This is the first book I’ve attempted to read about the Israel-Palestine conflict. I heard of Norman Finkelstein after reading some books by Chris Hedges and Noam Chomsky. I’ve finished three chapters, and so far I am impressed. Finkelstein is painstaking in detail yet still human with the occasional sarcasm or exasperation. I watched his recent interviews on The Real News Network, and on Democracy Now!, and I hope his book is able to have a wider impact immediately than having to wait a hundred years the way A Century of Dishonor by Helen Hunt Jackson did.
Thank you, Professor Finkelstein. There’s at least one other person here in Utah I know who has ordered the book. After we finish reading, we look forward to discussing it and sharing your findings with our Mormon friends and neighbors who, for the most part, know nothing about what is going on in what they call “The Holy Land.”
edit: I finished reading the book today. This passage from the final page moved me deeply:
Perhaps one day in the remote future, when the tenor of the times is more receptive, someone will stumble across this book collecting dust on a library shelf, blow off the cobwebs, and be stung by outrage at the lot of a people, if not forsaken by God then betrayed by the cupidity and corruption, careerism and cynicism, cravenness and cowardice of mortal man. “There will come a time,” [Helen Hunt] Jackson anticipated, “when, to the student of American history, it will seem well-nigh incredible” what was done to the Cherokee. Is it not certain that one day the black record of Gaza’s martyrdom will in retrospect also seem well-nigh incredible?
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Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom Hardcover – Illustrated, January 9, 2018
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Norman Finkelstein
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Print length440 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherUniversity of California Press
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Publication dateJanuary 9, 2018
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Dimensions6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
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ISBN-100520295714
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ISBN-13978-0520295711
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"In its comprehensive sweep, deep probing and acute critical analysis, Finkelstein’s study stands alone.” ― Noam Chomsky
"Readers with fixed positions, either in agreement or disagreement with Finkelstein, will find much to engage with here." ― Publishers Weekly
"No one who ventures an opinion on Gaza . . . is entitled to do so without taking into account the evidence in this book. For that, at least, the people of Gaza owe a debt to Norman Finkelstein. . . . Offers what may well be the definitive history of one of the most horrifying and sustained campaigns of collective punishment in modern world history."" ― The Intercept
"Norman Finkelstein has the moral gravity of an Old Testament prophet, the scrupulous attention to detail of a Talmudic scholar, and the mordant sense of humor of a Yiddish novelist. All these attributes are on display in Gaza: An Inquest Into its Martyrdom. . . . The cumulative impact of Finkelstein’s meticulously-documented 408-page chronicle is devastating, and it will leave the reader stunned that the worldwide reaction is so muted." ― Mondoweiss
“Recommended . . . for a review of the evidence of Israel’s wrongdoing that is buried or downplayed.” ― Current Affairs
“Gaza is a tour de force. Finkelstein unravels the facade that Israel and its allies aim to create, exposing the double standards of the US government, the UN and even human rights organisations." -- Neve Gordon, ― Times Higher Education
"Finkelstein’s book is a stark reminder of the facets which have incarcerated Gaza to an extent that its political voice has been rendered irrelevant by the international community. The unravelling of misrepresentation and collaboration to ensure Israel’s impunity at an international level are brought together as referenced, detailed facts. Finkelstein’s demolition of colonial and international propaganda vindicates his objective 'to refute that Big Lie by exposing each of the little lies." ― Middle East Monitor
"The factual record compiled here will be of interest to future historians on all sides." ― CHOICE
“One would be hard pressed to find such crucial analysis in the US press, or the wider western media for that matter. . . . For both seasoned and newer readers of the conflict, Gaza is a must read; a serious commitment to revealing hard truths in their rawest form.” ― New Arab
"Anyone who chooses to read Gaza: An Inquest into its Martyrdom bears witness to the harrowing Truth and preserves it in the collective memory." ― Palestine Chronicle
"A meticulous 440-page study of international law, of Israel’s sustained attacks against Gaza and its people and offers what may well be the definitive history of one of the most horrifying and sustained campaigns of collective punishment in modern world history." ― The Intercept
"An extraordinary book." ― Bullet
“Its passionate and painstaking attempt to counter Israeli deception deserves our close attention.” ― CounterFire
