Finkelstein in Helsinki
"Norman Finkelstein is an American researcher who has written extensively on the Israel–Palestine conflict and on the politics of the Nazi holocaust. His books The Holocaust Industry and Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History received both high praise and intense criticism. Finkelstein was in Helsinki attending the premier of American Radical, a documentary about his life and career, which was being shown at the Lens Politica film festival.
"Norman Finkelstein is an American researcher who has written extensively on the Israel–Palestine conflict and on the politics of the Nazi holocaust. His books The Holocaust Industry and Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History received both high praise and intense criticism. Finkelstein was in Helsinki attending the premier of American Radical, a documentary about his life and career, which was being shown at the Lens Politica film festival.
Could you start by describing your history as a scholar of the Israel – Palestine conflict?
I was active in politics from a fairly young age, mostly on the big issues then in the United States – the war in Vietnam, civil rights and so on......
What motivates you in your work?
I’m not a profound person. Other people have more depth, more moral intensity, like [Noam] Chomsky. I just don’t have that. I wasn’t born with any special gift. That’s part of the reason I feel so much for other people who didn’t enjoy the benefits that I have had in life, because I know that whatever I’ve enjoyed in life is because my circumstances have enabled me to do so. There but for the grace of God. My motivations are pretty straightforward. I really can’t bear to see people suffer. For me, politics is very personal. So there are both political and intellectual elements to it, of course, but I always fix in my mind’s eye people that I personally know who are the victims, and that tells me that I should continue. My friend in Palestine – a wonderful, decent human being who is being ground under by this merciless occupation and merciless country – that is my motivation."
I was active in politics from a fairly young age, mostly on the big issues then in the United States – the war in Vietnam, civil rights and so on......
What motivates you in your work?
I’m not a profound person. Other people have more depth, more moral intensity, like [Noam] Chomsky. I just don’t have that. I wasn’t born with any special gift. That’s part of the reason I feel so much for other people who didn’t enjoy the benefits that I have had in life, because I know that whatever I’ve enjoyed in life is because my circumstances have enabled me to do so. There but for the grace of God. My motivations are pretty straightforward. I really can’t bear to see people suffer. For me, politics is very personal. So there are both political and intellectual elements to it, of course, but I always fix in my mind’s eye people that I personally know who are the victims, and that tells me that I should continue. My friend in Palestine – a wonderful, decent human being who is being ground under by this merciless occupation and merciless country – that is my motivation."
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