Dennis Fox’s Weblog

David Graeber. Ward Churchill. Joseph Massad. Just three academics under fire in recent years for their left-of-center politics.

Now it’s Norman Finkelstein’s turn.

You can help.

Please sign the petition: We Support A Fair Tenure Process for Dr. Norman Finkelstein
at http://www.petitiononline.com/nf200704/petition.html
and forward this email to interested groups and individuals.

Text of Petition:

To: Dennis H. Holtschneider, President, DePaul University
Helmut P. Epp, Provost, DePaul University
and the Trustees, Deans, Faculty and Students of DePaul University

We are deeply concerned about reports of outside interference into the tenure and promotion case of Dr. Norman Finkelstein, and that as a result he may not be awarded tenure from DePaul University.

One such report is: Harvard Law Professor Works to Disrupt Tenure Bid of Longtime Nemesis at DePaul U. By Jennifer Howard, The Chronicle of Higher Education April 5, 2007.

We value Dr. Finkelstein’s scholarship, his public talks and debates, and his well-argued, fact-based critiques of issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In our opinion, his association with DePaul University has enhanced DePaul University’s reputation.

We understand his department has recommended tenure. We will be troubled if Dr. Finkelstein is denied tenure and will be concerned about the integrity of the tenure process at DePaul University.

We support a fair tenure process for Dr. Finkelstein

Here’s more information, and debate on MuzzleWatch.

And George Salzman’s detailed explanations.

All of which confirms my earlier distaste for Alan Dershowitz and my admiration for Norman Finkelstein. Maybe I’ll make it over to Brandeis in a couple of weeks when Finkelstein is scheduled to speak on “Israel and Palestine: Roots of Conflict, Prospects for Peace.” If Dershowitz doesn’t block his way, as he tried to do to Jimmy Carter.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 7:45 pm and is filed under Israel/Palestine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.