I was concerned by Ibrahim Khwaja's March 10 op−ed regarding the supposed oppression of opposing viewpoints by "neoconservative, pro−Zionist" groups with accusations of anti−Semitism. Yes, Norman Finkelstein's views are not anti−Semitic as much as anti−Zionist. But Khwaja portrays groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Bak Shalom as paranoid suppressors; Finkelstein is the victimized seeker of truth and justice. Taking a quick look at Finkelstein's Web sites or key points from his publications reveals otherwise. This scholar is an enormously biased, disrespectful piece of work. He looks to undermine the State of Israel at any and all turns while supporting and/or conveniently overlooking the crimes of terrorist groups committed to its destruction.
It is undeniable that AIPAC toes the line for Likud, a major center−right political party of Israel, rather than Kadima, a centrist political party. It has also become apparent that AIPAC throws down the anti−Semitism card with a troubling amount of ease. But it is simply not true to suggest that AIPAC applies this term to anyone who disagrees with them. They have respected the views of those, like Vice President Joe Biden, who are committed to Israel's security but evenhandedly criticize antagonistic measures like settlement construction. It is only when one makes criticisms of Israel's history solely to delegitimize its standing as a nation today, as does Finkelstein, that one's criticisms are beyond "the limits of legitimate critique."
It is also disgustingly ironic that Finkelstein would, as Khwaja mentioned, invoke his parents' experiences in the Holocaust to legitimize himself as an objective human rights activist. In doing so, he engages in the very exploitation of the Holocaust for personal gain that he so condemns. It is debatable whether Israel's actions in the 2006 Lebanon War were justified self−defense or overkill. Personally, I feel that both Israel and Hezbollah committed an egregious error by failing to distinguish between military and civilian targets. But whether or not one agrees with Israel's defense strategy or its current housing policy (Lord knows I don't), one pursuing human rights and justice should never support Finkelstein. This is a man who has said that we should stand in solidarity with Hezbollah, even after it initiated the war with rocket launches into Israeli border towns and persisted, specifically aiming to kill Israeli citizens. He has repeatedly tried to justify the actions of Hamas, a terrorist organization that has launched rockets from schools and hid in them, daring Israel to attack; in other words, a party that has committed some of the most grotesque violations of human rights in the past 40 years.
What's happening is not German "neoconservative" forces trying to suppress free speech in order to preserve a McCarthyist sham, and not only because the word "neoconservative" is exclusive to American politics. Bak Shalom stopped the promulgation of Finkelstein's skewed perception of human rights, one which may be readily accepted by idealistic yet ill−informed university students. It defended Israel against those who are predisposed to get riled up by the crimes of individual Israeli soldiers, yet tried to justify the sanctioned crimes of those who seek Israel's destruction. And while AIPAC does have enormous leverage in Congress, they should not be characterized as a conspiratorial force. Labeling those who opposed the 2007 Gaza blockade or the current settlement construction as anti−Semites is wrong. But this is not, with the exception of the recent J−Street conflict, what AIPAC does. Its accusations of anti−Semitism do stand up, however, as debatable assertions against those like Finkelstein, whose stance against the Jewish state is vehement to the point of his view of the Jewish people becoming questionable — even if he is a Jew himself. Before human rights activists like Khwaja point the finger at Israel and condemn the "silencing" of those who decry its every policy, they should look at both sides of the issue. As former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Israeli Leader of the Opposition Tzipi Livni have admitted, Israel has made mistakes. But the human rights spotlight must first be shone on the sanctioned yet repeated atrocities of Hamas and Hezbollah and on those who defend them.
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David Pernick is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. He is a member of Tufts Hillel and Tufts African-American Jewish Alliance.
