This article contains a number of glaring factual errors and manipulative statements:

1) Noam Chomsky did not defend a Holocaust denier. He wrote an short paper on freedom of speech that was used by a Holocaust denier. He made it clear that he detests that writer’s abhorant views.

2) If neo-nazis Finkelstein’s views, then that it beyond his control. Ryan Masse fails to mention that the late Raul Hillberg — the world’s top Holocaust historian, defended Finkelstein to the end.

3) The claim that Dershowitz is not affiliated with the Israel lobby is laughable. Dershowitz admits openly that he supports the lobby, and he frequent speaks at their rallies.

4) Anyone who doubts that Finkelstein disproved Dershowitz’s book ”The Case For Israel’ should watch the Democracy Now debate between the two scholars on Youtube. Finkelstein exposes the book as a fraud and plagiarism — he made a fool out of Dershowitz. Its also a pitty that the author did not take the time to read Finkelstein’s book Beyond Chutzpah, which meticulously documents the frauds in Dershowitz’s work.

Why did Ryan Masse fail to check his facts before publishing this ridiculous article?

This column is just one big fart!

“Why did Ryan Masse fail to check his facts before publishing this ridiculous article?”

I’m sure he did. You just can’t bring yourself to acknowledge that Ryan’s assessment of the affair is accurate.

Well Mr. Masse , It will take a whole lot more than a first year law student. Dershowitz got the hell beat out of him from Dr. Finkelstein in debate.Your information is incorrect just like the notes Alan used in his book and was PROVEN when the references were checked .

Masse’s contention that Chomsky is the only Mideast scholar to support Finkelstein betrays a startling level of intellectual laziness. Baruch kimmerling, probably the greatest Israeli social scientist (and self-described patriotic Zionist) was effusive in his praise of Finkelstein’s work. Sara Roy of Harvard University (like Finkelstein, a child of Holocaust survivors) has been a consistent ally of Finkelstein’s. As has Avi Shlaim, Professor of International Relations at Harvard and expert on Israeli history (also Jewish). The list could go on, but to cite an article Chomsky wrote (without reading it) as evidence of Finkelstein’s lack of scholarly credentials is simply inexcusably slothful research.

http://www.chomsky.info/articles/19810228.htm

The above link is Chomsky’s own explanation of his involvement in L’affaire Faurisson.

As to Hilberg, he only defended Finkelstein’s conclusions about the Swiss bank compensation issue. In discussing F’s use of epithets against his critics, he diplomatically shrugged them off as “it’s not my style.” He has not addressed any other aspects of Finkelstein’s work beyond the Holocaust compensation issue.

That is not true! Shortly before Hillberg died, he spoke publicly in support of Finkelstein. He also backed Finkelstein’s tenure issue.

Please get your facts straight!

“Well, let me say at the outset, I would not, unasked, offer advice to the university in which he now serves. Having been in a university for thirty-five years myself and engaged in its politics, I know that outside interferences are most unwelcome.”

yes, get the facts straight Anonymous from 2:38 pm. Raul Hilberg complete comment was as follows:

“However, leaving aside the question of style — and here, I agree that it's not my style either — the substance of the matter is most important here, particularly because Finkelstein, when he published this book, was alone. It takes an enormous amount of academic courage to speak the truth when no one else is out there to support him. And so, I think that given this acuity of vision and analytical power, demonstrating that the Swiss banks did not owe the money, that even though survivors were beneficiaries of the funds that were distributed, they came, when all is said and done, from places that were not obligated to pay that money. That takes a great amount of courage in and of itself. So I would say that his place in the whole history of writing history is assured, and that those who in the end are proven right triumph, and he will be among those who will have triumphed, albeit, it so seems, at great cost.”

And the late scholar has endorsed Finkelstein’s work throughout his life, not just regarding the Swiss banks. See article “Remembering Raul Hilberg” posted on Finkelstein’s website.

“places that were not obligated to pay that money”

No doubt - few were able to keep their policy documentation with them on their way to the death camps. And then there was the problem of mail service from the ovens.