"His research and his precise inquest into Israel’s wars on Gaza raises many questions about not only the vicious right-wing nature of successive Israeligovernments, but also the failure of international law, the human rights industry and the UN to be anything other than bystanders . . . Finkelstein’s systematic and analytical exposé is a necessary read." ― Socialist Lawyer
"Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom is a powerful call to intensify our campaign to bring about justice for the Palestinian people which has been denied them for so long . . . It is a work of exacting anf thorough scholarship, encyclopaedic in its coverage of the detal of the terrible treatment of the Palestinians of Gaza, and stands both as a reference guide to the suject and an appeal for justice." ― Spokesman: Journal of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation
"Readers with fixed positions, either in agreement or disagreement with Finkelstein, will find much to engage with here." ― Publishers Weekly
"No one who ventures an opinion on Gaza . . . is entitled to do so without taking into account the evidence in this book. For that, at least, the people of Gaza owe a debt to Norman Finkelstein. . . . Offers what may well be the definitive history of one of the most horrifying and sustained campaigns of collective punishment in modern world history."" ― The Intercept
"Norman Finkelstein has the moral gravity of an Old Testament prophet, the scrupulous attention to detail of a Talmudic scholar, and the mordant sense of humor of a Yiddish novelist. All these attributes are on display in Gaza: An Inquest Into its Martyrdom. . . . The cumulative impact of Finkelstein’s meticulously-documented 408-page chronicle is devastating, and it will leave the reader stunned that the worldwide reaction is so muted." ― Mondoweiss
“Recommended . . . for a review of the evidence of Israel’s wrongdoing that is buried or downplayed.” ― Current Affairs
“Gaza is a tour de force. Finkelstein unravels the facade that Israel and its allies aim to create, exposing the double standards of the US government, the UN and even human rights organisations." -- Neve Gordon, ― Times Higher Education
"Finkelstein’s book is a stark reminder of the facets which have incarcerated Gaza to an extent that its political voice has been rendered irrelevant by the international community. The unravelling of misrepresentation and collaboration to ensure Israel’s impunity at an international level are brought together as referenced, detailed facts. Finkelstein’s demolition of colonial and international propaganda vindicates his objective 'to refute that Big Lie by exposing each of the little lies." ― Middle East Monitor
"The factual record compiled here will be of interest to future historians on all sides." ― CHOICE
“One would be hard pressed to find such crucial analysis in the US press, or the wider western media for that matter. . . . For both seasoned and newer readers of the conflict, Gaza is a must read; a serious commitment to revealing hard truths in their rawest form.” ― New Arab
"Anyone who chooses to read Gaza: An Inquest into its Martyrdom bears witness to the harrowing Truth and preserves it in the collective memory." ― Palestine Chronicle
"A meticulous 440-page study of international law, of Israel’s sustained attacks against Gaza and its people and offers what may well be the definitive history of one of the most horrifying and sustained campaigns of collective punishment in modern world history." ― The Intercept
"An extraordinary book." ― Bullet
“Its passionate and painstaking attempt to counter Israeli deception deserves our close attention.” ― CounterFire
"His research and his precise inquest into Israel’s wars on Gaza raises many questions about not only the vicious right-wing nature of successive Israeligovernments, but also the failure of international law, the human rights industry and the UN to be anything other than bystanders . . . Finkelstein’s systematic and analytical exposé is a necessary read." ― Socialist Lawyer
"Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom is a powerful call to intensify our campaign to bring about justice for the Palestinian people which has been denied them for so long . . . It is a work of exacting anf thorough scholarship, encyclopaedic in its coverage of the detal of the terrible treatment of the Palestinians of Gaza, and stands both as a reference guide to the suject and an appeal for justice." ― Spokesman: Journal of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation
From the Inside Flap
"This is the voice I listen for, when I want to learn the deepest reality about Jews, Zionists, Israelis, and Palestinians. Norman Finkelstein is surely one of the forty honest humans the Scripture alludes to who can save 'Sodom' (our Earth) by pointing out, again and again, the sometimes soul-shriveling but unavoidable Truth. There is no one like him today, but in my bones I know this incredible warrior for Humanity and Justice is an archetype that has always been. And will always be. Small comfort in these dark times, perhaps, but a comfort I am deeply grateful for."—Alice Walker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for The Color Purple
