On the first edition of First Voice 2012 we invited Agniezka from SJP DePaul about the coming of one Dr. Norman Finkelstein – an event both momentous and controversial for the campus who denied him tenure back in 2007. Norman Finkelstein is an activist and author of several books on the Israel-Palestine conflict. His combination of moral indignation over the Palestinian cause and rigorous scholarly research has made him a target of the pro-Israel political and intellectual establishment.

As a graduate student at Princeton he exposed the 1984 book by Joan Peters From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict as nothing short of a fraud.  Time Immemorial intended to destroy the moral argument for the millions of Palestinian refugees created since the creation of Jewish-settled areas in former Palestine, much to the amusement of the American intelligentsia. It claimed that almost no Palestinians existed in the region at the time of Israel’s establishment as a state in 1948. Peters’ work was lauded by the intellectual community and the praise continued for many months-exposing the books as a fraud became the thesis for Finkelstein’s doctorate at Princeton. Finkelstein’s research was ignored in America. It wasn’t until Time Immemorial would be published in England that mentor and ally Noam Chomsky sent copies of Finkelstein’s research to the British intelligentsia. By the time the book was released “every major journal, the Times Literary Supplement, the London Review, the Observer, everybody had a review saying, this doesn’t even reach the level of nonsense, of idiocy”, Chomsky said. In due time the exposed truth came back to America, much to the dismay of the periodicals, the journals, and virtually every reviewer of the book that had praised it as “groundbreaking.” Not only did Finkelstein succeed in discrediting Time Immemorial as a hoax: he had also exposed the “American intellectual community as a gang of frauds” as Chomsky had foreseen.

In 2007, after the prolific exchange between Finkelstein and Alan Dershowitz, Finkelstein was denied tenure at DePaul University in Chicago. During a debate on Democracy Now! Finkelstein showed how Dershowitz’s The Case for Israel was a work of plagiarism, “fraud, falsification, and [...] nonesense.” From that time forward Dershowitz campaigned to have Finkelstein’s bid for tenure denied. Officially, Finkelstein, then Assistant Professor of Political Science at DePaul University in Chicago, was denied tenure because his work and research was both ‘unscholarly and polemic.’ President of DePaul, Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, echoed the University’s Board on Tenure and Promotion’s intent to deny Dr. Finkelstein tenure despite his department’s tenure committee support (9 to 3) and the unanimous support by the Personnel Committee for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (5-0).

Dr. Finkelstein’s work has been vetted as highly analytical and rigorous in research. Dr. Finkelstein himself has been denounced as an anti-Semite and a Holocaust denier, despite his Jewish ethnicity and direct wounds to the Nazi killing machine: the Fascist regime murdered his grandparents. DePaul’s decision was marred with controversy- sit-ins, hunger strikes; Professional and collegiate outrage. Noam Chomsky’s warning was still ringing true: “[if you] expose the American intellectual community as a gang of frauds [...] they are not going to like it, and they’re going to destroy you.”

Almost five years since DePaul’s denial of tenure and Finkelstein’s resignation, he is being invited back to the university by SJP DePaul to speak on Monday, January 16th, 2012: An Evening With Norman Finkelstein at DePaul University.

Ahead of Dr. Finkelstein’s two lectures at DePaul – Israel and Palestine / Freedom of Speech on College Campuses – we speak with Agniezka, organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine at DePaul. Listen to our conversation with Agniezka here.

by Zé Guillotinez

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Context:

This year the Israeli occupation of Palestine enters its 64th year amidst an increasingly global consensus on the right of Palestine to exist as an independent and sovereign state that would include the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza along the borders of the 1967 Six Day War.

In September of 2011 the Palestinian Authority-the governmental representation of the Palestinian people- formally launched its bid for statehood at the United Nations, the culmination of a diplomatic strategy taken by Palestine to ask individual countries to recognize it as a state. The US and Israel condemned Palestine’s actions as destructive to the diplomatic peace process and the US promised to wield its veto power as a permanent member of the Security Counsel against Palestinian statehood.

In October, 2011 UNESCO- the United Nation’s cultural organization- going against opposition from the US and Israel- symbolically voted to grant membership to Palestine. Immediately, the US cancelled a $60 million payment to the organization. Months prior, in February of 2011, the U.S. vetoed a Security Council measure that reiterated the illegality of Israeli settlement expansion into the West Bank. The settlements in the West Bank, considered illegal under international law, reached a record number in 2011.

In December 2008, January 2009 Israel launched a vicious attack on Gaza-Operation Cast Lead- which ultimately killed some 1,300 people and left more than 5,000 injured. The U.S. not only supported this military excursion but went as far as halting efforts at the U.N. Security Council for a ceasefire to the brutal venture which saw the use of white phosphorous and Dense Inert Metal Explosives on scores of Palestinians in Gaza. The attack came as the Israeli blockade of Gaza reached its 18th month.

A call to recognize the U.S. backed occupation of Palestine and the countless human rights abuses by Israel will continue to gain traction outside the American Academia and its conspiring journals and think-tanks as will the “overwhelming international consensus” on Palestine’s right to exist.

