Dershowitz/Finkelstein & Israel Uber Alles
Since the Dershowitz/Finkelstein 'debate' seems to be growing along with the efforts of the Zionist lobby to silence Academia in the United States, I thought that I would post this exchange of email that took place last month... when Academia tried to stand by Norman Finkelstein & History. So...this is for the record:
On the 6th of April, I sent out an email alerting friends about a vicious campaign that was taking place by the Zionist lobby against Norman Finkelstein.
I attached to my message an email from Michael Carmichael in which he describes the kind of persecution academics like Norman Finkelstein as
well as Ilan Pappe are subjected to by Israelis and by the Zionist lobby because their beliefs somehow don't conform to typical Israeli Zionist
propaganda. My email was distributed among several academics who did take immediate action and a petition in support of Normal Finkelstein was created and letters to DePaul University in support of academia and freedom of speech... were certainly not in shortage.
A few days after the "Fair Process For Tenure" petition was created in support for Finkelstein, a "No Tenure for Finkelstein" petition was also created by an unknown party. The strangest thing of all is that the "No Tenure" petition fraudulently used names from the "Fair Process For Tenure" petition in order to fill in their petition with signatures. Not only that, but several names where duplicated and used several times... and not just once. The "No Tenure" petition is clearly a fraudulent petition that shows exactly how low the Zionist lobby and its agents in the US will stoop in order to get rid of anyone who stands in the way of the Zionist agenda... be it in the Middle East or in the United States.
Petition Online have been contacted several times regarding the fraudulent entries by the very people who object to their names being included...and
herewith is some of the correspondence.
I would suggest that you follow the string of emails below just to see how far Zionists will go in the information war in order to make sure that realities remain hidden, that academics and historians get brushed aside or buried alive... while propaganda of course prevails and rules.
I have tried to include as many of the emails as possible... without boring you to tears.. and please forgive me if they are not in perfect order. In respect to the privacy of some people, I did remove some email addresses. I did keep the emails however of the person who created the petition as well as the person who has kind of 'taken charge' of the story so that anyone may get in touch with them... should anyone want further information
or should anyone want to join the "war" :)
_________________
Friday 06, April, 22:41:51 -0700 (PDT)
Frm: Cherifa Sirry
Subject: Urgent action needed to help Norman Finkelstein counter Zionist claws
Norman Finkelstein is a Jewish anti-Zionist academic who deserves our full respect and full support in his struggle against Zionism. In short, Zionists are trying to brush him aside and end his career by denying him a well deserved tenure. Below are some of the books Norman Finkelstein wrote... and the "Holocaust Industry" was a very courageous book to write and put him in quite a difficult position to say the least. We owe this man our support. Zionists are simply gradually getting rid of all academics who refuse to dance to their tunes or accept the fraudulent Zionist versions of History.
Please write in protest to the president of De Paul University and circulate this appeal to your networks. We need to wake up to Zionism and take action because the Zionist apparatus is certainly taking action against us! If this is way eminent Jewish scholars and academics are treated, how do you think we will be treated??
Cherifa
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/
Beyond Chutzpah
On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism
And the Abuse of History
Norman G. Finkelstein
The Holocaust Industry
Norman G. Finkelstein
Image and Reality of the
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Norman C. Finkelstein
The Rise and Fall of Palestine
Norman G. Finkelstein
A Nation on Trial
The Goldhagen Thesis
And Historical Truth
Norman G. Finkelstein
Antisemitismus Als
Politische Waffe
Norman G. Finkelstein
An Issue of Justice
Norman G. Finkelstein
And many other books in which Norman wrote several chapters along with other writers.
================================
From: Michael Carmichael
To:
Pappe' threatened as Harvard's Dershowitz campaigns against Finkelstein
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 15:58:46 +0100
The email below was forwarded to me by a colleague in the Oxford academic community.
Earlier this week, the global academic community was distraught to learn of the brusque and unprofessional treatment of Ilan Pappe' by his colleagues in Haifa and the disturbing anonymous threats that he is now receiving on a daily basis from citizens of Israel. Next academic year, Pappe' will migrate to the United Kingdom. Pappe's departure from Israel and his relocation to Exeter University in England is both understandable and regrettable. Israel's loss will be England's gain.
Now comes evidence of the deeply personal campaign to deny tenure to Norman Finkelstein of DePaul University - a peculiar and troubling development that is the result of direct intervention by one of his academic adversaries, Alan Dershowitz of Harvard, the lawyer who gained fame through his defense of Klaus von Bulow.
Who will be next?