"As a modern-day Sisyphus, rolling the heavy boulder up the hill of disinformation, Norman Finkelstein does not waver in his determination to take it to the crest. Although a non-lawyer, he masters the legal issues, the Geneva Conventions, ICJ advisory opinions, UN resolutions, and commission reports, weaving them into a compelling narrative, an articulate appeal for justice, a protest against the moral cop-out of the international community. Finkelstein refutes the Big Lie and many arcane little lies about Gaza and Palestine. A scholarly manual for every politician and every person concerned with human rights."—Alfred de Zayas, Professor of Law, Geneva School of Diplomacy, and UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order
"Norman Finkelstein, probably the most serious scholar on the conflict in the Middle East, has written an excellent book on Israel’s invasions of Gaza. Its comprehensive examination of both the facts and the law of these assaults provides the most authoritative account of this brutal history."—John Dugard, Emeritus Professor of Public International Law, Leiden University, and former Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 2001-2008
"No scholar has done more to shed light on Israel’s ruthless treatment of the Palestinians than Norman Finkelstein. In Gaza, he meticulously details Israel’s massacres of the Palestinians in that tiny enclave during Operations Cast Lead and Protective Edge, while demolishing the myths Israel and its supporters have invented to disguise these shocking events.”—John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
“This is an exceptional, singular work that will stand as a vital contribution to the literature on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Middle East politics, while also securing an essential place in the fields of international and human rights law. Gaza is an indispensable resource for scholars, jurists, policy makers, and diplomats alike. A landmark.”—Sara Roy, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
"As a modern-day Sisyphus, rolling the heavy boulder up the hill of disinformation, Norman Finkelstein does not waver in his determination to take it to the crest. Although a non-lawyer, he masters the legal issues, the Geneva Conventions, ICJ advisory opinions, UN resolutions, and commission reports, weaving them into a compelling narrative, an articulate appeal for justice, a protest against the moral cop-out of the international community. Finkelstein refutes the Big Lie and many arcane little lies about Gaza and Palestine. A scholarly manual for every politician and every person concerned with human rights."—Alfred de Zayas, Professor of Law, Geneva School of Diplomacy, and UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order
"Norman Finkelstein, probably the most serious scholar on the conflict in the Middle East, has written an excellent book on Israel’s invasions of Gaza. Its comprehensive examination of both the facts and the law of these assaults provides the most authoritative account of this brutal history."—John Dugard, Emeritus Professor of Public International Law, Leiden University, and former Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 2001-2008
"No scholar has done more to shed light on Israel’s ruthless treatment of the Palestinians than Norman Finkelstein. In Gaza, he meticulously details Israel’s massacres of the Palestinians in that tiny enclave during Operations Cast Lead and Protective Edge, while demolishing the myths Israel and its supporters have invented to disguise these shocking events.”—John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
“This is an exceptional, singular work that will stand as a vital contribution to the literature on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Middle East politics, while also securing an essential place in the fields of international and human rights law. Gaza is an indispensable resource for scholars, jurists, policy makers, and diplomats alike. A landmark.”—Sara Roy, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
From the Back Cover
"This is the voice I listen for, when I want to learn the deepest reality about Jews, Zionists, Israelis, and Palestinians. Norman Finkelstein is surely one of the forty honest humans the Scripture alludes to who can save 'Sodom' (our Earth) by pointing out, again and again, the sometimes soul-shriveling but unavoidable Truth. There is no one like him today, but in my bones I know this incredible warrior for Humanity and Justice is an archetype that has always been. And will always be. Small comfort in these dark times, perhaps, but a comfort I am deeply grateful for."—Alice Walker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for The Color Purple
"As a modern-day Sisyphus, rolling the heavy boulder up the hill of disinformation, Norman Finkelstein does not waver in his determination to take it to the crest. Although a non-lawyer, he masters the legal issues, the Geneva Conventions, ICJ advisory opinions, UN resolutions, and commission reports, weaving them into a compelling narrative, an articulate appeal for justice, a protest against the moral cop-out of the international community. Finkelstein refutes the Big Lie and many arcane little lies about Gaza and Palestine. A scholarly manual for every politician and every person concerned with human rights."—Alfred de Zayas, Professor of Law, Geneva School of Diplomacy, and UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order
