein's name was listed among the participants of the the infamous Iranian Holocaust denial hate-fest. He couldn't attend, however, because he was too busy trying to testify, as a crackpot witness, for Hamas.
He also loves Hezbollah, the terror organization whose leader said, "If Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."
Finkelstein has praised the group, saying: "The honorable thing now is to show solidarity with Hezbollah as the United States 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."
Here is my perspective, Bryan. I am a Middle Eastern Jew. I understand Arabic. I am Middle Eastern in appearance. I don't associate with "American Jewry" because I'm Middle Eastern in my roots and culture. But I have always wondered why people like Finkelstein don't give a hoot about Jews from the Middle East (up to one million) who were forced to flee from their homes. My parents and grandparents were refugees due to Arab aggression and increased fanaticism in the Arab world. Isn't it interesting that few have spoken about this critical issue? I wonder why Finkelstein restricts himself to "Holocaust revisionism" and Hezbollah support.... He sure does make a lot of money speaking for enemies of the western world, however.
Finkelstein is not world-renowned, except among Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis, radical Islamofascists and other assorted anti-Semites, who constitute his primary readership and audience.
If you want to search the particulars mentioned in the Task Force report, you should file FOIA requests and ask for UCIPD to turn over certain documents that are mentioned.
Hope that helps.
Students who defend idiots like Finkelstein are clueless. Bryan, do you admire Hezbollah too?
My late mother used to exclaim, "if everyone who claims to be a Holocaust survivor actually is one, who did Hitler kill?" -Norman G. Finkelstein
The above quote is accessible on Finkelstein's website.
It's called a joke. If you think this kind of humor is anti-semitic, you better start keeping an eye on Mel Brooks, too.
He is a defrocked academic and is associated with some of the most notorious Holocaust deniers. He has denied several known facts about the Holocaust. He speculates on the number of people who were massacred. He denies the implications of the Holocaust and several events associated with it. That makes him a Holocaust denier.
Proof?
On a Holocaust denial program on Lebanese TV, he claimed that Holocaust survivors are liars and that Swiss banks -- which have agreed to pay back millions of dollars belonging to deceased Jewish depositors and their heirs -- never withheld any money from Jews.
Do you have a link to video of this?
Finkelstein's name was listed among the participants of the the infamous Iranian Holocaust denial hate-fest. He couldn't attend, however, because he was too busy trying to testify, as a crackpot witness, for Hamas.
Is it really his fault that a third party decided to put his name on a list? It was apparently without his consent. I've never seen proof that his name was ever on any list, but I've heard about it. Perhaps you know of some evidence? However, he did seem quite offended by the notion that he had attended the conference.
He also loves Hezbollah, the terror organization whose leader said, "If Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."
Finkelstein has praised the group, saying: "The honorable thing now is to show solidarity with Hezbollah as the United States 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."
I don't know much about his connections with Hezbollah, but I would like some evidence of these quoted statements.
Here is my perspective, Bryan. I am a Middle Eastern Jew. I understand Arabic. I am Middle Eastern in appearance. I don't associate with "American Jewry" because I'm Middle Eastern in my roots and culture. But I have always wondered why people like Finkelstein don't give a hoot about Jews from the Middle East (up to one million) who were forced to flee from their homes. My parents and grandparents were refugees due to Arab aggression and increased fanaticism in the Arab world. Isn't it interesting that few have spoken about this critical issue? I wonder why Finkelstein restricts himself to "Holocaust revisionism" and Hezbollah support.... He sure does make a lot of money speaking for enemies of the western world, however.
It's quite simple, really: not everyone cares about the same issues. You think that stuff is important. Finkelstein thinks other things are important. Some people devote all their time to fighting abortion rights. Some people fight for same-sex marriage. We all choose what issues are important to us. Finkelstein isn't obligated to care about your causes.
My late mother used to exclaim, "if everyone who claims to be a Holocaust survivor actually is one, who did Hitler kill?" -Norman G. Finkelstein
Camp survivor Myra Finkelstein was making a valid point about Zionist shakedown artists. These funds have been consistently misused and to this day, many actual holocaust survivors live in abject poverty while the ones controlling the funds are mired in scandal after scandal. Additionally, Raul Hillberg agreed with Dr. Finkelstein about the Swiss banks.
