Is Israel Unfairly Held to a Higher Standard? Norman Finkelstein on Reality Asserts Itself (1/4)

[@DonDonate-i8j]

I can listen to this man all day and night, his understanding of the subject which he speak on has no equal.

[@PeeedaPan]

a critique of Zionism is not a critique of all Jews and is not anti-Semitic. I wish more people could understand that point.

[@neilsdahlberg1323]

More Jews need to be against Zionism--instead of smug acceptance of it...

[@IndifferentSky]

They do understand it Derrick, they are being assholes.

[@Luke43168]

IndifferentSky one of the greatest youtube comments of all time

[@Tsnore]

Yes, you are right, and that is a sign of open intellectual maturity that eludes so many minds.

[@dante8674]

I wish more people actually understood the definition of Zionism.

[@the81kid]

Fascinating and insightful as always. It's criminal that this man has been ostracized from academia.

[@slwankaedbey775]

this man has on of the sharpest minds in citing facts and revealing reality as it is.

[@chrisgreene2623]

Finkeksteing gives the middle finger to hypocrisy with eloquence and insight combined with passion. That is why they hate him

[@a-sheepof-christ9027]

They hate him because he is a turncoat who cynically downplays the very real threat of terrorism against Israel that has been going on ever since holocaust survivors wanted to reclaim their historical roots and parts of land from what BY THEN HAD BECOME Palestine.

[@ryang790]

I do respect that the interviewer didn't keep interrupting Mr Finkelstein and really did let him speak In length , so he could fully explain the reality. 👍. I mean the question is silly and upside down. Of course, it shud be " Why does an Apartheid state like Israel, not get criticized by our media?" ..

[@DonDonate-i8j]

Why this man is black listed from USA tv he’s such a great intellectual. Which you didn’t see very often.

[@seesnap]

Finklestein is probably the most important intellectual of our time

[@Serenoj69]

Porbably not. He is intellectual abou Israel, whereas Noam Chomsky is intellectual in a much broader sense and to my mind is the most importnt one of our time at least in the west.

[@2Truth2you]

@@Serenoj69 Chomsky is a smelly gatekeeper.

[@ZekeMan62]

@@2Truth2you Yup.

[@seesnap]

Probably the most original intellectual,finklestein exudes a calm to our basic needs. Powerhouse of a man Two thumbs up all the way up

[@AJost-sb8ux]

Israel i Don’t use the Holocaust as a rhetorical . The Jews who were murdered didn’t set foot in what was then Palestine, let alone take part in Israeli politics or policies. It is wrong to try to use their deaths to score political points. Leave the Holocaust out of it.

[@arr2884]

Geneva Switzerland a lot of survivors went to Palestine and killed people.

[@eliseville]

@@arr2884 As 'survivors', they may have been victims of terrible and traumatic acts, but they themselves were not murdered.

[@arr2884]

@@eliseville I agree with what you wrote. I disagreed with person who wrote that the holocaust survivors have nothing to do Israel. More than 10% of the survivors went to Palestine and supported the killing of the Palestinians.

[@honestchrismcg]

I feel like Finkelstein did a poor job of addressing the NYT ad in this interview. I wish he had pointed out that the argument is made in bad faith. Those who accuse critics of Israeli policy of silence regarding the human rights abuses of Iran or whoever else aren't doing so out of a genuine concern that there is widespread approval of theocracy, homophobia or brutality among Israel's critics. Suddenly, every criticism of Israel, the developed, supposedly democratic and humane nation requires a token acknowledgment that Iran, the foe of Israel and the West is worse before the conversation can continue. The goal is changing the subject and minimizing Israel's crimes. The point of political criticism is educating people and steering policy in a more rational and humane direction. Joining the chorus of voices condemning the brutality of ISIS or al-Qaeda isn't particularly illuminating and the conversation regarding policy towards radical Islamists will inevitably be different shades of how best to reduce the harm they might cause. Pointing out the war crimes and human rights abuses of an ostensibly liberal democratic regime that also happens to be a close ally to all of the major Western powers, on the other hand, has the potential to change people's perspectives, especially when the mainstream media has largely abdicated their responsibility to inform the public on this matter.

