American Radical

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 NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

Norman Gary Finkelstein (born December 8, 1953) is an American political scientist, and author. His primary fields of research are the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust. He is a graduate of Binghamton University and received his Ph.D in Political Science from Princeton University. He has held faculty positions at Brooklyn College, Rutgers University, Hunter College, New York University, and, most recently, DePaul University, where he was an assistant professor from 2001 to 2007.

In 2007, after a highly publicized row between Finkelstein and a notable opponent of his, Alan Dershowitz, Finkelstein's tenure bid at DePaul was denied.Finkelstein was placed on administrative leave for the 2007-2008 academic year, and on September 5, 2007, he announced his resignation after coming to a settlement with the university on generally undisclosed terms. An official statement from DePaul strongly defended the decision to deny Finkelstein tenure, stated that outside influence played no role in the decision, and praised Finkelstein "as a prolific scholar and outstanding teacher."

AMERICAN RADICAL

THE TRIALS OF NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

“American Radical is a powerful film — brave, bold, incendiary. I highly recommend it!”
– Michael Moore, award-winning documentary filmmaker

“American Radical is a nuanced and powerful portrait of the scholar Norman Finkelstien, one of the nation’s most courageous and embattled intellectuals. It is a reminder that mendacity and timidity, when in the service of conventional beliefs, are more highly prized in most universities that truth. It illustrates that those who unmask the lies of the intellectual elite swiftly become their victims. The power and subtext of this film, however, is not in the wars fought between Finkelstien and those like Alan Dershowitz who seek to destroy him, but in Finkelstein’s powerful fealty to his mother’s suffering in the Warsaw Ghetto and later the Nazi death camps. Finkelstein sees in all who are oppressed his mother’s degradation and pain. This is a movie that is, at its core, about the unshakable bond of love between a parent and a true and faithful son who refuses to forget or compromise.”
—Chris Hedges,auther of " Amercam Fasists "

“’American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein’ is a cautiously respectful documentary portrait of a political firebrand who presents himself as a beacon of moral truth in the murk of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
—Stephen Holden, New York Times

“Surprisingly entertaining…a compelling portrait of a difficult man.”
—Mark Cohen, The Jewish Daily Forward

“Presents a humanizing portrait of a complex and principled individual…‘American Radical’ deserves to be seen widely as a fascinating introduction to the man and his views.”
—Susan Ryan, Cineaste Magazine

“A fascinating, well-rounded portrait of Finkelstein that simultaneously informs, inspires and infuriates…the filmmakers ride a delicate line, assembling a warts-and-all portrait that shows why Finkelstein is deeply respected and equally reviled.”
—Mark Achbar, director of ’The Corporation’ and ’Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media’

“With impressive restraint, the fascinatingly thorny ‘American Radical’ is less interested in the validity of Finkelstein’s ideas—seriously mounted, if inflammatory—and more in the topsy-turvy life of today’s professional academic. Amazingly, that choice doesn’t result in a boring movie.”
—Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York

“A guaranteed argument starter…an engaging portrait of an academic whose work is both fueled and undermined by his vitriolic personality.”
—J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader

“‘American Radical’…presents a more balanced portrait of Finkelstein, who, when his passion doesn’t carry him off on a wave of anger, is shown to be thoughtful, intelligent and deeply melancholy.”
—George Robinson, The Jewish Week

“(Finkelstein’s) conclusions can be debated, his methods can be deplored, but as (‘American Radical’ directors) Ridgen and Rossier take pains to point out, a man so rigorously committed to putting an end to oppression ought not be so easily dismissed, even if coming to grips with such a challenging figure may be finally as difficult as getting to the bottom of the Arab-Israeli conflict itself.”
—Andrew Schenker, Slant Magazine

“A blood-boiling, very good documentary.”
—Mark Keizer, Boxoffice Magazine

MEMORABLE QUOTES FROM THE MOVIE

Norman Finkelstein: [responding to hecklers at a lecture he is giving] Excuse me! Every single member of my family on both sides was exterminated. Both of my parents were in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and it's precisely and exactly because of the lessons my parents taught me and my two siblings that i will not be silent when Israel commits its crimes against the Palestinians.

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Norman Finkelstein: [commenting on Alan Derschowitz's new book] I was asked to come in and discuss his new book. I went home and purchased one copy, infact i purchased two copies. I read the book very carefully, i did what someone serious does with a book: I read the text, i went through the footnotes. I went through it very carefully, and there's only one conclusion one can reach having read the book - and this is a scholarly judgment, it's not an ad hominem attack. Mr. Derschowitz has concocted a fraud.

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Norman Finkelstein: Believe me, sometimes i wonder whether it's worth it. As I like to say, speaking as a devout atheist, thank god that in his almighty wisdom he made us mortal. We don't have to endure it through eternity.

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Norman Finkelstein: [on being called a self-hating jew] Okay, for argument's sake let's assume it's true. Let's say I have deep identity conflicts. Let's assume it's all true. What's the relevance? The only relevant question is whether what i'm saying is true or false. Let's say Einstein had deep identity conflicts. How does that influence one's judgment about his physics?