[begin text]
Raul Hilberg (June 2, 1926 - August 4, 2007) was an Austrian-born American political scientist and historian. He was widely considered to be the doyen of the postwar generation of Holocaust scholars, and his three-volume, 1,273-page magnum opus, The Destruction of the European Jews, is regarded as a seminal study of the Nazi Final Solution.
Hilberg was damning of Goldhagen’s scholarship, which he called poor (”his scholarly standard is at the level of 1946″) and he was even more critical of the lack of primary source or secondary literature competence at Harvard by those who oversaw the research for Goldhagen’s book (”This is the only reason why Goldhagen could obtain a PhD in political science at Harvard. There was nobody on the faculty who could have checked his work.”), a remark that has been echoed by Yehuda Bauer.
Conversely, he was supportive of Norman Finkelstein’s The Holocaust industry, which he endorsed “with specific regard” to Finkelstein’s work showing that the money claimed to be owed by Swiss banks to Holocaust survivors was greatly exaggerated.[28]
[end text]
I've attended Dr. Finkelstein's lectures (including at UCI) and he was very well received because he spoke factually. It is the reason that those disagreeing with him resort to smears.
Stick to your guns Bryan. Dr. Finkelstein is a truth-teller, something that most Zionists are allergic to.
Finkelstein's Hezbollah support:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpFmxnwQ9Bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPfh0T94cR4
Actually, Finkelstein has made comments speculating about the Holocaust several times. He particularly takes issue with "six million" victims. The literature he has written is filled with these speculations. He is not merely joking or satirizing the situation.
Finkelstein is a disciple of the discredited historian and Holocaust denier David Irving, who he considers an authoritative scholar. Finkelstein refers to the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis as the "Six Million" in quotation marks, and says that nearly every self-identified Holocaust survivor is a fake, a thief, and a liar. In an interview with the German paper, Die Welt, he said: "Not only does the 'Six Million' figure become more untenable but the numbers of the Holocaust industry are rapidly approaching those of Holocaust deniers. . . . Indeed, the field of Holocaust studies is replete with nonsense if not sheer fraud."
In his 2003 book The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, Professor Finkelstein wrote, "'If everyone who claims to be a survivor actually is one,' my mother used to exclaim, 'who did Hitler kill?'" "My parents often wondered why I would grow so indignant at the falsification and exploitation of the Nazi genocide," Finkelstein added. "The most obvious answer is that it has been used to justify criminal policies of the Israeli state and U.S. support for these policies." Elsewhere in the book, Finklestein wrote: "The Zionists indeed learnt well from the Nazis. So well that it seems that their morally repugnant treatment of the Palestinians, and their attempts to destroy Palestinian society within Israel and the occupied territories, reveals them as basically Nazis with beards and black hats."
This is in his book. In his own words. I invite you to do your own research. Look up the German newspaper I mentioned and look up Finkelstein's support for Hezbollah.
Regardless of whether or not you support Finkelstein, the basic fact is that he does deny many known aspects of the Holocaust. He is associated with terrorist groups. And he is associated with horrible anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers.
You also entirely missed the point in regards to focusing on the Middle Eastern Jewish refugee issue. If one wants to be totally honest about the Middle East debate, leaving out the narrative of one million Middle Eastern Jews is completely fallacious and wrong. It disregards the fact that more than half of Israelis are not European in origin, but Middle Eastern. It also disregards that Islamic governments forced their minority populations out of their homes. Many of these people, who otherwise would not have left countries like Iraq and Yemen, immigrated to Israel. This persecution is still happening today with Ba'hai and Christian communities in Islamic lands. Other minority populations, like homosexuals, also find that they are targets of crime. When discussing the Middle East, one needs to have a solid grasp of of different arguments and issues. It helps to challenge what we already believe and allows for a comprehensive view. I am sorry you don't feel that way.
There are no smears here. Norman Finkelstein's willful distortions of fact and inability to present an academic argument is well-known.