"Norman Finkelstein, probably the most serious scholar on the conflict in the Middle East, has written an excellent book on Israel’s invasions of Gaza. Its comprehensive examination of both the facts and the law of these assaults provides the most authoritative account of this brutal history."—John Dugard, Emeritus Professor of Public International Law, Leiden University, and former Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 2001-2008
"No scholar has done more to shed light on Israel’s ruthless treatment of the Palestinians than Norman Finkelstein. In Gaza, he meticulously details Israel’s massacres of the Palestinians in that tiny enclave during Operations Cast Lead and Protective Edge, while demolishing the myths Israel and its supporters have invented to disguise these shocking events.”—John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
“This is an exceptional, singular work that will stand as a vital contribution to the literature on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Middle East politics, while also securing an essential place in the fields of international and human rights law. Gaza is an indispensable resource for scholars, jurists, policy makers, and diplomats alike. A landmark.”—Sara Roy, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
"As a modern-day Sisyphus, rolling the heavy boulder up the hill of disinformation, Norman Finkelstein does not waver in his determination to take it to the crest. Although a non-lawyer, he masters the legal issues, the Geneva Conventions, ICJ advisory opinions, UN resolutions, and commission reports, weaving them into a compelling narrative, an articulate appeal for justice, a protest against the moral cop-out of the international community. Finkelstein refutes the Big Lie and many arcane little lies about Gaza and Palestine. A scholarly manual for every politician and every person concerned with human rights."—Alfred de Zayas, Professor of Law, Geneva School of Diplomacy, and UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order
"Norman Finkelstein, probably the most serious scholar on the conflict in the Middle East, has written an excellent book on Israel’s invasions of Gaza. Its comprehensive examination of both the facts and the law of these assaults provides the most authoritative account of this brutal history."—John Dugard, Emeritus Professor of Public International Law, Leiden University, and former Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 2001-2008
"No scholar has done more to shed light on Israel’s ruthless treatment of the Palestinians than Norman Finkelstein. In Gaza, he meticulously details Israel’s massacres of the Palestinians in that tiny enclave during Operations Cast Lead and Protective Edge, while demolishing the myths Israel and its supporters have invented to disguise these shocking events.”—John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
“This is an exceptional, singular work that will stand as a vital contribution to the literature on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Middle East politics, while also securing an essential place in the fields of international and human rights law. Gaza is an indispensable resource for scholars, jurists, policy makers, and diplomats alike. A landmark.”—Sara Roy, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
About the Author
Norman Finkelstein is an American political scientist, activist, former professor, and author. His primary fields of research are the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust. He is a graduate of Binghamton University and received his Ph.D. in political science at Princeton University. He has held faculty positions at Brooklyn College, Rutgers University, Hunter College, New York University, and DePaul University. His many books have been translated into some fifty foreign editions. He is a frequent lecturer and commentator on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
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Product details
- Publisher : University of California Press; First edition (January 9, 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 440 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0520295714
- ISBN-13 : 978-0520295711
- Item Weight : 1.7 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
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Best Sellers Rank:
#426,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #534 in Israel & Palestine History (Books)
- #540 in Human Rights Law (Books)
- #571 in African Politics
- Customer Reviews:
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4.8 out of 5
102 global ratings
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Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2018
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65 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2018
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Finkelstein's scholarship is meticulous, and he keeps his rage in check as he details the serial betrayals of Gaza, from Goldstone, through major human rights organizations like Amnesty International, to the UN Human Rights Council. The only hope for Gaza is profound moral outrage on the part of civil society, leading to global non-cooperation. Start by buying the book.
