...we could get the Hitler-baiting out of the way early in the comments thread?

Glenn,

They always say that the Israel lobby in this country has very little power. They also claim Israel is a "Great Democracy" and our dear friend.

Perhaps they are wrong?

From what I understand, the move to bar Finkelstein is being debated vigorously. It has gotten attention there, it wasn't allowed to be done quietly and then brushed under the rug.

One poster on a blog I read was very concerned about "right of return".

At least it is getting the attention it deserves, unlike the similar incidents occuring here.

As The Chicago Tribune reported: "The American Association of University Professors had previously complained to the university that Finkelstein's summary discharge violated standards of academic freedom."

This sounds like a job for David Horowitz and the FIRE!

http://www.thefire.org/

This is the first I had heard of Cole's Yale application and Finkelstein's being turned away by Israeli Customs.

I wonder if Senator Lieberman could provide information on any of this, or perhaps offer assistance, as Yale is in his home state, and he is very knowlegable about Israeli issues. I believe he can be found at the upcoming John Hagee 2008 Christians United For Israel Summit, if anyone would like to ask him.

Maybe

...we could get the Hitler-baiting out of the way early in the comments thread?

-- Paul Daniel Ash

Are you trying to suppress freedom of speech?

Shame on you.

J/K...

Remember, Godwin's Law had absolutely nothing to do with Hitler and Nazis. It was an experiment in memetics. It could have been crafted with Stalin in mind, or any Pope.

"American critic of Israeli policies"

Did you consider writing: "Jewish American critic of Israeli policies"?

I realize it is explained in the substance of the post.

Recently, an old man roaming in the Sinai Desert tripped over an ancient lamp. As he picked it up, he rubbed it to remove accumulated grit and (you guessed it) a genie appeared.

Towering over the old man, his arms folded across his chest, the genie proclaimed:

“I am the Great and Powerful Genie of the Lamp. I am here to grant you one wish, and one wish only. What may that wish be?”

Startled at first, but then realizing his fortuitous opportunity, the old man reached into his pocket, pulled out a crumpled map of the region, and spread it neatly on the ground. He proudly pointed at the map and said:

“I wish for permanent peace in the Middle East”, and moving his hand across the map he continued: “I wish for permanent peace between the Israelis and the Arabs. I wish for permanent peace between the Shia and Sunni denominations of Islam. I wish for permanent peace between the Turks and the Kurds. I wish for permanent peace between the……………”

“Whoa, big fella!” the genie interrupted. “It is true that I am a great and powerful genie, but these people have been at war with each other for centuries. I’m afraid that what you ask of me is way beyond my scope. You must make another wish. What may that wish be?”

With a look of dejection, the old man folded up his map. He thought for a minute. Then, with a hopeful twinkle in his eye, he said “I wish I could get some oral sex from my wife.”

Taken aback, the genie raised his hand to his chin and looked toward the sky in a moment of deep thought. Then he turned his gaze downward and pointed at the old man saying:

“Can I see that map again?”

...why Finkelstein was sticking in the back reaches of memory. Oh, yes. Someone who wrote a serious take-down of Goldhagen's thesis - Willing Executioners.

http://books.google.com/books?id=9_qRGwAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:
Norman+inauthor:G+inauthor:Finkelstein

or, click at sig

1. The government is alway right.

2. In case the government is wrong, see rule 1.

Barbarians of a feather flock together. Today Israel, tomorrow, the USA.

is blocked in the US. Not many here knew Israel had nukes much less 150 of them as Carter has noted. What I want to know is , will any of this change with a democratic president. There are so many wrongs to right as a result of this administration.

Shin Bet interrogated him for around 24 hours about his contact with the Lebanese Islamic militia, Hizbullah, when he travelled to Lebanon earlier this year and expressed solidarity with the group which waged war against Israel in 2006. He was also accused of having contact with al-Qaida. But Finkelstein rejected the accusations, saying he had travelled to Israel to visit an old friend.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/26/israelandthepalestinians.usa

So I wonder if Dershowitz called for torture of Finkelstein at the interrogation?

This post won't be dedicated to praising the brilliance of column, but let me say at the beginning that I do praise the brilliance and importance of what this Glenn Greenwald is doing, day after day. Greenwald's comments on the particular subject matter are so complete and correct that I have nothing to add.

However, unfortunately, I have a cynical prediction about the comments section for today's column.

It will devolve into a false dichotomy.

There will be a battle between those who howl that legitimate criticism of Isreali policy is anti-Semitism.

There will also be a lot of bigoted posts from "progressives", that rail against conspiracies, make inappropriate analogies between undeniably wrong Israeli policies and great atrocities of history, most of which were far worse in scale and intensity than Israeli policies, and that perhaps will contain coded references to the grossly inhumane idea that Israel should be "destroyed". (The origins of the state of Israel are complex, but whatever you think of that, it exists now, and to propose the "destruction" of a state of several million people is to implicitly endorse atrocity; it is not much different than endorsing "transfer" of the Palestinians.)

Two wrongs don't make a right. Right wing Israeli policies and fantasies are inhumane and abhorrent. So are exaggerated and overgeneralized condemnations, and threats toward of all the people who currently live in Israel.

There are potential rational solutions that will allow Israelis and Palestinians to live with full human rights. Those are what a progressive, or maybe I should say, what a decent human being, would support.