Spring Break
Finkelstein visit loses club support
by Claire Moses
News | 3/13/07
Posted online at 10:49 PM EST on 3/12/07
/ Last updated at 8:09 AM EST on 3/12/07
Although it seemed likely last week that controversial Middle East scholar Norman Finkelstein would speak on campus next month, his visit is up in the air now after two campus groups withdrew their support.
The Radical Student Alliance and the Arab Culture Club are no longer co-sponsoring the event, and members of the RSA-which now calls itself Students for a Democratic Society-said they in fact never gave their consent to sponsor Finkelstein's visit.
"This just fell in our lap," Daniel Duffy '07, an RSA leader, said. "We have our own issues we're going through right now, like an anti-war campaign. [The Finkelstein visit] has just been an annoyance."
Kevin Conway '09, an RSA?member who invited Finkelstein said his group had committed to co-sponsoring the event scheduled for April 24 in the International Lounge. "Every relevant body on campus was on board," he said. "My colleagues in the RSA just jumped ship."
Conway still hopes to bring Finkelstein to campus because the money and room are still available. "We got everything except for the sponsor," he said. "I've been working on this since January. I'm not giving up, but the odds are against it.
Finkelstein, a political-science professor at DePaul University, is best known for his 2002 book, The Holocaust Industry, which describes the ways in which the Jewish community has exploited the memory of the Holocaust to strengthen Israel.
"I think it's regrettable that the intellectual atmosphere at Brandeis isn't able to accommodate a point of view that many other schools have accommodated," Finkelstein said Monday, adding that he typically speaks at 30 college campuses every year without incident.
Duffy said his group's withdrawal has nothing to do with Finkelstein's ideology. Rather, club procedure dictates that the whole group has to approve a speaker before extending an invitation. Conway presented the event on behalf of the club to the Union's Finance Board to receive funding.
The Radical Student Alliance and the Arab Culture Club are no longer co-sponsoring the event, and members of the RSA-which now calls itself Students for a Democratic Society-said they in fact never gave their consent to sponsor Finkelstein's visit.
"This just fell in our lap," Daniel Duffy '07, an RSA leader, said. "We have our own issues we're going through right now, like an anti-war campaign. [The Finkelstein visit] has just been an annoyance."
Kevin Conway '09, an RSA?member who invited Finkelstein said his group had committed to co-sponsoring the event scheduled for April 24 in the International Lounge. "Every relevant body on campus was on board," he said. "My colleagues in the RSA just jumped ship."
Conway still hopes to bring Finkelstein to campus because the money and room are still available. "We got everything except for the sponsor," he said. "I've been working on this since January. I'm not giving up, but the odds are against it.
Finkelstein, a political-science professor at DePaul University, is best known for his 2002 book, The Holocaust Industry, which describes the ways in which the Jewish community has exploited the memory of the Holocaust to strengthen Israel.
"I think it's regrettable that the intellectual atmosphere at Brandeis isn't able to accommodate a point of view that many other schools have accommodated," Finkelstein said Monday, adding that he typically speaks at 30 college campuses every year without incident.
Duffy said his group's withdrawal has nothing to do with Finkelstein's ideology. Rather, club procedure dictates that the whole group has to approve a speaker before extending an invitation. Conway presented the event on behalf of the club to the Union's Finance Board to receive funding.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
H. Fragman Abramson
posted 3/18/07 @ 9:54 PM EST
The idea of calling Norman Finkelstein a 'scholar' of anything would have Louis Brandeis rolling in his grave. Given increased level of anti-semitism around the globe, it might be prudent to recall the purpose and premise for founding your university. (Continued…)
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