40 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2018
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A thoroughly researched book, perhaps Norman Finkelstein's most solid work, that I hope the world will acknowledge, which describes the hopeless plight of the residents of Gaza. This in-depth expose of Israel's crimes against humanity (yes, the Palestinians are also human) should be read by all US government leaders as this issue is the root of all Middle Eastern conflicts.
28 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2018
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Norman is a joy to read. HIs scholarship and integrity has been proven over and over again. The truth about the criminal occupation and the take over of Palestinian lands with brute military force is not to be found in our fake corporate media. NK is one of the few precious voices who dares to challenge the pro-Israeli propaganda that floods the American media. The Palestinian people are non-entities in all congressional debates. I feel blessed than Norman is not in the pockets of the Israeli lobby, as is the vast majority of all politicians in Washington. The massive destruction and killings of children and women in Gaze shames all of humanity. Norman is does his best to inform readers about the facts. Hopefully, the clarity of his writing can inform readers who can help spread the word and speak out, as he does, against the ongoing martyrdom in Gaza.
17 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2018
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I recently listened to BBC Hardtalk interviewing Nafthali Bennett (Nov 2018) of the far-right Jewish Home party. As an American expat living in Geneva, Switzerland with many more news and documentary resources than the average American, I know that much of what he says are lies, exaggerations, twisted reasoning and propaganda, dangerous for his country and mine.
What I think doesn’t carry weight but fortunately Norman Finkelstein has put his academic and moral strength into this book to rebut all the lies that float around, carried on the wings of hasbara, about Gaza and especially the events of 2008 to the present: Cast Lead, the Goldstone Report, … Protective Edge.
He meticulously documents and backs up what happened, and how it was treated in the press, the investigations, the reports, etc. Even if M Bennett will never read it or agree with it, it is important for the present and for the future to have this accurate and authoritative description of what Gaza has been through. Plus, the book is very readable with judicious separation of footnotes and text.
I would also like to compliment the publisher for the physical quality of the book and especially the cover – paper that is nice to the touch and an excellent choice of cover photo.
What I think doesn’t carry weight but fortunately Norman Finkelstein has put his academic and moral strength into this book to rebut all the lies that float around, carried on the wings of hasbara, about Gaza and especially the events of 2008 to the present: Cast Lead, the Goldstone Report, … Protective Edge.
He meticulously documents and backs up what happened, and how it was treated in the press, the investigations, the reports, etc. Even if M Bennett will never read it or agree with it, it is important for the present and for the future to have this accurate and authoritative description of what Gaza has been through. Plus, the book is very readable with judicious separation of footnotes and text.
I would also like to compliment the publisher for the physical quality of the book and especially the cover – paper that is nice to the touch and an excellent choice of cover photo.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful book. I believe that Norman Finkelstein is the most important intellectual in the world on the Israel-Palestine issue. Some people I know get enraged at the mention of his name. Instead, they should hold their heads in shame at the psychopathic behavior of a racist state that blames its existence on "God." Anyone who wants to understand the most important issue in today's world must read this book.
52 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Unparalleled expose of Israel's regime of blatant war crimes and human rights abuses
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2018Verified Purchase
Norman Finkelstein authors an absolutely devastating account of Israel's treatment of Gaza, and the epic and maddening failures of human rights organizations (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, etc.) to present an objective assessment of the Gaza situation. It alternates between heartbreaking and frustrating.
The book is thoroughly and well written, with an enormous amount of source material (unlike anything Israel or human rights organizations have ever put forward on the Gaza situation).
It would be impossible to read this book with an open mind and not come away thinking that Israel is simply another terrorist organization with no regard for international rules of law or any respect of human rights.
Unfortunately, most people don't have open minds, so...
9/10
The book is thoroughly and well written, with an enormous amount of source material (unlike anything Israel or human rights organizations have ever put forward on the Gaza situation).