Michael Carmichael
_______________________________
From: M Machover
Date: 6 April 2007 13:55:27 BDT
To: "Machover, Moshé"
Subject: Fwd: Norman Finkelstein denied tenure
Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2007 22:11:27 +0100
From: Ephraim Nimni
Subject: Norman Finkelstein denied tenure
Dear friends
Apologies for cross posting. A very serious issue emerged for all of us, in that Norman Finkelstein could be denied tenure at De Paul University. Apparently a decision on tenure will come down within a month-6 weeks and if he is denied tenure his livelihood would become a real problem. This is an affront to academic procedure, for Finkelstein is a meticulous researcher is a prolific writer and furthermore, his colleagues unanimously consider him an excellent teacher. See below article from the Chronicle of Higher Education that explains the case and the shameful intervention of Dershowitz. We all understand the motives behind this move, so it is very important that the mail box of the De Paul University is filled with letters of complaint from the four corners of the world, and in particular from Israeli academics. See below a letter from Miriam Reik that could serve as an example and the article from the Chronicle.
Please write in protest to the president of De Paul University and circulate this appeal to your networks.
Thanks
Ephraim Nimni
See also:
http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=tqyfjnxDdNnvzcffqm3kYcxKjWm3pgDH
By JENNIFER HOWARD
===============================
The Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., Ed.D.
President De Paul University
Office: 55 East Jackson Boulevard, 22nd Floor
Phone: 312/362-8000Fax: 312/362-6822E-mail: president@depaul.edu
Sir:
I write with regard to the question of tenure for Prof Norman Finkelstein of the department of Political Science. I understand that despite approval by own department and that of the College Personnel Committee, Dean Suchar has written to oppose granting tenure, although admitting Prof Finkelstein's proficiency as a teacher and although his productivity is beyond question.
Working in a contentious area, Prof Finkelstein's methodical use of conservative and widely accepted scholarly tools has allowed him to fearlessly advance controversial theses. Dean Suchar's main objection is therefore not the soundness of Prof Finkelstein's scholarship, but his "tone," yet no academic rule forbids a vigorous polemic, especially one that, on Finkelstein's part, is careful not to exceed the facts and documentation underpinning it. I should add that, having attended a Finkelstein lecture myself, his ability to lucidly present an argument and his steady demeanor in the face of aggressive questioning are most impressive.
From the point of view of academic freedom, I cannot imagine that Prof Finkelstein's work would not have the university's support, but I would further suggest that faculty members sufficiently intrepid to study controversial areas in this manner should be considered valuable assets rather than denied tenure.
Miriam M. Reik, PhD
New York, NY
===============================
Monday, 9 April 2007
The Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., Ed.D.
President De Paul University
Dear Reverend Holtschneider,
I write you regarding the effort of Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz to intervene in De Paul University's tenure consideration of Professor Norman G. Finkelstein.
Setting aside for the moment which of these two bitter academic contestants is more accurate in portraying the true nature of the Israel-Palestine conflict, I urge a strong, principled stand by your institution, utterly rejecting the legitimacy of Mr. Dershowitz's attempted intervention.
The Chronicle of Higher EducationI account at http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=tqyfjnxDdNnvzcffqm3kYcxKjWm3pgDH , on which I am relying, reports that your Liberal Arts and Sciences' Faculty Governance Council, at its meeting on November 17, 2006, "voted unanimously to authorize a letter to DePaul's president, Dennis H. Holtschneider, and the university's provost, Helmut P. Epp, along with the president of Harvard University and the dean of Harvard Law school. The letter was to express "the council's dismay at Professor Dershowitz's interference in Finkelstein's tenure and promotion case" which "Professor Dershowitz's emails" violate.
Your Faculty Governance Council should be commended not only for the substance of its principled stand but for making available the minutes of its meeting at which its decision was taken.
The intervention of Alan Dershowitz in Norman Finkelstein’s tenure review is particularly egregious because Finkelstein has shown, with meticulous care, irrefutably, that Dershowitz, in his book The Case for Israel, plagairized substantial material from Joan Peters’ book, From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine. Peters’ book is well known to be a total fraud. Finkelstein, a skillful and committed scholar, has been relentless in uncovering the massively organized propagandistic misrepresentation of the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The false, pro-Israel version held almost undisputed sway from 1948 until it began to be challenged in 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon. Dershowitz used Peters’ material to help meet his own apparent psychological need to justify Israel’s actions. That he knowingly claimed the material taken from Peters’ book was his own historical research was, independently of the fraudulent nature of the material itself, surely grounds for Harvard to have revoked his tenure and fired him. Lying, as a faculty member, by claiming plagairized material to be his own academic research, is unacceptable academic conduct, tenure notwithstanding.
Dean Charles S. Suchar of your College of Liberal Arts and Sciences appears to have based his rejection of the unanimous recommendation by the College Personnel Committee in favor of Finkelstein's tenure on his judgment: "I find the personal attacks in many of Dr. Finkelstein's published books to border on character assassination and, in my opinion, they embody a strategy clearly aimed at destroying the reputation of many who oppose his views." It is certainly true that Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky write very different kinds of polemics. However, Chomsky, like Finkelstein, exposes the shallow scholarly basis on which 'the reputation of many who oppose his views' are based, and in that way Chomsky acts to destroy their scholarly reputations. Among those 'many' are the uninformed but not malicious academics and others who honestly believe Israel is righteous. But Mr. Dershowitz is in a different category. He is not acting out of ignorance. His efforts to stifle open discussion and debate on the Israel-Palestine conflict are both legion, and undertaken with full readiness to lie. In this he acts as a lawyer, not a scholarly academic. His goal is to win 'the case for Israel', not to uncover the truth, and if besmirching Finkelstein and trying to destroy his livelihood and thus punishing him for not shutting up are, in Dershowitz's belief, useful tools for his campaign, he seizes them without hesitation. In my opinion his efforts are despicable.
