My Letter to Fox Noise Channel
For those of you not familiar with the honorable Professor Norman Finkelstein, or the propagandist "terror expert" Steve Emerson, you'd do well to read the following.
Subject: Retraction in Order for Hannity and Colmes Segment
To: yourcomments@foxnews.com
Cc: normangf@hotmail.com, hannity@foxnews.com, colmes@foxnews.com, mm-tips@mediamatters.org, KJMWEB@fcc.gov, Michael.Copps@fcc.gov, Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov, dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov, Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov
Dear Sirs,Good morning.
Last night (May 10), Hannity and Colmes ran a segment on DePaul University political science professor Dr. Norman Finkelstein, who is up for tenure this month.
It was an absolutely unfair, unbalanced and practically unilateral attack on Dr. Finkelstein's character and credentials.
During the introduction and throughout the segment, he was falsely, if not libelously, cast as being a Holocaust denier, a pseudo-scholar, and a supporter of terrorism.
As a special guest during the segment, via telephone, H&C had the discredited "terror expert" Steve Emerson; he is the "terror expert" who baselessly claimed that the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah building was planned and carried out by Arab Muslims, and is one of a few who still, without evidence to back it up, claim that Arab Muslims had something to do with it. He is also one of the few people who are falsely, publicly claiming that, since 911, scores, if not hundreds, of Muslim terror suspects and detainees have been charged of, and prosecuted for, specific acts of terror. The dossier on Steve Emerson is condemning and ever-expanding.
Mr. Emerson was the only guest during the segment, and was four-square, viciously anti-Finkelstein; he went basically uncontested, as he reeled off falsehood after falsehood about Dr. Finkelstein.
Alan Colmes, the supposed liberal counterbalance on the program, couldn't get a counterpoint in edgewise amidst the constant, loud outbursts of both Emerson and Hannity, although he did make an effort to do so.
Amongst the many insidious claims made by Emerson was the mention of Dr. Finkelstein's public feud with Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, insofar as, in that context, Finkelstein was the troublemaker and pseudo-scholar, when in fact the opposite has been shown to be the truth.
Heart of the Matter
Here is a list of the most egregious personal attacks which were leveled against Dr. Finkelstein by the self-styled "terror expert":
1. He is a Holocaust denier and/or he makes a concerted effort to befriend Holocaust deniers and Holocaust minimizers like David Irving, David Duke, et al.
That is an insidious claim.
Finkelstein has publicly distanced himself from anyone who 1) claims that the Holocaust didn't happen; 2) greatly minimizes the effects of the Holocaust; 3) asserts that less than ~5 million Jews were murdered; or 4) has not made reputable, scholarly contributions to the study of the Holocaust.
On the absolute contrary: The fruits of Dr. Finkelstein's tireless research have exposed those who have exploited Jewish suffering and who have cheated suffering Jews and their relatives out of Holocaust compensation over the years. His mother was one of those victims of not only the Holocaust, but also of the hucksters who steal large amounts of due compensation from the victims.
To be sure, visit Dr. Finkelstein's website, where you'll find the unfiltered truth on the matter.
2. He calls for the destruction of Israel.
That lie would be a grand hoot, if it wasn't such a dangerous and libelous assertion.
At the beginning of the H&C segement, a video clip of Dr. Finkelstein was shown, wherein at an Israel-Lebanon peace rally back in July 2006, he expressed support for The People's Resistance of Lebanon (namely, Hizballah and the people of S. Lebanon) against aggressive Israeli invasion, occupation and bombardment; that is hardly perceivable as being the "calling for the destruction of Israel."
Finkelstein has always come out in favor of a two-state solution based, primarily, on international laws and norms, UN Resolutions, human rights and security for all sides. The mere fact that Finkelstein tends to side with resistance, as it pertains to the occupied and opressed people's right to defend themselves against unlawful aggression, is what drives his critics (most of whom are rabidly pro-Israeli occupation) to publicly demonize him. (Side note: It is a fact that, under international law, it is the right and the duty of occupied peoples to resist — violently, if and as necessary — such an invasion and indiscriminate bombardment as the one perpetrated by Israel back in July; so, Emerson's assimilation of Finkelstein's support for The People's Resistance to a wholesale support for terrorism and the destruction of Israel is an insidious outrage, in the least.)
Whether you like his views on Hizballah or any other resistance movement/terrorist organization, that is no reason for completely spinning the facts into a case against his receiving tenure.
3. His work is unscholarly screed, trash, etc.
That is so preposterous, it barely deserves refutation. Top Israeli, American and international scholars and historians consistently praise his work:
"When I read Finkelstein's book, The Holocaust Industry, at the time of its appearance, I was in the middle of my own investigations of these matters, and I came to the conclusion that he was on the right track. I refer now to the part of the book that deals with the claims against the Swiss banks, and the other claims pertaining to forced labor. I would now say in retrospect that he was actually conservative, moderate and that his conclusions are trustworthy. He is a well-trained political scientist, has the ability to do the research, did it carefully, and has come up with the right results. I am by no means the only one who, in the coming months or years, will totally agree with Finkelstein's breakthrough." —Raul Hilberg, the world's leading authority on the Holocaust
For every time that Dr. Finkelstein has been accused of poor scholarship — for every personal attack that has been leveled against him — there have been several fellow scholars and luminaries who voluntarily came to his defense and proved the antagonists/attackers to be wrong or disengenuous in their claims against Dr. Finkelstein.
4. He is the Ahmadinejad of intellectuals (at one point, Emerson asked [paraphrased]: "Would you want Ahmadinejad to be a professor at your school?")
This one is not even worth refuting, as it is clearly an unwarranted and ugly character assassination; the body of Dr. Finkelsteins work and public lectures suffice in extinguishing such flaming drivel.
The list of attacks goes on, but those are the most insidious and damaging ones.
Summary
If Fox News claims to be "fair and balanced" in their reporting and commentary, then why weren't any of the innumerable Finkelstein supporters invited to appear on the program — via telephone or otherwise — to provide that fairness or that balance as advertised? I'm sure that Dr. Finkelstein, himself, would've felt obliged, had he known his character would otherwise have been so unilaterally assassinated.
This is an outrage, and I'm confident that I speak for tens of thousands of Finkelstein supporters in demanding a retraction and an apology, and for tens of thousands of your more discerning viewers in demanding a more balanced approach to such divisive and personal issues.
Near the end of the segment, Sean Hannity promised that there would be a follow-up on the story in the coming days. I hope that between the time you receive this letter and the time when the next episode airs, you will have realized that such atonement is necessary — if not for Dr. Finkelstein's sake, then at least for the sake of fairness and balance.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Regards,
Joe Public
If you agree with my sentiments on this matter, then feel free to co-sign the letter and resend it. Thanks.
Lets care about righteous Christians and Muslims. Fuck righteous ( the so very few )so called righteous Jews for now. You can praise them later.
Whilst I'm all for your freedom to choose whom you'd like to f¤ck, I suggest that you look for someone other than Dr. Finkelstein; as it is, he's been getting f¤cked ever since he entered academia. People are trying to f¤ck him all the time; so you'll probably have to either stand in line or kindly get the f¤ck out of the way.
"Lets care about righteous Christians and Muslims."
It's interesting that you'd say that. Dr, Finkelstein has been saying the very same thing for decades in regards to Israeli-occupied Palestinians and Lebanese! (Another good reason to "f¤ck Finkelstein"?)
"Fuck righteous ( the so very few )so called righteous Jews for now. You can praise them later."
Isn't that exactly what the Nazi-appeasing Zionists said during and before the rise of the Third Reich? Amazing... your masterful sense of irony. Bravo!