NORM!

Norman Finkelstein is an American political scientist and author.  “Gaza’s Gravediggers: An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places”, is his newest publication. In an article in the Jerusalem Post earlier this week, I read that in this book,  Finkelstein draws an explicit historical parallel between the events of October 7 and Nat Turner’s 1831 slave revolt.  I did not know anything about this revolt, so I looked it up. Basically, Nat Turner, a preacher,  believed he received a calling to abolish slavery. He and a group of followers murdered his owners, and proceeded to take an estimated 55 more white lives, before the uprising was suppressed. Turner was eventually caught and hanged. Finkelstein’s point is, the Post reports, “that acts of mass violence carried out by oppressed populations must be understood within the context of systemic confinement and a total lack of alternative avenues for liberation.” 

 I first encountered Norman Finkelstein in the early days of the present episode of Israel’s war for independence that began on October 7, 2023. He was being interviewed on some podcast about the evil that Israel is wreaking on the poor civilians in Gaza. What stuck with me was his comment that the conditions of the civilians in Gaza – before the attack – were similar to the conditions of a concentration camp. 

So this is it: American slavery, Nazi concentration camps, and Israel’s treatment of the civilians in Gaza are all in the same category. 

I can’t really address the issue of slavery in America other than history. I would recommend Fredrick Douglas’ autobiography. (Actually, I would recommend it anyway.)

Finkelstein comes to his position on Israel through the personal history of his parents, who lived through the Nazi version of Evil. It would be reasonable to say that his perspective on Israel’s actions are given greater weight because of his parents’ experiences.  

Well, Norm, I am hereby calling you out to share some details regarding that history. I come with the same pedigree – I, too, grew up in a home with one who lived to tell the tale; I, too, shaped an opinion and perspective on Israel from what I heard and saw growing up. And it was not only my own family. Aunts and uncles, close family friends, and their children, all had what to say. 

In fact, one aunt was in Majdanek concentration camp, as was your mother. My aunt did not ever tell me about which university she attended in that place. Did your mother mention to you which she attended? I ask, because there were six traditional universities, five university colleges, and  six community colleges in Gaza before the current conflict. 

My mother never mentioned which of the restaurants in Stuthoff concentration camp she and her mother enjoyed most. There must have been a few to choose from, as Gaza had 3,450 different places to eat. 

One would think that one with such a background as yours, Norman Finkelstein, would have learned that one thing that helped our respective families put new lives together is self-respect.