Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Dr. Norman Finkelstein Subjected to Knock-on-Door Arrest in Middle of Night

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, October 30, 2017

Dr. Norman Finkelstein Subjected to Knock-on-Door Arrest in Middle of Night

Click here to access article by Thomas Müller from The New Nationalist.

Just the other day I was wondering about Norman Finkelstein and why I hadn't heard anything about him for some time. Finkelstein has been one of the first major critics of Israel and Zionist influence in the US, and US Zionists and Israel have never forgiven him for this. As a result he lost tenure and has been blacklisted from teaching in any US university. This morning while I was surfing the web, I found nothing in the left alternative websites about his incident. After finding some coverage on anti-Jewish websites (for example, see this), I happened upon this article which reports that he is being harassed by the police, although it mentions nothing about the Zionist backlash against him. (And I found an excellent article about the repression of leftist academics which made reference to him on a rather conservative Arab website.) No doubt this police behavior is a part of his punishment for speaking out about Zionism and being critical of Israeli actions.

I am astonished that I found only articles in anti-Jewish websites or, in this case, an old-fashioned conservative (anti-neoconservative) one. Why haven't left alternative sites covered this?!! Once again I am reminded how weak the US left is. They are unable to protect people who speak out or act out against its enemies; in this case, they haven't even provided coverage of Finkelstein's ongoing persecution. This has got to stop!