I know full well that universities are not isolated from the society at large, and are subject to political and financial pressures, but I hope that you and your university will not be influenced by Dershowitz's attempted intervention.
Very sincerely,
George Salzman
Prof. Emeritus
University of Massachusetts at Boston
===============================
Dear Kevin Murray, James Petras, Bill Templer and Chris (Charliechimp),
"James Petras", "Kevin Murray" , "Bill Templer", "Chris "
CC: "Cherifa Sirry", "Dennis H. Holtschneider", "Charles S. Suchar", "Norman G. Finkelstein", "Alan M. Dershowitz" , "Moshe Machover", "Ephraim Nimni", "Jennifer Howard", "Miriam M. Reik", "Ignacio Chapela", "David Graeber", "Fred Nagel", "James Herod", "Mazin Qumsiyeh", "L. Urban Kohler" , "Liz Burbank", "Noam Chomsky", "Doris Soroko", "Enrique Ferro", "Ilan Pappe", "Dorothy Naor", "Eldad Benary", "Brad Bellows", "Jeffrey Blankfort", "William Blum", "Joe Bageant", "Vicki Johnson"
Thanks to each of you for writing me on this "hot-button" issue. Chris, I would appreciate knowing your full name. James, Kevin, and Bill, would it be OK for me to use the relevant parts of your statements in preparing a follow-up appeal for support for Norman Finkelstein? Kevin, your letter to De Paul University is excellent and I would like to add it, as a third sample, to my posting at http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/S2/2007-04-09.htm .
Jim, your note this morning raises a deeper question: how to tackle the support structure that is undoubtedly backing this particular effort of Dershowitz. I think that's surely worth pursuing. My characterization of Dershowitz's efforts as a one-man campaign was naive. You're correct in seeing him as merely the point man. Bill Templer called my attention to your analysis in http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17482.htm, a lengthy article that I haven't yet read entirely, but will.
I had been hesitant to characterize the attack on Finkelstein as a Zionist campaign because I thought that otherwise-sympathetic people might be turned off, thinking (incorrectly) that an anti-Zionist position is an anti-semitic (meaning here anti-Jewish) position. Such folks would, I thought, more likely respond to a call for opposing censorship of discussion of important issues and to support an effort to counter Dershowitz. But of course there are more sinister efforts being made behind the scenes, just as was the case with the New York Theatre Workshop in New York City's East Village suddenly cancelling "My Name is Rachel Corrie" (http://pwgd.org/gs/?p=12) and at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University immediately following the Mearsheimer-Walt paper, "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy" (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19062?email). In both instances, "Jewish money" was involved. Perhaps there needs to be a totally open discussion of the implications of Zionist ideology, and a no-holds-barred effort to uncover the Zionist infrastructure's initiatives, successes and failures. I think that is what both of you, Bill Templer and Jim Petras, are pointing towards. You're probably correct.
Also, for the benefit of those of you who might not have received word of it, there's a petition in support of Finkelstein, which Chris told me about. It's at (http://www.petition online.com/ nf200704/ petition. html). I believe it's important to also write personal statements. But that of course takes a bit more time and effort.
All best wishes, especially to Dennis H. Holtschneider and Charles S. Suchar, who must feel that you and De Paul University are 'under the gun' of the Zionists.
Sincerely,
George
===============================
From: Vicky Johnson
Hi everyone -
I created the fair-process-for-tenure petition. I just google'd
"Fiinkelstein petition"
and saw there is another petition, derivative from mine because the To:
recipients are the same
called "No Tenure for Norman Finkelstein"
I see a lot of hateful comments in it. e.g. 1574. his mother was a Kapo,
etc. (Not that Dershowitz
is looking very good on the pro-fair-process petition, but I don't think any
stooped that low).
I was careful to call for a fair process, not "support NF".
Do you have any advice for countering this?
Thanks, Vicki
===========================
----- Original Message -----
From: George Salzman
To: James Petras ; Kevin Murray ; Bill Templer ; Chris _______
Cc: Cherifa Sirry ; Dennis H. Holtschneider ; Charles S. Suchar ; Norman G.
