An Issue of Justice: Origins of the Israel/Palestine Conflict

Version: Unabridged
Author: Norman Finkelstein
Narrator: Norman Finkelstein
Genres: History, Politics, Middle East, History, International
Publisher: AK Press
Published In: June 2005
Length: 1 hour, 19 minutes
Ratings:
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Overview

Finkelstein lays out the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict with clarity and passion, arguing that any other similar conflict would be perfectly understood, yet this one exists beneath a blanket of ideological fog. Finkelstein cuts through the fog with indisputable historical facts, optimistic that the struggle is winnable, and that it is simply an issue of justice.

Norman Finkelstein was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1953. He is the son of two Holocaust survivors. He received his doctorate from Princeton University for a thesis on the theory of Zionism. He is the author of four books, including "The Holocaust Industry. His writings have also appeared in many prestigious journals. Currently he teaches political science at DePaul University in Chicago.

Selected Reviews

Much needed voice

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 5/5

Interesting

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 4

Reviews (4)

Much needed voice

Written by Anonymous from Encinitas, CA on September 30th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I think Finkelstein's discussion brings a much needed perspective to the causes and reasons of the on-going Israel conflict. It's safe to assume we will hear pro-Israeli viewpoints on a fairly regular basis, which tends to condemn the group the majority of Palestinians as "terrorists", and there are plenty of situations which sustain that generalization. But Palestinian perspectives are rarely offered. If a Palestinian perspective is offered, it's almost always labeled as "anti-semetic" or dismissed as naive. Finkelstein tries to present this often missing and unstated perspective to bring more balance to understanding the issues which lead to continuing conflict in the region. It's definitely worth reading.

Interesting

Written by Anonymous on January 1st, 2007

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I agree with the previous review...Finkelstein is bias against Israel,but presents some interesting facts to support his position. I think there is relevance in a lot of what he has to say. He also happens to be a good speaker..

Biased Views

Written by Anonymous from Chicago, IL on September 12th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 2/5

The self-proclaimed Communist, Finkelstein does provide some interesting facts that I wasn't aware of. But clearly he is very biased against the Israelis. It's ok to listen to if you're aware of that going in and aren't expecting a more informative explanation of what both sides have done wrong and right.

What A Hypocrite

Written by Mandi Chestler on August 30th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 1/5

I gave this a 1-star rating because the review guidelines didn't offer a 0-rating. Finkelstein is one of those completely annoying and hypocritical "intellectuals" who claim to offer an unbiased look at an issue, but instead cherry-picks the "facts" to present an off-the-charts one-sided point-of-view. It seems Norman Finkelstein got his talking points from Syrian President Assad and Iranian President Ahmedinejad, then used his academic credentials to pretend to offer an objective look at a conflict where both sides have made mistakes. He capitalizes on the currently "hip" trend of the radical far left to see terrorists like Hezbollah and Hamas as blameless victims that just can't help it if they decide to blow up innocent people with suicide bombers, or lauch bombs at Jews from the basement of civilian Palestinian apartment buildings. I've got news for Finkelstein, if he continues to peddle this dribble, a truly terrible situation will take much longer to resolve.

Selected Reviews

Much needed voice

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 5/5

Interesting

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 4

Author Details

Author Details

Finkelstein, Norman

Norman Finkelstein was born in New York City in 1954. He received his B.A. from Binghamton University and his Ph.D. from Emory University. He is a Professor of English at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he has lived since 1980. His books of poetry include Restless Messengers (Georgia, 1992), PASSING OVER (Marsh Hawk, 2007), and the three-volume serial poem Track: Track (Spuyten Duyvil, 1999), Columns (Spuyten Duyvil, 2002), and POWERS: TRACK VOLUME THREE (Spuyten Duyvil, 2005). He has also written extensively about modern and postmodern poetry, and about Jewish literature. His boo