Consider the following excerpts of an article summarizing Finkelstein's arguments written by Benjamin Berg at Brandeis:
"Finkelstein's argument is that while the actual documents regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are uncontroversial, Israelis have stirred up a whirlwind of controversy precisely in order to submerge this point. Yet, incredulously, Finkelstein's only method of demonstrating the veracity of such a point is to cite scholars who concur with his understanding of the narrative as proof that the record is unequivocal and uncontroversial.
Two specific issues which Finkelstein claims to be uncontroversial are the origin of Palestinian refugees and the legality (or illegality) of the Israeli settlements. As if to prove his point on the first issue, Finkelstein chooses to quote Benny Morris's description of the flight of Arab's during the 1948 War as "ethnic cleansing." By choosing to quote a preeminent scholar on the Middle East, Finkelstein ostensibly tries to further his claim of an unambiguous record. Yet, the alternative side-which Finkelstein claims not to exist-not only shows that there are differing narratives, but also that the record, in fact, seems not to support Finkelstein's. Ephraim Karsh, the chair of Mediterranean Studies at King's College in London, for example, explains that the evidence validate the claim that Arab flight from Haifa began even well before the UN's partition resolution, and that an ad-hoc body, the Arab Emergency Committee, did its best to get the Arabs out of Haifa, usually through scare tactics.
Moreover, even many Palestinians recognize that the refugee issue is merely an excuse to continue to exploit Israel. Rami Abdel Rahim, a 26-year-old Palestinian, for instance, told an Israeli newspaper that "[the Arab and Palestinian leadership] know and know that we will not be able to return to Israel or Palestinian territories. They are just using this issue to get more compromise."
The second issue that Finkelstein presented as black-and-white dealt with the Israeli settlements. By quoting UN Resolution 242 Finkelstein argued that the Israeli settlements have no legal basis in international law. But he ignored the second clause of 242, which asserts that the Arab states must recognize Israel and restrict all threats or acts of violence towards Israel. Yes, Israel should withdraw from territories-which it has done unilaterally without seeing a decrease in the amount of violence directed at them towards the Palestinians-but the Arab states must likewise adhere to their end of the bargain and acknowledge the sovereignty of Israel. Palestinians have consistently failed to do so.
Furthermore, there is proof that, while Israel has adhered to 242 in exchange for peace, the Palestinians have not: Israel withdrew from Sinai and signed a peace treaty with Jordan. Israel wants peace. Even Benny Morris, whom Finkelstein loves to quote when it serves his interest but conveniently ignores on other issues, explains that Arafat specifically rejected former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's generous peace offer and instead turned to terrorism as a political tool.
Finally, Finkelstein continuously referred to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must relinquish its right to land acquired through war. Being the judiciary body of the United Nations, he argued that the world is required to adhere to its rulings. Yet, this is a body of the same international organization that condemned Zionism as racism and turned the World Conference on Racism in Durban in 2001 into an anti-Zionist stage. To adhere blindly to such a ruling, then, without taking into consideration the body making such decisions, would not be an intellectually honest route to take."
Finkelstein blames the United States for 9/11. He totally misconstrues the situation in Israel.
I've had the misfortune of hearing him speak. He cites dates and UN regulations out of context. He sounds like he's possessed.
Finkelstein was supposed to attend the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran. He is chummy with Hezbollah and other Holocaust deniers. Most of Finkelstein's support comes from antisemites and terrorist groups.
Anyone who defends this idiot is foolhardy.
Bryan, you didn't answer my question. Do you admire Hezbollah too? How about Hamas?
No.
Satisfied, Mr./Ms. Anonymous?
The OC Task Force has been pursuing this matter diligently. Thanks for posting the report.
Hi Reut! You did a good job! Pls. note the following:
Bryan and Lance Thruster are one and the same person, i.e. Norman Finkelstein himself. The maner of argumentation, the choice of words, the construction of the sentencens, the sort of dinials, etc. are the same Mr. Finkelstein uses against others who call him holocaust revisionist or denier, etc. Mr. Finkelstein is very good at going online, pretending to be someone else and defending himself as he is clearly doing here. Open your eyes Reut, you have been goin back and forth with the man Norman Finkelstein himself! (for more you can reach me at 'civielappel@hotmail.com)
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