Chomsky absolutely DID defend the Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson and Faurisson’s publisher:

http://oliverkamm.typepad.com/blog/2004/11/chomskyandhol_1.html

””“Chomsky's intervention was a defence of the content of Faurisson's beliefs and not merely of Faurisson's right to express those beliefs. In his essay misleadingly entitled Some Elementary Comments on The Rights of Freedom of Expression, Chomsky declared, "As far as I can determine, [Faurisson] is a relatively apolitical liberal of some sort"”“”

Actually, Chomsky made that statement about Faurisson’s publisher, who was in fact one of the major purveyors of neo-Nazi literature in Europe. Chomsky provided this neo-Nazi publisher with an essay, telling the publisher that the Chomsky essay was his to do with as he pleased. The publisher then republished Chomsky’s essay with an article denying that the Holocaust occurred.

Mr. Masse, please stop contributing to the Mid East propaganda machine, or at the very least forewarn your audience of the fictional content of your work.

All in all, this is a well-written piece but utterly dishonest. Beneath the facade of logical validity lies premises which are either misleading or simply false, as many of the more thoughtful comments have noted. While responding to all of Mr. Masse’s errors would require more time than any college student has to spare, a few of his more repugnant claims warrant a response.

First, Mr. Masse’s comments regarding Noam Chomsky are egregiously misleading. In the case of the claim that he wrote an intro to a book by a well-known Holocaust denier, Mr. Masse degenerates into outright lying. Chomsky never wrote such an introduction. He merely defended the free speech of Robert Faurisson, a French academic who denies the existence of the Holocaust as a historical event, and signed a petition to such an effect. His later comments in opposition to the legal persecution and prosecution of Faurisson (for his views) were later used, against Chomsky’s wishes, in a book by Faurisson. I wouldn’t need to say that Chomsky finds Faurisson’s views repulsive if Masse hadn’t knowingly misrepresented Chomsky - a Jew himself - as an anti-Semite.

With regard to Finkelstein, Masse again relies on his most effective tool - ad hominem attacks. Relating Finkesltein, the son of Holocaust survivors, to neo-Nazis is truly as low as it gets and only further demonstrates that Masse must fight in the gutter since he has no real weapons - i.e. legitimate evidence, preferably facts - to fight with.

I encourage everyone to read Dershowitz’s book, The Case for Israel, and then Finkelstein’s Beyond Chutzpah so that their respective works can be properly judged. It should be noted that many prominent academics have called for Dershowitz, perhaps the Israel lobby’s most effective apologist for ethnic cleansing and racism in the university, to resign over the controversy surrounding his book. Finkelstein’s Beyond Chutzpah, on the other hand, is extermely well-researched and is arguably the best primer on Israeli human rights abuses.

In a minor digression I would also suggest picking up Walt and Mearsheimer’s recently released “The Israel Lobby” to further understand the menace that their book title refers to.

Ultimately, Masse’s attempt to discredit Finkelstein should be recognized for what it is: a transparent bid to discredit an intellectual of the upmost integrity by throwing mud. Of course, this article is also somewhat educational, in that it is a great example of the tactics that the Israel lobby, and its aspring members like Masse, use to attack any and all individuals who dare to criticize the policies of an apartheid state.

-Kyle Szarzynski szarzynski@wisc.edu

Kyle, get lost!

Ryan Masse should retract his preposterous article, especially his libelous suggestion that Finkelstein is a holocaust denier or in league with nazis.

A quote from one of the world’s top holocaust historians Raul Hilberg regarding Finkelstein:

”That takes a great amount of courage in and of itself. So I would say that his place in the whole history of writing history is assured and that those who in the end are proven right triumph, and he will be among those who will have triumphed, albeit, it so seems, at great cost.”

Yawn !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fact: Dershowitz is an internationally respected legal scholar and tenured professor at Harvard Law.

Fact: Finkelstein is unable to gain tenure at five different universities, and his academic achievements are below what one would expect of your average doctoral candidate dreaming of tenure, let alone an scholar in his 50s(!).

Fact: Finkelstein’s claims of Dershowitz committing plagiarism were indeed investigated and debunked quite thoroughly.

FACT: Although a good lawyer, Dershowitz is not recognised as a historian or a Middle East expert. Finkelstein is.

FACT: The faculty voted overwhelmingly to grant Finkelstein tenure. He received the besy student ratings in his dept. He was fired under extreme pressure from the Israel lobby.

FACT: The plagiarism issue was not investigated propperly because Dersh brough the charges to the dept heads himself. Therefore, he was responsible for presenting the evidence against himself. That is why no outside evidence was supplied — Finkelstein’s accusations were never propperly examined. Harvard was protecting its own — read F’stein’s book Beyond Chutzpah or view the You Tube debate yourself.

