Comments on: Norman Finkelstein denied tenure

By: bob burns

bob burns — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:10:47 +0000

I’m sure he could get a good ” job” with any of our enemies

By: Laney

Laney — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 19:33:25 +0000

it appears he was denied tenure essentially because of his personality

Either that or because of a campaign orchestrated by the Israel Lobby.

By: PWErfel

PWErfel — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:18:34 +0000

WOW, AN ARAB WEBSITE SUPPORTING A JEWISH AUTHOR?????

HOW OFTEN DO YOU HEAR ABOUT THAT HAPPENING????

OH i JUST FIGURED IT OUT!

By: Noor Hammad

Noor Hammad — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:30:38 +0000

On the topic of whether or not Norman can be hired somewhere else;

Of course he is able to be hired elsewhere but there are 2 major unofficial barriers to his future employment:

1. The character assassination to which he has been subjected including the assertions that he is a ‘holocaust denier’ and ’supporter of terrorism’ will undoubtedly prove a barrier to employment by any institution that is ’sensitive’ towards those allegations.

2. His being employed by any institution will now be seen as a statement, not of support for his academic credentials but rather as ‘taking sides’ against Israel, a position which no reputable institution would be willing to take or be seen as taking.

Noor Hammad
Sydney, Australia

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:05:38 +0000

Yes, I agree completely w. SP. The poli sci dept. which is the one that will have to deal w. him permanently decided there were no collegiality issues. But the dean, president & 4 of 7 members of a faculty commmittee composed of members outside of his dept. & college, who won’t have to deal w. him at all, decide there are. Something’s rotten.

By: SP

SP — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 05:38:34 +0000

Shimron, I’m sure you realise, knowing a little something about academia, that being denied tenure doesn’t so much amount to being denied permanent employment (though that’s part of it) as getting a message that you’re not wanted any more - i.e. leave, or you’ll be a pathetic has-been looked down on by everyone else.

As for due process, it’s extremely rare for a department to approve tenure but the deans to shoot it down for personality or public profile reasons, which is what happened in the Finkelstein case. It’s a sort of grey area for due process.

By: shimron Issachar

shimron Issachar — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 23:50:28 +0000

He will absolutely be hired somewhere else. In his field it is almost a badge of honor to be denied tenure somewhere.

In addition, it is the academic right of any unviersity to make a decision, using its own due process. No one ever has a right to be permanently employed by anyone - after they have tenure.
De Paul’s loss, or gain, depending on how you voted.

He will be around.

By: SP

SP — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:58:01 +0000

After reading the Chicago Tribune article and learning that NF has been denied tenure before at various NYC universities (makes sense, otherwise would be odd that someone who’s published so much is only just coming up for tenure), I can see why he thinks he’s finished with academia. Perhaps he’ll end up in a think-tank or advocacy organisation.

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:29:38 +0000

Thanks for linking to my post. It is a sad day.

As for his getting hired elsewhere, Finkelstein himself inexplicably says his being blacklisted means he won’t have the opportunity to enter the classroom again. This mystifies me.

I agree that an English university would be a great place for him. Avi Shlaim, who teaches at Oxford, joined Raul Hilberg in praising Finkelstein’s scholarship on Democracy Now. Maybe Oxford or Cambridge is where he belongs. After all, Ilan Pappe left/was forced out of the Univ. of Haifa & ended up in a British university.

I wish he could get hired at a top tier school but any faculty department or university president is going to realize they will have to fight a huge battle against the acadmemic brownshirts represented by Dershowitz, Pipes, Horowitz, et al.

By: SP

SP — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:03:34 +0000

Of course he can be hired elsewhere. Everyone denied tenure tries again somewhere else. When you are at that level of seniority/books published, you can generally negotiate a job in which you’ll be taken on with tenure. The smear campaign does, of course, make it likely that other US institutions, particularly those with conservative boards, will be wary of taking someone like Finkelstein on. I’m betting that his future is in the UK or Europe.