Norman Finkelstein on Donald Trump & the genocide in Gaza | Busboys & Poets

"In its comprehensive sweep, deep probing and acute critical analysis, Finkelstein's study stands alone."—Noam Chomsky

The Gaza Strip is among the most densely populated places in the world. More than two-thirds of its inhabitants are refugees, and more than half are under eighteen years of age. Since 2004, Israel has launched eight devastating “operations” against Gaza’s largely defenseless population. Thousands have perished, and tens of thousands have been left homeless. In the meantime, Israel has subjected Gaza to a merciless illegal blockade.

What has befallen Gaza is a man-made humanitarian disaster that has only grown in the years since. Since October 7th 2023 the world has been watching in horror as Israel tightens its blockades, starves the population, and destroys major civilian infrastructure. 

Based on scores of human rights reports, Norman G. Finkelstein's book GAZA: AN INQUEST INTO ITS MARTYRDOM presents a meticulously researched inquest into Gaza’s martyrdom. He shows that although Israel has justified its assaults in the name of self-defense, in fact these actions constituted flagrant violations of international law. But Finkelstein also documents that the guardians of international law—from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to the UN Human Rights Council—ultimately failed Gaza. One of his most disturbing conclusions is that, after Judge Richard Goldstone's humiliating retraction of his UN report, human rights organizations succumbed to the Israeli juggernaut. Finkelstein’s magnum opus is both a monument to Gaza’s martyrs and an act of resistance against the forgetfulness of history.

Norman Finkelstein is joining us on the Busboys stage alongside Dr. Nader Hashemi to share his research into the ongoing genocide enacted by the Israeli state against Palestians in Gaza, and discuss the U.S. government’s role in this genocide. Signed copies of Finkelstein’s book GAZA: AN INQUEST INTO ITS MARTYRDOM will be available for purchase during and after the event.

This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 5:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of GAZA: AN INQUEST INTO ITS MARTYRDOM will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is IN PERSON and WILL be livestreamed, and all Busboys and Poets Book events are hosted with a first-come, first-serve seating policy. 

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Norman G. Finkelstein received his doctorate from the Princeton University Department of Politics. He is a frequent lecturer and commentator on the Israel-Palestine conflict. He is the author of many books that have been translated into 60 foreign editions, including THE HOLOCAUST INDUSTRY: Reflections on the exploitation of Jewish suffering, GAZA: An inquest into its martyrdom, and most recently, I ACCUSE! Here with a proof beyond reasonable doubt that ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda whitewashed Israel. In the year 2020, Norman Finkelstein was named the fifth most influential political scientist in the world.

Dr. Nader Hashemi is the Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is the author of Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies (Oxford University Press, 2009) and co-editor of The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran’s Future (Melville House, 2011), The Syria Dilemma (MIT Press, 2013), Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2017) and a four-volume study on Islam and Human Rights: Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies (Routledge, 2023). His next book project is entitled: “The Global Divide over Israel and Palestine.” He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).

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