Finkelstein ; Alan M. Dershowitz ; Moshe Machover ; Ephraim Nimni ; Jennifer
Howard ; Miriam M. Reik ; Ignacio Chapela ; David Graeber ; Fred Nagel ;
James Herod ; Mazin Qumsiyeh ; L. Urban Kohler ; Liz Burbank ; Noam Chomsky
; Doris Soroko ; Enrique Ferro ; Ilan Pappe ; Dorothy Naor ; Eldad Benary ;
Brad Bellows ; Jeffrey Blankfort ; William Blum ; Joe Bageant ; Vicki
Johnson
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 9:56 AM
Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] The need to block Dershowitz's effort to prevent
open discussion
===========
Hi John,
A note I sent to Ellen Cantarow this morning at 8:41 read in part,
____________________________
I just checked the dump Finkelstein petition and all 5 of the fraudulent signatures that I know Rothstein has been notified about are still there (with Kevin Murray twice), namely
Name Comments
3212. Charlie Pottins
3211. Paula Abrams-Hourani
3210. Miriam M. Reik, PhD
3209. Kevin Murray
3208. Kevin Murray
3207. George Salzman, PhD, Prof Emeritus, Physics Dept, Univ of Massachusetts at Boston - george.salzman@umb.edu Write directly to the President of DePaul, Dennis H. Holtschneider (president@depaul.edu)
______________________________
The five individuals are (note the consecutive numbering):
Charlie Pottins <;charlespottins@aol.com>
Paula Abrams-Hourani <;al-awda-universalist@umich.edu>
Miriam M. Reik <;mr760@aol.com>
Kevin Murray
George Salzman <;george.salzman@umb.edu>
In addition, Ellen Cantarow wrote me, "a likely fraud is Itzhak Shamir (who has a satirical comment very much in his vein of writing) I doubt he would ever sign this petition."
Also, a note about double entries from Cherifa Sirry <;cherifasirry@yahoo.com> read in part,
===============================
From: Cherifa Sirry
Subject: Re: More fraudulent entries on the petition to dump Finkelstein
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:04:51 -0700 (PDT)
I just went through half of the names in this petition ... I ... find several names that were "doubled". ... This is downright fraud... I think that it is important that people should be aware to what point the "information war" has gone.
3666. Andrea Schroeder I have taught high school for 27 years and have read the Holocause industry. If one of my students turened in a rough draft so poorly sourced and tendentiously argued, I would return it with instructions to improve it or expect a failing grade.
3665. Andrea Schroeder I have taught high school for 27 years and have read the Holocause industry. If one of my students turened in a rough draft so poorly sourced and tendentiously argued, I would return it with instructions to improve it or expect a failing grade.
3502. Carter Benson Yates I thought American support for anti-Semitism was a thing of the past.
3501. Carter Benson Yates I thought American support for anti-Semitism was a thing of the past.
3490. B. L. Greenspoon
3489. B. L. Grenspoon
3475. Mark Baruccia
3474. Mark Baruccia
3144. Christy Lassiter
3143. Christy Lassiter
2925. Yochanan Muller
2924. Yochanan Muller
2921. Charles Finkelstein He brings disgrace to the name Finkelstein, and disgrace to DePaul.
2920. Charles Finkelstein He brings disgrace to the name Finkelstein, and disgrace to DePaul.
2911. Judith Namier
2910. Judith Namier
2847. Daniel Isaacs
2846. Daniel Isaacs
2836. Stephen Flemings
2834. Stephen Flemings
2748. Simcha david
2747. Simcha david
2694. dorritt arbisser
2693. dorritt arbisser
________________________________
Rosalyn Rothstein wrote a third note, also non-responsive, which follows
From: Roz Rothstein <;info@standwithus.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:18:59 -0700
To: <;ecantarow@comcast.net>
CC: <;george.salzman@umb.edu>, <;davis@math.toronto.edu>, <;vlj@vickijohnson.org>
Thank you for the editing. And do you think you can please convey to your list that we are working to correct the petition? I would deeply appreciate it.
Thank you,
Roz Rothstein
=================================
From: Ellen Cantarow [mailto:ecantarow@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 2:21 PM
To: info@standwithus.com; george.salzman@umb.edu
Cc: davis@math.toronto.edu; vlj@vickijohnson.org
A mild editorial note: plurals are formed without apostrophes. Hence, if you have two receivers, they are "receivers" and not "receiver's." But perhaps this particular error -- as well as the heated emotion indicated by the !!s and the ??s [editing requires a cool head] casts some light on the apparent lack of editing on the "Anti" petition.
__________________________________
----------John Grebe wrote:----------
Dear Ellen, George and Chandler
I can open and peruse all three Microsoft Excel files Ellen sent this week
(using Excel version 2000 that I happen to have here).
I'm putting together a basic news report for radio Saturday on the whole story,
including the several confirmed fraudulent (or dishonest hoax?) signatures. Do
you all have email or other contact info for the others beside George so I can
complete the formality of confirming the fraud directly with them? (I will
offer anonymity to them if they prefer for the news report).
Please send me any updates you get by tonight or Saturday (air time 11 a.m.).