[@JP-ATV]

***** the reason why he seems to be repeating the same thing is because he is! Israel continues to do the same Illegal activities over and over and over again and the USA is doing nothing to stop it, in fact they continue to encourage it financially. If the united states continues to ignore all statements from respected organisations like Amnesty international then yes Dr. Finkelstein will continue to repeat the same thing. Good for him, he's got the balls to say the unpopular things.

[@BlantonDelbert]

You could write a bit more clearly. You comment is all muddleheaded. Just write that Israel is supposedly a democratic and modern country whereas Iran pretty much is a theocracy. Therefore, Israel's crimes are worse because they are coming from a supposedly enlightened and modern democratic state. So, this should be taken into account when comparing Iran's crimes with its backwards, theocratic bullshit government to a modern, democratic country like Israel. So, when someone supporting Israels asks, "What about Iran?" You should reply, "Such crimes against homosexuals are expected from some radicalized Muslim country. Is Israel a radicalized Zionists country?" When this pro-Israel person says, "No, no. Israel is an inclusive democracy." Then you say Horse Shit, just like Obama says it.

[@1exlds90]

hamas should be held to the warmonger terrorist standard that they are

[@nasnasnus4795]

***** Brilliantly put it. Many thanks thanks for being on the side of justice and humanity.

[@efirub5732]

***** you don't know what is morality is. But nice demagogue.Good job.

[@andreasandreotti4492]

A confident man like Norman can not be found among many Jews!

[@lamborger]

Israel is not held to any standard lol.

[@eliseville]

@bobloblaw They may not be held to even the lowest, but they SHOULD be held to the HIGHEST, as they are the ONLY nation in more than a couple of centuries, to have been completely 'gifted' their colonial land out of another, actually indigenous people's homeland! Thanks conquering British Empire with Woody Wilson's acquiescence!

[@ArizonaRed]

Yes but how many times do our politicians point out that Israel is THE ONLY DEMOCRACY ? They are failing at that in creating an apartheid state, destroying homes and invading mosques.

[@johnsullivan518]

Say that now.

[@lamborger]

@@johnsullivan518It’s truer now than ever before. They are committing a genocide and receiving billions of dollars for it. You’re not even allowed to call it out.

[@jensmandreasen2230]

The irony is of course that the Israelis killed ten times more homosexuals in Gaza during this last war (by randomly targeting a civilian population) than the sum of all executions carried out by Hamas, for all times, for any reason of which none was homosexuality.

[@billybob-vy4sw]

On this subject Normie is the facts machine

[@synhope3746]

I dont understand one thing. Israel is an occupier. Every other topic is just nonsense. Various people, various customs, various religions have different ideas about gays or no gays or somebody else. The topic is and should be that Israel is an occupier.

[@Elyasafmunk]

Syn Hope Stop spewing about things that you know nothing about.

[@axaeyexus]

An indigenous people cannot "occupy" their own land.

[@usmansheikh7717]

Norman Finklesten SACRIFICED his LIFE for a people with the most miserable existence. He could have protested for a day and would've gotten bored of it the next day.... like today people post non sense like Free Palestine and when it loses its trend they turn back to behaving like the animals that they are. Norman Knows of his true self and his essential reality. This man has single handedly done more for voiceless than what 1.8 billion Muslims combined did and could not do.

[@iamthenews5624]

Here from the future!

[@imriyad]

Great Job Done by Norman Finkelstein..

[@maurgi17]

I am so happy to see you guys sitting down with Norman. Thank you Real News for this present.

[@donilo252525]

I think this is the first time I've ever seen Finkelstein smile. What a terrific smile! You should smile as much as you can Norman! (I know it's hard, considering the usual content of your videos - fighting off the herds of detractors. I admire that you never relent!)