“We demand an end to the economic system based on exploitation, subjugation, alienation, & domination. Capitalism. To be more precise; an end to the corporate state nexus because the market has never been free; it is subsidized and manipulated by the instruments of the state.”
-A person choosing to remain anonymous as part of #OccupyChicago

#OccupyChicago enters day 4 emulating the thousands in NYC protesting a ‘failed’ economic system as part of the movement #OccupyWallStreet. #OccupyChicago started on Friday September, 23 with some 50 protesters taking a stand outside the Federal Reserve, adjacent to the Chicago Board of Trade on Jackson and Van Buren in Downtown Chicago. By nightfall some 7 people made the decision to camp outside, in solidarity with #OccupyWallStreet and the masses worldwide rising up to reclaim an oft distorted word, democracy.

#OccupyChicago purposely resists party-politics and ideology. It emphatically rejects a concept of leadership. Although some individuals insist “proper revolutionary leadership” is essential if the movement is to succeed, the dynamic of this culture has united under the mantra of “fighting against corporate abuse of democracy in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world.”

Even as the NYPD brutalized peaceful dissent on the streets of New York- unequivocally proven by dozens of viral YouTube videos and first-hand testimonies- resulting in some 80 arrests #OccupyWallStreet seems undismayed, calling Sunday a day of healing, discussion and preparation. It is now entering its 11th day with many more #occupy movements spreading nation-wide: #OccupyLA, #OccupyFlorida, #OccupyMinneapolis, #OccupyDenver, #OccupyDC among many others which you can keep track of at Occupy Together. There is strength in numbers but as we have seen in New York City thousands of relentless occupiers have incited those who protect & serve to live up to their institutional duty of protecting the interests of the opulent minority from the rising tide of a majority thirsty for inclusion.

Opening the floodgates of #occupation was the Arab Spring, thereafter spreading to Spain, Israel, Chile, and now-finally-the impetus of anger and frustration has spilled out to these American streets. Yet a movement cannot consolidate on anger alone- the creative solutions for this social project we aspire to- government by the people- can only be fed by the presence, conversations, and solutions proposed by a popular culture of resistance which today reject the ‘corporate-state nexus’ in favor of participation in social and economic policy.

#OccupyChicago is acquiring more of a structure with General Assemblies planned for 10am 3pm and 10pm with “culture and recreation” taking place at Millenium Park at 7pm. Today’s 3PM General Assembly discussed the growing relevance and importance of committees based on talent, passion, and interest. If you would like to organize in the Media committee-I would, let’s talk- you should hit us up here at First Voice. My e-mail is ze.garcia@radioarte.org and I would love to hear from you.

“I don’t want to see crime happen, I want to prevent crime…we need community centers.” -Témoc Morfin

Témoc Interview, First Part

Témoc Part 2

Click for more information on Témoc’s campaign and check out this article highlighting how toxic big business fuels Danny Solis’ campaign. Solis also recently told the Chicago Sun Times that he would never hold a position that would represent a ‘conflict of interest’ in looking out for his constituents as alderman. Should we suppose the destruction of our ecosystem and our quality of life does not apply?

Check out Little Village’s Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) if you would like to learn more and get involved in the fight for healthier living.

Another candidate we had been following closely, Rhymefest, contending to be the alderman of the 20th Ward on the city’s South Side, is headed to a run-off vote against incumbent Alderman Willie Cochran. Rhymefest has vowed to bring green energy to his precinct and has received the backing of the Chicago Teacher’s Union.

Mayoral hopeful Patricia van Pelt-Watkins calls in to speak to us about her ideas and her place in a corporate dominated democratic process and much more. She took 1% of the vote and answers the question, ‘if you were elected, what would you want your legacy to be, what would you want to be remembered for?’.

Co-producer Walter Lopez airs another of his street talk series asking people in the city about election day.

We also had the privilege of speaking with Dr. David Stovall, a renowned education reform activist and scholar who spoke at an event on 2.26 sponsored by the newly-formed HumanThread project (which is based in Pilsen, Chicago). Listen to his interview below.

Dr.Stovall.Education Reform

Zé Garcia airs his live footage from ground zero in Madison, Wisconsin where tens of thousands of labor activists have taken to the streets to protest anti-worker legislation. Sound bytes from Tea Party activists, sponsored in part by billionaire ideologues the Koch Brothers, are played as well as the voices of pro-democracy labor activists. We hear the voices of the Industrial Workers of the World call for a general strike and get to hear them (and backing musicians) perform “Solidarity Forever”, live from Madison, Wisconsin.

We end the show by talking with Pete Betsos and Ja’Mal Green, “assets to society”, of the organization Historical Voices. They bring some positive vibes, talking about bringing activism and self-mastery to youth.

Stream the entire show as well as Zé’s special report, live from Madison, Wisconsin, below.

Fv.02.22.election.day by FV_RA

Ground Zero: Wisconsin’s Labor Movement by FV_RA