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DePaul's Tuitions And Alumni Pay Off Professor
The long-running battle between Norman Finkelstein and
DePaul University administrators ended Wednesday as the two sides
agreed on a private settlement.
But the underlying struggle between supporters of Israel and
champions of the Palestinians continues, not just at the North Side
campus but across the academic world.
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Reluctantly Takes The Money
Finkelstein's case attracted far greater public attention than
tenure struggles usually do, with supporters across the nation
demanding the Catholic university grant him tenure and detractors
just as vehemently insisting he be fired. Wednesday's settlement did
little to calm those waters.
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Legal Giant 'Outraged'
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, a strong supporter of
Israel, has been engaged in a long and bitter public debate with
Finkelstein. Dershowitz expressed outrage that the university
said, "Professor Finkelstein is a prolific scholar and an
outstanding teacher."
"The university has traded truth for peace," howled Dershowitz. "The
statement that [Finkelstein] is a scholar is simply false. He's a
propagandist."
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Dean Abbie
Earlier this year, DePaul Dean Chuck Suchar,
Romanian Jewish family, had
rejected tenure for Finkelstein, saying the political scientist,
known for his red-hot rhetoric, hadn't been true to the school's "Vincentian
values," including respect for the views of others.
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Noam Chomsky Sees Finklestein As A Son
Finkelstein's cause, meanwhile, has found support among academic
powerhouses such as the late Raul Hilberg, and Noam Chomsky,
linguist and social critic.
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Sad Day
But Finkelstein himself was soft-spoken in what had been billed
as his final class session. His remarks were more reminiscent of the
famed school-days novel "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" than of soap-box
rabble-rousing. He had praise for DePaul University and quoted
lyrics of Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson, balladeers of the liberal
left.
His voice cracked with emotion when he thanked his Jewish students
for their support through some dark periods.
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