[@qezenfer1607]

Shame on everyone who commit and contribute to crimes against humanity. They have always gone unpunished throughout history, and will go unpunished in future. And they know that, and that's the reason they have gone so bold

[@emt40ish]

Not unfair at all. Israel has thumbed its nose at international law for DECADES. While it is true there are other countries that can and should be held accountable, efforts, when scattered among many battlefields, lose their effacacy. Its best to focus on one thing at a time. Since the UN/UNSC has been addressing Israel's occupation and illegal movement of its population into occupied territory, the attention is not undeserved. Tackle this battlefield, then move on to the next.

[@SpacePirate1969]

Lynn Abea As long as the UN is a muslim-controlled body which shows a total lack of interest in dealing with the real cause of problems in the Middle East (among the others, Islamic refusal to accept the fact that jews and Christians have equal rights and are no more anyones dhimmy or slaves). This beside the fact that All Arab countries are based on a discriminatory policy (you can't get Arab citizenship if you're not an ethnic Arab) where apartheid against non Arabs is practiced openly (let's not talk about slavery, Qatar is just the most recent of examples) but in the eyes of the World Islamist Organization (that's what the UN has become, unfortunately,) the only apartheid state is the only state where Arabs have more rights than in any Arab country is, actually, the only true democracy in the Middle East, where even gay people have rights (when we all know they'll be killed instantly in one of those countries controlling the UN, Iran, Syria, Qatar or Saudi Arabia among the others).

[@emt40ish]

Naw, this is simple cause and effect. Here is the cause www.merip.org/mer/mer112/arms-sales-militarization-middle-east

[@tallen4520]

What is unfair about requiring higher standards (in ALL categories) from those claiming to be "God's Chosen"?

[@0MoTheG]

What is wrong with holding Israel to a higher standard than ISIS ?

[@kathirgamanathanganeshan5222]

Very nice speech sir

[@ArizonaRed]

Personally I am critical of a country that we support that are violating human rights.

[@tuja464]

Finkelstein looks like 007❤.

[@Kelpy]

super enlightening series, real history, not just real news! good going! I contributed!

[@anthonykennedy5324]

I think I might have missed something. If Norman's parents regarded the Soviet Union highly, which is understandable, why did they not elect to emigrate to there rather than the US ?

[@hamidious]

hahaha, Norman Finklestein is awesome, I love RN. Why does he oppose Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions movement?

[@bilalha123]

I never knew he did, but I'm assuming if it's true it's because the bds movement entails collective punishment against the whole Israeli population, a better solution would be diplomacy even though Israel have abused their impunity in the Un for decades. I support the bds movement anyway, it puts pressure on the Israeli government that our governments are too afraid to do.

[@4thoseabout2r0ck4]

I'm sure it will be mentioned in the coming episodes, but if you want to know his opinions on BDS you can check out this video called " Head to Head - Time to boycott Israel? " 16 minutes and 15 seconds into the video they ask him the same question.

[@bilalha123]

Yeah, they vote for a party that is culpable in these war crimes, but that being said you could look at me and say that I deserve to be boycotted too lol, I'm British and i support a political party that illegally invaded Iraq, even though i don't agree with that decision i still support the party, even though i didn't vote for them as i wasn't old enough to vote during the last general election does that mean I, like the Israeli citizens, deserve to be a target of the bds movement? I personally don't think so.

[@jencasey5837]

*****. Were you sitting on a hill drinking beer and cheering as you watched Gaza being blown to bits?

[@bilalha123]

Yes.

[@nikncip4806]

I wish that I had found these excellent interviews much earlier., but it still must be mentioned concerning treatment of gays in Muslim-majority countries that an actual genocide of gay men and trans women took place in Iraq while it was under US occupation. (Yes, I realize that Bushco claims that the occupation ended in June, 2004, but, in reality, Iraq is still in 2017 under foreign occupation, even though its puppet govt can't decide whether the puppet master is US or Iran.) Although the Sunni reactionaries did some of this killing, the main offenders were the very Shi-i Dawa militias that were being equipped and directed by John Negroponte and Col. Steele under the "Salvador option" policy, I.e., phase two of the sectarian destruction of Arab Iraq and Syria...we're into phase 4 or 5 now.