Especially any new info from PetitionOnline or others involved.
Kind regards
John
If more info comes in I'll try to get it to you in a timely fashion. Thanks for doing this topic on your radio program.
All best wishes,
George
===============================
From: George Salzman [mailto:george.salzman@umb.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 3:47 PM
To: Ellen Cantarow; Chandler Davis
Cc: John Grebe
Subject: [Fwd: Re: Fraud to dump Finkelstein and the Israel Über Alles (aka
Stand With Us) campaign]
Hi Chandler (and Ellen),
I don't know about the technicalities of opening various files. Maybe you
Ellen or someone else can be helpful. Of course you Chandler can send a request
for assistance to the entire list of recipients to whom I wrote. I'll reattach
that "Dump Finkelstein" file, which I've renamed 2007-04-18-
1EllenCanDumpPetition, and also will attach the "Fair Consideration" file,
named 2007-04-18-2EllenCanFairPetition.
My own intent is to not spend time trying to seek additional fraudulent
signatures. I think there's enough evidence of fraud already. But others may of
course want to pursue it. Or take other measures, including possible legal
measures. Thanks to both of you.
Sincerely,
George
Ellen Cantarow <;ecantarow@comcast.net> wrote on 18 Apr 2007 at 17:37:
Subject: RE: [Fwd: Re: Fraud to dump Finkelstein and the I
Chandler: it's my xl files that you apparently can't open? I'll ask my husband,
the computer maven here, whether he can help.
No one else has written me about these files so apparently folks are either too
busy or don't think it's all that worth pursuing. What do you think, John?
=================
Oaxaca, Thursday 19 April 2007
Friends,
I learned from an e-mail from Vicki Johnson, who set up the petition asking for a fair tenure process for Finkelstein, that removal of names by the originator is easily done. Vicki's note is below. Then a check of the 'dump Finkelstein' petition (at 8:30 this morning) showed the following block of names still intact, almost two full days after Rosalyn Rothstein said "Any names that you have identified that are unlikely to have signed, please do let me know, and we will request that they be immediately removed." I notified her Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:24:28 -0500 that these names were added fraudulently. Here is the block, at http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?SWU1234&651:
_______________________________
We endorse the No Tenure for Dr. Norman Finkelstein Petition to DePaul University Faculty and Leadership.
Read the No Tenure for Dr. Norman Finkelstein Petition
Name Comments
3211. Paula Abrams-Hourani
3210. Miriam M. Reik, PhD
3209. Kevin Murray
3208. Kevin Murray
3207. George Salzman, PhD, Prof Emeritus, Physics Dept, Univ of Massachusetts at Boston - george.salzman@umb.edu Write directly to the President of DePaul, Dennis H. Holtschneider (president@depaul.edu)
It's also indicative that Rothstein wrote, "we will request that they be immediately removed". She does not have to ask. She can do it herself (or whoever in her outfit initiated the petition). Additionally, from an e-mail I received from Chandler Davis, she has apparently been lying to him. Chandler wrote,
______________________________________________________
Subject: which petition
From: Chandler Davis
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:27:30 -0400
To: george.salzman@umb.edu
CC: info@standwithus.org
Dear George
On second try, I got a reply from Roz Rothstein, who says she
is grateful for being made aware of the "mix-up" but hasn't so far been
able to "remove the unreasonable comments from this public forum."
Says they are working on this as she writes.
If the petitions-on-line outfit are not "responsive", as she
alleges, it seems the best thing to do is to e-mail the President of
DePaul directly. I don't think we know who diverted names to the
more-or-less diametrically opposed petition, so I don't suggest you or
anyone point fingers, but I do suggest that the President be shown that
pro-firing messages landing on his desk must be looked at with dubiety.
Regards, Chandler
______________________________
Since Rothstein wrote Chandler that petitions-on-line is not "responsive", she appears to be just attempting to shift the onus onto them. I, too, have had no answer from them, but their irresponsibility is irrelevant regarding Rothstein's own inaction in removing fraudulent entries. I think there's substantial indication that Rothstein's outfit is not only intellectually and morally bankrupt (as their website displays), but is ready to lie to people who point to the fraudulent names. By way of contrast, here's the note from Vicki Johnson:
________________________
Subject: Finkelstein petition
From: Vicki Johnson
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:16:20 -0700
To: <;ecantarow@comcast.net>
CC: <;george.salzman@umb.edu>
Hi Ellen -
I created the fair-tenure-process petition.
Via an email from George I learned you have been looking at the anti-Norman petition in detail. I am quite surprised by its poor quality, even the wording of the petition itself was derivative.
With the help of others, I have worked to keep the fair-process petition in good shape so that it reflects well on us all. If you have time, and see any entries that are suspect or inappropriate, please let me know. Hitler, Himmler, etc signed in early on, then the attacker moved to more obscure storm trooper names, etc. The petition site allows me to easily remove entries. I just removed
4423. It Wont Work Norman No matter how much you want to be accepted to mainstream...by turning your back on your people..They consider even you...a Jew...
