Norman Gary Finkelstein the 58 year old USA political scientist, activist and author has been profiled by Natasha Mozgovaya on the Haaretz blog in reference to his latest book that she describes as surprisingly optimistic, despite its title ‘Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel Is Coming to an End’. “In June, Norman Finkelstein will mark 30 years of criticizing Israel. He remembers the exact day – the beginning of the Lebanon war, which ended his indifference to the Middle East’s troubles. …he [says he] is “not going to be an Israel-basher anymore.” It’s not that he’s changed his mind on the conflict, he just says blaming Israel has become too easy. “Nobody really defends Israel anymore” …They’ve lost the battle for public opinion, they claim it’s because American Jews know too little – I claim it’s because they know too much about the conflict, and young liberal Jews have difficulty defending the use of cluster bombs in Lebanon or supporting the Israeli settlements. I was bashing Israel in the past because nobody else was exposing its true record. Many people are doing it now, so I switched hats from a critic of Israel to a diplomat who wants to resolve the conflict. I have not changed, but I think the spectrum has moved.”
Inspired by Natasha Mozgovaya http://ow.ly/aONIu image source Miguel de Icaza http://ow.ly/aOND0
