-Caveat Lector- >From http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/id74.htm
}}}>Begin Tom Segev in Ha'aretz Ha'aretz Feature May 15, 1998 Opinion Feature by Tom Segev, Historian and Journalist Dr. Goldhagen and Mr. Holocaust Daniel Goldhagen has made a mint from his bestseller about the Holocaust, "Hitler’s Willing Executioners," his name is now a household word all over the globe, and the number of Internet sites passed 2,000 a long time ago. Academic recognition, however, is still far off. Goldhagen did not win the Holocaust Studies chair at Harvard (which was never formally established because the right candidate was not found), and his bid for tenure is still under consideration. It hasn’t been easy. Many scholars have attacked his thesis, which boils down to this: All the Germans took part in the murder of the Jews because all of them are anti-Semitic. And now Goldhagen has set up his own Internet site to refute the claims of two of his harshest critics: Ruth Bettina Birn of Canada and Norman J. Finkelstein of Hunter College, University of New York. Both of them have done the unthinkable: They have checked his references, one by one, and reached the conclusion that "Hitler’s Willing Executioners" is not worthy of being called an academic text.It is a tiresome task, requiring a comparison of texts and a careful examination of sources. What is interesting about it, though, is that the debate has veered off track. It has become a political debate, and at its core surprise, surprise is Zionism, the State of Israel and the Palestinian problem. As things stand now, anyone who criticizes Goldhagen is an anti-Semite, possibly a Holocaust-denier, and certainly an opponent of the State of Israel. And it goes the other way, too. Anyone who supports Israel must support Goldhagen and fight those who attack him. It is hard to say how the ball started rolling. Norman Finkelstein, a vociferous critic of Zionism and the author of several pro-Palestinian books, put Goldhagen in the category of those who utilize the Holocaust to justify the aims of the Zionist movement. A few years back, Finkelstein made news when he debunked the false research claims of Joan Peters. At the urging of Yitzhak Shamir, who was then the Foreign Minister, Peters wrote a book which tried to show that the Arabs had settled in Palestine only in the last few decades, meaning that they had no historical claim over the country. Finkelstein proved it was a lot of hogwash. Goldhagen does not respond to Finkelstein’s arguments; he responds to Finkelstein. He is a well-known anti-Zionist provocateur, Goldhagen states in his Internet site. Now Finkelstein has a site, too, where he points out that he is the son of survivors from the Warsaw Ghetto. His two brothers, Richard and Henry, support him in the name of the family. Ruth Bettina Birn does not exactly fit into this argument. A German living in Toronto, she is recognized as an international expert on Nazi war crimes. All she said is that Goldhagen’s book is not a serious piece of research. Goldhagen lets us in on the truth: In Germany she makes statements about him that she would never dare to make anywhere else. He implies that she is anti-Semitic. Metropolitan Books in New York published a slim volume this week containing Birn and Finkelstein’s critiques of Goldhagen’s book. All the claims are backed up. A worthy contribution to the debate. But the main claim to fame of "The Nation on Trial," as it is called, is the tremendous pressure exerted on the publishing company to keep it from coming out. At a certain point, it bordered on cultural terrorism. "The issue is not whether Goldhagen’s thesis is right or wrong, but what is legitimate criticism and what goes beyond the pale," states one letter received by the publishers. The undersigned: Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. Foxman bemoans the opportunity Metropolitan Books gave Finkelstein to open his trap. Liberalism can only go so far. None of this scares Sara Bershtel, Metropolitan’s associate publisher and the daughter of Holocaust survivors. Unlike Foxman, she does believes that the question is whether Goldhagen’s thesis is right or wrong, and she has done her best to fend off pressure from those who believe that Goldhagen’s critics should not be supported. The Jewish establishment has embraced Goldhagen as if he were Mr. Holocaust himself. The whole issue has become a debate over the Holocaust: pro or con. All this is absurd, because the criticism against Goldhagen is backed up so well. Historians all over the world, including Israel, agree that he has written a bad book. Few have praised him, and those who did were motivated by public relations and politics. But the way the Jewish establishment has rushed to Goldhagen’s defense, in the name of Zionist interests, as it were, is also absurd because the culture of the Holocaust in America is so utterly non-Zionist in orientation. This is true of the new Jewish Heritage Museum in New York, where Israel is only given a passing mention. It is true of the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and it is true of the Holocaust Museum in Washington. None of this is accidental. American Holocaust culture nourishes local Jewish patriotism and seriously competes with the Zionist Holocaust culture disseminated in Israel. In an odd, paradoxical way, Finkelstein should make American Holocaust activists happy, for what he does is attack the "Zionist character" of Goldhagen’s thesis. But to add paradox to paradox, the formula goes like this: Not only the Germans, but all the gentiles hate the Jews. Hence the need for Jewish unity and solidarity. Hence the need for more and more books about Jewish hatred, and the simpler and shallower they are, the better. Understanding the way these people think is no mean feat. And if you keep stacking up the paradoxes, it appears that they really do think he is good for Israel. Goldhagen, that is. © copyright 1998 Ha’aretz. All Rights Reserved End<{{{ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded as information only; no automatic endorsement + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutta + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." --- Ernest Hemingway <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om