4395. Jason Briker Stop Alan "Stalin" Dershowitz now!
I have removed a number of comments like Dershowitz is a liar, Dershowitz is a criminal. Perhaps they are defamatory, so I'd rather be cautious. There are many thoughtful comments on the fair-process petition.
Thank you for your interest, and if you have any reflections about all this, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Vicki
_____________________________
Vicki is clearly being quite cautious and honest. Rothstein might learn from her the value of common decency.
Sincerely,
George
P.S. I posted an update (as of last night) on this dispute. It's at
http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/S2/2007-04-18.htm
==============================
Miriam,
I have noticed that your name is included in the petition to deny Norman Finkelstein tenure at number 3210. http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?SWU1234&51
As Professor Salzman has indicated that his name has been fraudulently included on this petition, it strikes me as highly probable that yours has also,
Regards,
Chris
and he also wrote:
Yours also, Paula, at 3211 http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?SWU1234&51
Then I went to take a look, and found your name twice. It's beginning to look like a possible wholesale fraud. So far I've had no response from Rosalyn Rothstein, who is listed as the anti-Finkelstein petition initiator, or from Petition Online.
All the best Kevin,
George
George
======================
Oaxaca, Wednesday 18 April 2007
Friends,
I just this morning checked the "Dump Finkelstein" petition and found that none of the names that appear to be fraudulent in the block copied here have been removed.
3212. Charlie Pottins
3211. Paula Abrams-Hourani
3210. Miriam M. Reik, PhD
3209. Kevin Murray
3208. Kevin Murray
3207. George Salzman, PhD, Prof Emeritus, Physics Dept, Univ of Massachusetts at Boston - george.salzman@umb.edu Write directly to the President of DePaul, Dennis H. Holtschneider (president@depaul.edu)
I've had a lot of mail, which I can't answer individually. I got a totally unsatisfactory response from Rosalyn Rothstein. Here it is:
______________________________
Subject: Dr. Finkelstein-Tenure
From: Roz Rothstein <;info@standwithus.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 11:57:44 -0700
To: <;george.salzman@umb.edu>
Hello Dr. Saltzman,
Per your note below, please be advised that
we are not forging signatures.
I have no idea who would do such a thing.... because obviously something is wrong.
We are in the business of playing fairly, but playing.
We entered the debate about this because there was a "pro" tenure petition going around.
Certainly, we have not been monitoring the petition to see if there is a misuse of your petition, and certainly there may or may not be....
You believe that Dr. Finkelstein deserves tenure, and my "camp" does not. That is really about the extent of it.
That does not mean that we would ever deliberately sign on academics that have not signed the petition.
As a child of Holocaust Survivors, I must tell you that I am deeply concerned with the messages that Norman Finkelstein brings to the Israel/Palestinian debate. That being said, I am not in favor of "cheating" on a petition.
Any names that you have identified that are unlikely to have signed, please do let me know, and we will request that they be immediately removed. We will also take a moment to review the signatures posted at this time.
All the best,
Roz Rothstein, National Director,
StandWithUs
_______________________________
I have not yet answered her, but she is being totally irresponsible -- saying "We will ... take a moment to review the signatures posted at this time." A moment -- correcting fraud is not high on her agenda, as is evident from even a cursory glance at her Stand With Us website. And of course her ultimate paragraph also suggests that it is (or should be) our responsibility to identify likely fraudulent signatures.
The most recent note I got was from Ellen Cantarow, a friend and former colleague at the University of Massachusetts Boston Campus, who wrote, in response to my assurance that my name on the "Dump Finkelstein" petition was a fraud, as follows:
______________________________
Subject: RE: Forgery of my name on anti-Finkelstein petition
From: Ellen Cantarow <;ecantarow@comcast.net>
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:48:24 -0400
To: George Salzman <;george.salzman@umb.edu>
George. I am quite relieved to hear that you did NOT sign the petition. When Miriam Reik's and Paula Abrams-Hourani's names (they are two excellent people on the al-awda-universalist list serve in which I'm also a participant) appeared, I and my husband took the entire petition, bloc by bloc, and transferred it to a spread sheet for the use of people like you. I attach it here. Do take a look at it to see whether you can find others you know whose names were fraudulently added.
I think those of us who feel as strongly as we do should contact the president of De Paul to tell him that at least three names were fraudulently added.
One other that I spot as a likely fraud is Itzhak Shamir (who has a satirical comment very much in his vein of writing) I doubt he would ever sign this petition. ...
The level of invective, ignorance, profanity, is stupefying. Does the woman who initiated this petition have any clue about the effect of this idiocy on the petition's recipients?
The lies/slander are equally stupefying. At one point Dershowitz signs, remarking cheerfully that he's happy so many people are looking at his website. I'd bet dimes to dollars that most of these signers got their information from Dershowitz and other flaks for the US Israel lobby, and that almost none of them has read anything Finkelstein has written. Those paltry few who may have looked at his writing have done so in the most profound state of ideological blindness.