It would be impossible to read this book with an open mind and not come away thinking that Israel is simply another terrorist organization with no regard for international rules of law or any respect of human rights.
Unfortunately, most people don't have open minds, so...
9/10
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries
Ben Alofs
5.0 out of 5 stars
An extraordinary achievement by a thoroughly decent human being
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2018Verified Purchase
Norman Finkelstein has always been driven by what he himself calls "a visceral detestation of falsehood, in particular when it is put in the service of power and human life hangs in the balance".
Right from the beginning when Norman first appeared in print I have been in awe of his extraordinary analytical power with its great attention to detail. I will never forget how as a young scholar doing his doctoral dissertation on the theory of Zionism he demolished Joan Peters's "From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine". This book, published in 1983, promising to revolutionize our understanding of the conflict, received glowing praise from the Who's Who of American Arts and Letters (Saul Bellow, Elie Wiesel, Barbara Tuchman, Lucy Dawidowicz, and others). and became a national best seller in the USA.
The central thesis of Peters's book, apparently supported by nearly two thousand notes and a recondite demographic study, was that Palestine had been virtually empty on the eve of Zionist colonization and that, after Jews made the deserted parts of Palestine they settled bloom, Arabs from the neighbouring states and other parts of Palestine migrated to the Jewish areas and pretended to be indigenous. Here was the, as it were, scientific proof that Golda Meir had been right after all: there was no such thing as Palestinians.
As it happened "From Time Immemorial" was a colossal hoax. Cited sources were mangled, key numbers in the demographic study falsified and large swaths plagiarized from Zionist propaganda tracts. Documenting the hoax and the rather more onerous challenge of publicizing these findings in the media proved to be a turning point in Norman Finkelstein's life. From then on, his life in many ways became centered on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Norman paid the price for his courageous truth seeking, but he has never given up in the face of hostility and petty vindictiveness.
His latest book "Gaza: an Inquest into its Martyrdom" is a detailed investigation and analysis of what has been done to the people of Gaza over the last 10 years. "What has befallen Gaza is a human-made human disaster. In its protractedness and in its starkness, in its unfolding not in the fog of war or in the obscurity of remoteness but in broad daylight and in full sight, in the complicity of so many, not just via acts of commission but also, and especially, of omisson it is moreover a distinctively evil crime."
The only thing I want to add to the previous 7 reviewers is, that "Gaza: an Inquest Into Its Martyrdom" provides indispensable documentation of the war crimes that have been committed and will be of great help to the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
A few days ago I listened to Normal Finkelstein addressing a Norwegian audience in Oslo as part of the tour publicizing his book. Recounting the horrors of "Cast Lead" and "Protective Edge" obviously affects him emotionally. He is trying to preserve the memories of all those innocent women, children and men in Gaza, whose lives were snuffed out. But emotions are never allowed to cloud the facts, because the facts provide the solid evidence base of this important book.
Here is a thoroughly decent human being, a truth seeker, who deserves our respect and admiration.
Right from the beginning when Norman first appeared in print I have been in awe of his extraordinary analytical power with its great attention to detail. I will never forget how as a young scholar doing his doctoral dissertation on the theory of Zionism he demolished Joan Peters's "From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine". This book, published in 1983, promising to revolutionize our understanding of the conflict, received glowing praise from the Who's Who of American Arts and Letters (Saul Bellow, Elie Wiesel, Barbara Tuchman, Lucy Dawidowicz, and others). and became a national best seller in the USA.
The central thesis of Peters's book, apparently supported by nearly two thousand notes and a recondite demographic study, was that Palestine had been virtually empty on the eve of Zionist colonization and that, after Jews made the deserted parts of Palestine they settled bloom, Arabs from the neighbouring states and other parts of Palestine migrated to the Jewish areas and pretended to be indigenous. Here was the, as it were, scientific proof that Golda Meir had been right after all: there was no such thing as Palestinians.