[@SolveigStaal]

How can gays say we don't criticize hamas or any other government for having anti gay policy?! We're human rights activists! That's a stupid accusation

[@rosestewart1606]

It's part of the pinkify campaign by Israel and that includes social media. Israel has an entire department to work social media generally pretending to be average people. to be honest most of LGBT community that I know are fairly active in human rights activities on other issues. I think the pinkify campaign underestimated the intelligence and morals of the LGBT community thinking the only thing they cared about are gay rights. But in truth they are members of every aspect of our society so while they fight against discrimination for themselves they are generally fighting for everyone else implicitly

[@Zeckellin]

Excellent so far, Norman and Paul!

[@Independencecheese]

Why has he never watched a film? Can anyone find the timestamp please? 😊

[@Luzt.]

I really like Paul Jay. He seems interested in getting to the truth which is a rare thing.

[@haraldisdead]

"But Sara did it too!"

[@ArizonaRed]

Joan Peter's book seems to deny Nakba massacre.

[@Quntumking]

Listening to this it seems like Isreal isn't always right. Netanyahu seems kinda like a jerk.

[@rrclements1]

Jews are “God’s Chosen People.” That title puts Jews at the top of the social hierarchy. Jewish people get reverence, especially by white and black American Christians, because of this title. “It’s lonely at the top “ unfortunately and people look at Jews as the model for the rest of the world and Jewish people serve this role very well. To answer your question,”yes,” Jewish people are held to a higher standard to lead the rest of the world, but remember, the Torah says as long as the Jews follow God’s Commandments, they will retain this position. It’s not until Jews stray away from Him that their problems begin, as we see today. When Jews are having spiritual dilemmas, that’s when they begin to concerns themself with the standards Men hold the to.

[@przemkowaliszewski3290]

Have you heard about the Kahal debts? Those are debts to the Polish kings to be paid by Jewish communities in Poland since the XV century. No need to mention that Jews corrupted that fiscal system so quickly that the kings git max.10% of taxes due. This issue exemplifies how tricky Jews can be, and that corrupt any political and financial system, what has happened to the US government, and may happen soon to the Polish one (unfair antipolish Act 447 Just).

[@Research0digo]

Stop interrupting, and putting words into Finkelstein's mouth Jay! And he sure as hell doesn't need you explaining the question - you've done it three times now, and I'm only at 5:48!!

[@thepepperlanders]

"Higher standard"? Does this mean that human rights abuses can never be discussed anywhere in the world? Or just when it concerns Israel. Perhaps the next discussion will be "Is North Korea Unfairly Held to a Higher Standard?". The whole argument is Orwellian.

[@savemasaferyattashutelbitd8852]

still relevant #freePalestine

[@Research0digo]

18:12 it's interesting Peters title has the words Conflict Over Palestine. So many armchair know-it-alls keep saying there was no Palestine.

[@goon143]

"Norm"

[@seesnap]

Two thumbs up for finklestein all the way up

[@dallaskenn]

Nice try Bibi, but no candy bar.

[@gabrielnahman8714]

Mr. Finkelstein, you should answer to some precise question: Why never talk about Gaza or "west bank" dictatorships? Gays are beheaded there, forcedly by father or brother just to apply Sha'aria Law! Does Mr. "I know everything" know what happens to a ganja smoker or a alchool drinker in Gaza? Or if a girl is pregnant but not married?! Why talk shit about Israel when palestinians are massacred by the very palestinian authorities?!!

[@gabrielnahman8714]

+Oners82 "Maybe because Israel has massacred thousands of times more people"... This is your creative narrative that replaces reality? Ok, now I understand your need of offending, I'm sorry for you. Try to look up for the number of deaths in all ME, hundreds of thousands of muslim and christians slaughtered by different terrorist groups.