A good article. There is no such thing as the Israel lobby. There are a lot of people here who strongly support Israel, but they have NO unified agenda. They rarely agree on anything.

Almost as good as the BadgerHerald column by Masse:

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=76B162C1-1038-400B-B112-87C09C917227

HAHA — How unbelievable that someone would be foolish enough to say that there is no Israel lobby!! Check out the website of the US’ biggest pro-Israel lobbyist AIPAC (www.aipac.com) — they are proud of it!

For those who wonder how the Holocaust was possible, read the posts attacking Mr. Masse - the spiritual grandparents of those posters were those enablers who allowed the murder of 6,000,000 Jews.

Ryan Masse, thank you. Your succinct piece tells it like it is.

From some of the despicable statements made above by mainly America/Israel haters(Chomskites), one can at least learn that the Nazi/Islamomaniacs ideology is an on going thing.

Stay vigilant, all freedom loving people.

America/Israel home of the free, land of the braves.

“1) Noam Chomsky did not defend a Holocaust denier. He wrote an short paper on freedom of speech that was used by a Holocaust denier. He made it clear that he detests that writer’s abhorant views.” — anonymous propagandist

Whew! I’ll comment in a minute, when I stop laughing.

ahhh, there.

Not so fast there, anonymouse!

“[Chomsky] endorsed a notorious neo-Nazi Holocaust denier named Robert Faurisson by writing an introduction to his book.” http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/3532

“Baruch kimmerling, probably the greatest Israeli social scientist (and self-described patriotic Zionist) … “ — anonymous propagandist

Oh, stop! You’re killing me!

Now, just who is Baruck Kimmerling, anyway?

“Kimmerling, a sociologist at the Hebrew University, has long been identified as one of the leading figures in the “post-Zionist” movement, better called the anti-Zionist movement-a trendy, small group of tenured far Leftists, including including Ilan Pappe, Avi Shlaim, Oren Yiftachel, Uri Bar-Joseph, and until recently Benny Morris). He has gone so far as to endorse Palestinian terrorism against right-wing Israelis and more broadly against Israelis in general. He has also openly endorsed the use of violence ” http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/Read.aspx?GUID={ACD6E53E-72E9-4E0D-88E9-BD0B6D87995F}

And those pro Loony Leftist comments are what pass for “scholarship” in our universities, today? No wonder liars like Chomsky and Finkelstein are so popular.

There are a lot of people here who aren’t checking their facts, Masse isn’t one of them.

(You might notice that I am not as nice as Mr. Masse, whose article on the whole is correct about the neo-Nazi, Finkelstein, though way too polite, imo.)

ytba

FIRST, AND LAST

“First, Mr. Masse’s comments regarding Noam Chomsky are egregiously misleading.” [no they are not] “In the case of the claim that he wrote an intro to a book by a well-known Holocaust denier, Mr. Masse degenerates into outright lying. Chomsky never wrote such an introduction.” [not an “introduction, but a “preface” and, yes, Chomsky did write it! http://www.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/people/c/cohn.werner/ftp.py?people/c/cohn.werner/partners-in-hate/hidden-alliances.02 … as that excerpt from “Partners In Hate” attests.] “He merely defended the free speech of Robert Faurisson, a French academic who denies the existence of the Holocaust as a historical event, …” [this is called “damage control”] ” … and signed a petition to such an effect.” [he supports them in any way he can]

Pretty deep stuff, and smelly, too. Chomsky DID approve of the use of his materials “for any purpose” and later apparently “regretted” regretting it’s use in Faurisson’s book. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faurisson_affair

But, NOTE CAREFULLY that even if Chomsky only “merely” defended Faurisson’s freedom of speech, it is curious that Chomsky NEVER defends the freedom of speech of those with whom he disagrees.

And so, that “first” has to be “last” because debunking one clearly false claim should be sufficient to indicate the worth of the rest.

ytba

Chomsky is filth. He was the main US defender of the genocide of Cambodians by Pol Pot.
He would love to see a new genocide of Jews, or even just of plain old Americans. Chomsky seems to pray to Stalin 5 times a day.

John Mearsheimer (of Mearsheimer and Walt) ” “steps in it” BIG time! http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/?p=1622