[NOTE: I am attaching the file from Ellen, for the use of anyone who wishes. --G.S.]
_______________________________
I have not had any response from Petition Online <;petitions@petitiononline.com>. Of course I do not know whether Rosalyn Rothstein or anyone in her outfit made any attempt to contact them to ask for removal of the fraudulent names. But in any case, my original letter went to both of those addresses (Stand With Us and Petition Online), so that Petition Online is at fault.
Two other items I want to include here.
1) Chris Leadbeater, thanks for all your help. If you can track down the e-mail address of Charlie Pottins I'd appreciate knowing it. You had written me "3212 Charlie Pottins http://randompottins.blogspot.com/ posted to his blog a pro-Finkelstein item on 9/4 . I don't have an email address but could possibly get one if you wanted." His blog entry is good. Clearly his name was also fraudulently added.
2) I got the following item, probably of general interest:
_______________________________
Subject: fraudulent anti-Finkelstein petition entry
From: Vicki Johnson
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 23:48:47 -0700 (PDT)
To: george.salzman@umb.edu
CC: Chris Leadbeater
I created the fair-tenure-process petition for Finkelstein.
Chris Leadbeater sent me your email about the fraudulent entry on the anti-Finkelstein petition, in your name. Thank you for the alert. The opposition to Finkelstein as expressed in much of the anti-NF-petition is pathetic, and forging names taken from the fair-process-petition is despicable. If you look at
http://www.standwithuscampus.com/
they have an article against Finkelstein, with a graphic that says "anti-israel events"
And then I found this article by Rothstein
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=15967
What a learning experience this has been for me! I have received hate mail, and I have spent quite a bit of time trying to maintain the integrity of the fair-process petition, weeding out entries from Hitler, Himmler, Julius Streicher, etc. People like Chris have been very helpful.
I looked at some of your web pages - would you add me to your email list?
If you hear back from the anti-NF-petition creator, please let us know.
Thanks, Vicki
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My impression, from a brief look at the Israel Über Alles (aka Stand With Us) webdsite is that it represents total, unprincipled support for the government of Israel, i.e. for the Jewish Nazis who are in charge. The following is from their site:
Action #3
General letters to President Bush NOW:
A. Write to the President frequently, use your fax and call the comment line. The message must be: Please support Israel's fight against terrorism. There cannot be a double standard between the war being fought by the US on terrorism, and Israel's same war. TERRORISM MUST NEVER BE SUPPORTED OR REWARDED. Include: I appreciate all that you have done in this war against terrorism.
B. Kids letters to President Bush: Apparently President Bush likes to read children's mail. Talk to the kids in your life. Get them writing, and send snail mail. Keep those letters flowing. Do letters at gatherings. The letters should be personal, no "form" letters. Give your kids a few brief facts, and let them write.
So there's Rosalyn Rothstein curling up with one of history's greatest terrorists and mass murderers, her way of "supporting" the state of Israel. Oi! Oi! Oi! as we groan (in Yiddish).
Sincerely,
George
P.S. I think Ellen's suggestion that it's important to write individual letters to the president [and dean, I would add] of DePaul University is well taken.
==============================
3211. Paula Abrams-Hourani
3210. Miriam M. Reik, PhD
3209. Kevin Murray
3208. Kevin Murray
3207. George Salzman, PhD, Prof Emeritus, Physics Dept, Univ of Massachusetts at Boston - george.salzman@umb.edu Write directly to the President of DePaul, Dennis H. Holtschneider (president@depaul.edu)
Chris Leadbeater wrote:
Miriam,
I have noticed that your name is included in the petition to deny Norman Finkelstein tenure at number 3210. http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?SWU1234&51
As Professor Salzman has indicated that his name has been fraudulently included on this petition, it strikes me as highly probable that yours has also,
Regards,
Chris
and he also wrote:
Yours also, Paula, at 3211 http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?SWU1234&51
Then I went to take a look, and found your name twice. It's beginning to look like a possible wholesale fraud. So far I've had no response from Rosalyn Rothstein, who is listed as the anti-Finkelstein petition initiator, or from Petition Online.