As it happened "From Time Immemorial" was a colossal hoax. Cited sources were mangled, key numbers in the demographic study falsified and large swaths plagiarized from Zionist propaganda tracts. Documenting the hoax and the rather more onerous challenge of publicizing these findings in the media proved to be a turning point in Norman Finkelstein's life. From then on, his life in many ways became centered on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Norman paid the price for his courageous truth seeking, but he has never given up in the face of hostility and petty vindictiveness.
His latest book "Gaza: an Inquest into its Martyrdom" is a detailed investigation and analysis of what has been done to the people of Gaza over the last 10 years. "What has befallen Gaza is a human-made human disaster. In its protractedness and in its starkness, in its unfolding not in the fog of war or in the obscurity of remoteness but in broad daylight and in full sight, in the complicity of so many, not just via acts of commission but also, and especially, of omisson it is moreover a distinctively evil crime."
The only thing I want to add to the previous 7 reviewers is, that "Gaza: an Inquest Into Its Martyrdom" provides indispensable documentation of the war crimes that have been committed and will be of great help to the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
A few days ago I listened to Normal Finkelstein addressing a Norwegian audience in Oslo as part of the tour publicizing his book. Recounting the horrors of "Cast Lead" and "Protective Edge" obviously affects him emotionally. He is trying to preserve the memories of all those innocent women, children and men in Gaza, whose lives were snuffed out. But emotions are never allowed to cloud the facts, because the facts provide the solid evidence base of this important book.
Here is a thoroughly decent human being, a truth seeker, who deserves our respect and admiration.
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M. Mannion
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential reading for anyone interested in human rights
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2018Verified Purchase
Dense with citations and passionate prose, Finkelstein throws light on the scandalous, decades-long policies of an occupying power, which somehow manages to bamboozle Western politicians and press into engaging in propaganda on its behalf.
For those that dismiss the author as a blinkered, self-hating Jew, I suggest you consider the occupying force’s own statements (which Finkelstein provides in abundance): that the attacks on the impoverished and malnourished prisoners of Gaza are specifically designed for provocation.
This book does not contend that Israel has no right to self defence per se, only that it loses that right once it targets civilian sites, with the inevitable consequences.
As for the argument that the enemy embeds itself within the aforementioned sites, Finkelstein offers U.N., Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and even Isreali army reports to the contrary.
This reader, for one, is outraged.
For those that dismiss the author as a blinkered, self-hating Jew, I suggest you consider the occupying force’s own statements (which Finkelstein provides in abundance): that the attacks on the impoverished and malnourished prisoners of Gaza are specifically designed for provocation.
This book does not contend that Israel has no right to self defence per se, only that it loses that right once it targets civilian sites, with the inevitable consequences.
As for the argument that the enemy embeds itself within the aforementioned sites, Finkelstein offers U.N., Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and even Isreali army reports to the contrary.
This reader, for one, is outraged.
13 people found this helpful
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A M COOPER
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is yet another brilliant book by one of the few brave writers with ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2018Verified Purchase
Mr Finkelstein tells it as it is. No exaggerations. Just the facts. This is yet another brilliant book by one of the few brave writers with the courage to put the fight for justice in Gaza and the West Bank before his own personal well being. Few people will ever be as resilient to the pressure placed upon them than Norman Finkelstein and long may it continue.
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Jill A
5.0 out of 5 stars
A genocide that the word ignores
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2020Verified Purchase
For people who underwent the most vile ethnic cleansing in ww2 its shocking to see the same tactics used on Palestinians. When u use the word terrorists ask yourself who really you are talking about.
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Steven Byrne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2019Verified Purchase
Superb book which unpicks the long litany of obfuscations and outright lies with which the Israel propaganda machine and it's stooges within Western establishment circles have attempted to obscure the massive crimes committed by the apartheid terrorist state of Israel, from Operation Cast Lead, the attack on the Mava Mamara flotilla, and Operation Protective Edge. Essential reading for anybody with even the slightest interest in the Palestine-Israel conflict (conquest).
The book is a page turner and will cause you to scream from the rooftops.
The book is a page turner and will cause you to scream from the rooftops.
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