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2.39 MB
Extraction Summary
3
People
3
Organizations
2
Locations
2
Events
1
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Manuscript draft / essay / statement
File Size:
2.39 MB
Summary
This document appears to be a draft manuscript or statement written by Alan Dershowitz dated April 2, 2012. In it, Dershowitz defends his intervention in Norman Finkelstein's tenure review at DePaul University, claiming he provided evidence of Finkelstein's academic dishonesty at the request of the department chair. The text details the bitter public feud between the two, including mutual accusations of fabrication, threats from Finkelstein's supporters, and offensive cartoons commissioned by Finkelstein.
People (3)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Dershowitz | Author/Narrator |
Defending his actions regarding Finkelstein's tenure; author of 'The Case For Israel'.
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| Norman Finkelstein | Subject |
Academic denied tenure at DePaul; accused by Dershowitz of dishonesty, fabrication, and anti-semitism.
|
| Former Chairman of DePaul's political science department | Administrator |
Asked Dershowitz to point out instances of dishonesty in Finkelstein's work.
|
Organizations (3)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| DePaul University |
University where Finkelstein was denied tenure.
|
|
| Harvard University |
Institution asked by Dershowitz to investigate plagiarism charges (which they rejected).
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Source of the document production (via Bates stamp).
|
Timeline (2 events)
Prior to 2012-04-02
Norman Finkelstein's tenure review and subsequent denial.
DePaul University
Prior to 2012-04-02
Publication of 'Should Alan Dershowitz Target Himself for Assassination?' containing an offensive cartoon.
Unknown publication
Locations (2)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Chicago, IL (implied context of tenure battle).
|
|
|
Cambridge, MA (implied context of investigation).
|
Relationships (1)
Dershowitz actively worked to deny Finkelstein tenure; Finkelstein accused Dershowitz of plagiarism and commissioned offensive cartoons about him.
Key Quotes (4)
"He did not receive tenure."Source
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Quote #1
"I’m proud of the small role I played in helping to maintain academic standards at DePaul University by exposing Finkelstein’s lack of scholarship..."Source
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Quote #2
"No university should be afraid of truth — regardless of its source — especially when truth consists of Mr. Finkelstein’s own words."Source
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Quote #3
"The Hustler-type cartoon portrayed me as masturbating in joy while viewing images of dead Lebanese on a TV set labeled 'Israel peep show,' with a Star of David prominently featured."Source
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Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (3,124 characters)
4.2.12
WC: 191694
WC: 191694
The final part of Mr. Finkelstein’s quest for tenure is to blame his tenure problems on “outsiders.” He claims that I intruded myself into the DePaul review process, neglecting to mention that I was specifically asked by the former chairman of DePaul’s political science department to “point [him] to the clearest and most egregious instances of dishonesty on Finkelstein’s part.” I responded by providing hard evidence of made-up quotes and facts — a pattern that should alone disqualify him from tenure…
Like the character in the “Groves of Academe,” Mr. Finkelstein generated protests by students and outsiders. He has encouraged radical goons to email threatening messages; “Look forward to a visit from me,” reads one. “Nazis like [you] need to be confronted directly.” He has threatened to sue if he loses — while complaining about outside interference. No university should be afraid of truth — regardless of its source — especially when truth consists of Mr. Finkelstein’s own words.
He did not receive tenure. I’m proud of the small role I played in helping to maintain academic standards at DePaul University by exposing Finkelstein’s lack of scholarship and the sordid tactic he tried to use to capitalize on that failing. My actions in exposing Finkelstein were completely consistent with my commitment to free speech and academic freedom. Finkelstein continues to lecture at universities around the world—including some that have refused to invite me—but he no longer has the academically undeserved imprimatur of DePaul University.
Academic freedom is not limited to faculty. It extends to students as well, and no professor has the right to propagandize his captive classroom audience or to grade them down if they disagree with his political opinions. But it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between acceptable teaching and unacceptable prostheletizing. This too is an area where rights may be in conflict and a delicate balance, always skewed in favor of speech, is required.
courageously put unruly Blacks in their place.” He says “the main fomenters of anti-Semitism “are ‘American Jewish elites’ who need to be stopped.” Normally, no one would take such claims seriously, but he boasts that he “can get away with things which nobody else can” because his parents were Holocaust survivors.
And then, of course, there is me. In a recent article, “Should Alan Dershowitz Target Himself for Assassination?” Mr. Finkelstein commissioned a cartoon by a man who placed second in the Iranian Holocaust-denial cartoon contest. The Hustler-type cartoon portrayed me as masturbating in joy while viewing images of dead Lebanese on a TV set labeled “Israel peep show,” with a Star of David prominently featured.
Mr. Finkelstein has accused me of not having written “The Case For Israel” but when I sent his publisher my handwritten draft, they made him remove that claim. He has accused virtually every pro-Israel writer, including me, of “plagiarism.” I asked Harvard to conduct an investigation of this absurd charge. Harvard rejected it, yet he persists.
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