All the best Kevin,
George
George
================================
From: "Vicki Johnson"
To: "George Salzman" , "Ben Wise" , "Bill Templer" , "Brad Bellows" , "Calvin Ostrum" , "Chandler Davis", "Charles S. Suchar" , "Charlie Pottins" , "Cherifa Sirry" , "Chris Leadbeater" , "David Graeber" , "Dennis H. Holtschneider" , "Doris Soroko", "Dorothy Naor" , "Eldad Benary" , "Ellen Cantarow" , "Enrique Ferro" , "Ephraim Nimni" , "Fred Nagel" , "Gabriel Ash", "Gray Brechin" , "Ignacio Chapela" , "Ilan Pappe", "Ira Glunts" , "James Herod" , "Jamil I. Toubbeh" , "Jeffrey Blankfort" , "Jennifer Howard" , "Joe Bageant" , "John Grebe" , "John Spritzler", "Kevin Murray" , "L. Urban Kohler" , "Lawrence A. Rosenwald", "Liz Burbank" , "Mark Bruzonsky" , "Mazin Qumsiyeh", "Michael H Goldhaber", "Miriam M. Reik" , "Moshe Machover" , "Noam Chomsky" , "Norman G. Finkelstein", "Paula Abrams-Hourani" , "Petition Online" , "Rosalyn Rothstein" , "Stuart M Leiderman"
Subject: Re: Continuing fraud by the Rosalyn Rothstein "No Tenure for Dr. Norman Finkelstein" group
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:39:14 -0700
Hi George -
I see your entry is still on the "no tenure" petition. I don't understand why a responsible person would not remove this entry, after numerous statements from you that it is fraudulent.
When I created the petition at petitiononline.com, I was sent an administrator's web page. I have attached a couple screen shots. One function lets me void out entries, just by entering the line number. Takes 2 seconds. Another option, which I didn't use, allows the petition creator to screen entries before making them public. I think Rothstein could easily avail herself of these options, if she wished.
Best wishes, Vicki Johnson
=============================
----- Original Message -----
From: George Salzman
To: Ben Wise ; Bill Templer ; Brad Bellows ; Calvin Ostrum ; Chandler Davis ; Charles S. Suchar ; Charlie Pottins ; Cherifa Sirry ; Chris Leadbeater ; David Graeber ; Dennis H. Holtschneider ; Doris Soroko ; Dorothy Naor ; Eldad Benary ; Ellen Cantarow ; Enrique Ferro ; Ephraim Nimni ; Fred Nagel ; Gabriel Ash ; George Salzman ; Gray Brechin ; Ignacio Chapela ; Ilan Pappe ; Ira Glunts ; James Herod ; Jamil I. Toubbeh ; Jeffrey Blankfort ; Jennifer Howard ; Joe Bageant ; John Grebe ; John Spritzler ; Kevin Murray ; L. Urban Kohler ; Lawrence A. Rosenwald ; Liz Burbank ; Mark Bruzonsky ; Mazin Qumsiyeh ; Michael H Goldhaber ; Miriam M. Reik ; Moshe Machover ; Noam Chomsky ; Norman G. Finkelstein ; Paula Abrams-Hourani ; Petition Online ; Rosalyn Rothstein ; Stuart M Leiderman ; Vicki Johnson
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 7:40 AM
Subject: Continuing fraud by the Rosalyn Rothstein "No Tenure for Dr. Norman Finkelstein" group
Oaxaca, Thursday 19 April 2007
Friends,
I learned from an e-mail from Vicki Johnson, who set up the petition asking for a fair tenure process for Finkelstein, that removal of names by the originator is easily done. Vicki's note is below. Then a check of the 'dump Finkelstein' petition (at 8:30 this morning) showed the following block of names still intact, almost two full days after Rosalyn Rothstein said "Any names that you have identified that are unlikely to have signed, please do let me know, and we will request that they be immediately removed." I notified her Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:24:28 -0500 that these names were added fraudulently. Here is the block, at http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?SWU1234&651:
_________________________
We endorse the No Tenure for Dr. Norman Finkelstein Petition to DePaul University Faculty and Leadership.
Read the No Tenure for Dr. Norman Finkelstein Petition
Name Comments
3211. Paula Abrams-Hourani
3210. Miriam M. Reik, PhD
3209. Kevin Murray
3208. Kevin Murray
3207. George Salzman, PhD, Prof Emeritus, Physics Dept, Univ of Massachusetts at Boston - george.salzman@umb.edu Write directly to the President of DePaul, Dennis H. Holtschneider (president@depaul.edu)
________________________
It's also indicative that Rothstein wrote, "we will request that they be immediately removed". She does not have to ask. She can do it herself (or whoever in her outfit initiated the petition). Additionally, from an e-mail I received from Chandler Davis, she has apparently been lying to him. Chandler wrote,
________________________
From: "Vicki Johnson"
To: "George Salzman"
Subject: Re: Continuing fraud by the Rosalyn Rothstein "No Tenure for Dr. Norman Finkelstein" group
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:39:14 -0700
Hi George -
I see your entry is still on the "no tenure" petition. I don't understand why a responsible person would not remove this entry, after numerous statements from you that it is fraudulent.
When I created the petition at petitiononline.com, I was sent an administrator's web page. I have attached a couple screen shots. One function lets me void out entries, just by entering the line number. Takes 2 seconds. Another option, which I didn't use, allows the petition creator to screen entries before making them public. I think Rothstein could easily avail herself of these options, if she wished.
Best wishes, Vicki Johnson
________________________________
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 08:23:29 -0500
From: "George Salzman"
To: "Charles S. Suchar"
