 "Photo: Peyton McGee/The Daily Texan")
On Israel Memorial Day, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict found its way to UT as a controversial author explored alternative views of recent events in the region.
Norman Finkelstein, an author and former faculty member at several universities, redefined terms used to describe the 22-day conflict in the Gaza Strip at the end of last year in front of an overflowing crowd at the Will C. Hogg Building on Tuesday night.
He defined the conflict as a massacre, citing greater Palestinian than Israeli losses.
“Currently it is being referred to as the Gaza War and will probably regrettably go down in history as such,” he said. “What happened in the Gaza Strip doesn’t meet the minimum conditions of war.”
Finkelstein formed the rest of his talk around events he views as catalysts of the “massacre,” discussing the history of the conflict in the region and frequently presenting information that was critical of Israel.
The event was sponsored by seven campus organizations: the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the International Socialist Organization, Campus Progress, Austin Coalition for Palestine, Iranians for Peace and Justice, Amnesty International and the Campus Antiwar Movement to End Occupation.
Members of Texans For Israel handed out flyers titled “Finkelstein vs. The Facts” outside the auditorium.
“We came to hand out some of the facts,” said Yoni Cohen, a member of Texans for Israel. “We want to let people see the other side — the truth.”
Cohen said that while Texans for Israel was originally involved in organizing a joint event along with the Palestine Solidarity Committee, it ended talks with the group over differing opinions of what the event should actually be.
“TFI wanted to collect food for children affected by the conflict in Israel,” he said. “We thought, ‘Let’s start with something that will help both sides, not a debate.’ Just because there’s fighting there doesn’t mean the students should be fighting here.”
Rabbi David Komerofsky, executive director of Texas Hillel, a sponsor of Texans for Israel, voiced his concerns over the date for Finkelstein’s visit.
“I think it’s unfortunate that it’s happening on Israel Memorial Day,” he said. “This is a day that Israel commemorates those who have died in terrorist attacks or fighting [in the Gaza Strip].”
Philosophy senior Isaac Kalish said the dates were entirely coincidental.
“It was purely a matter of fitting in Dr. Finkelstein’s schedule,” he said.
Just an average American. Many of us are waking up to you awful people.
are giving it some degree of authority/relevance which it does not deserve. The fact sheet was a lazy attempt on behalf of dissenters of NF and your mentioning it is a lazy attempt at trying to show "balance" in your article.
a) shore up its "deterrence capability" (i.e. making the rest of the region "fear" Israel again, by showing that it is a mad dog that will not hesitate to punish civilians).
b) protect itself from the "peace offensive" that was building against it, specifically the world consensus about diplomatic solution to the conflict, the arab peace initiative, and the 2008 cease-fire that Hamas was holding to.The lecturer supported this argument with many factual details, usually straight out of the mouths of the Israeli leadership. Their primary (and illegal) motive is that they do not want to withdraw from the occupied West Bank.
He also brought out the role of the U.S. in supporting the status quo.Unfortunately, the Texan's coverage is part of that structure that supports the status quo.
This article looks like its written by Texans for Israel.