[@djolivierastro]

+Gabriel Nahman I remember last summer a gay being stabbed in Israhell ....shalom feel the Bern

[@MustacheVerra]

The answer to that Paul and I'm surprise you even asked is that Israel wants us to talk about other's crime not theirs. That the reason for the add. Frankly I'm kind of disappointed you even asked it. But I'll give it to you you brought in the best guess to answer that question haha!

[@ericsmith3554]

He asked the obvious question because what seems elementary to unbiased people around the world requires a steep learning curve for brain-washed Americans.

[@MustacheVerra]

Eric Smith Yea but then again he could answer the question himself like i just did and expose is for what it is and that it is about distracting people from Israeli crime. It's just PR trick obviously. I was dissapointed he asked because just mentioning it is pushing the Israeli narrative in a way.

[@ericsmith3554]

Sometimes interviewers like to play the devil's advocate and to appear neutral. Does Jay behave like during all his interviews? I agree, that this can get ridiculous. I mean if a historian was trying to stay neutral when talking about the reasons for the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto where many Jews were killed and playing the devils advocate that the Jews somehow brought the wrath of the German Army and the SS on themselves by trying to rebel.

[@samb6928]

This whole debate is based on (as per 0:43) "those who scapegoat Israel while remaining silent on gay human rights issues elsewhere in the middle east". If you want to stretch the definition then you could say "it is wrong to criticize Israel's human rights actions/record while being silent on other countries in the Middle East". The entire debate then misrepresented the introduction by representing it as "is it wrong to criticize Israel" and then becomes a huge criticism of Israel. I'm quite surprised that Frankenstein didn't pick up on this misrepresentation, or continued with it, because he did say that people who generally criticize Israel also criticize other countries. But this is irrelevant to the whole debate. Again, the topic is this "IF" you criticize Israel's human rights without criticizing its neighbors' human rights "THEN" you are doing something "wrong" Has Israel done wrong this? YES. Does the government of Israel have blood on its hands? YES. Can, and should, Israel do better? YES. But this "debate" or "discussion" was supposed to be about the idea that those people who only look at Israel's wrongs without speaking out about the wrongs of its neighbors are being hypocrites and practicing racist double standards. But the topic of discussion (a new york times ad) has been misrepresented as "it's simply wrong to criticize Israel when others have also done bad things". The ad never said that, the ad was about hypocrisy, not bout holding Israel to account. This entire KZbin clip is based on a misrepresentation, and the comments section simply shows peoples' laziness in understanding the issue as well as their outright racism towards Israel because they are doing EXACTLY what the ad said and what the debate was about. The commentators on this video are much more instructional about the issue then the people in the clip itself. Well done.

[@phil123711]

Israel wants all of Palestine. Palestinians must move. Hello.

[@shawnawasthi]

now its the gay card

[@gabrielnahman8714]

Mr. "I feel like God", Have you ever talked or studied about the jewish diaspora or nakbah around 1948, when 850.000 jews were kicked out, when not killed, by all arab/muslim countries? Have those Jews asked their properties and land and houses back?! NO! They mostly moved to Israel but also to USA and Italy, France ecc. and never went back home! Insted who took care of the arabs who had to move from Israel due to the WAR waged by Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq against Israel?! Nobody?... And WHY IS THAT?! Is somebody USING the arab "palestinians" as a tool?

[@gabrielnahman8714]

What exactly happened in the '60s between Arab League, Muslim Brotherhood and KGB?! Who CREATED the "palestinian people" and fairy tale and why?! Who was Haj Ammin al Husseini and what did he do?! Who is Yasser Arafat? Why were tens of thousands palestinians massacred by Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon?! Why didn't any of these "muslim brothers" help their cause?! Mr. Finkelstein...ever questioned yourself on why shitting on Israel is so easy and having such an oceanic audience who worships you is such a piece of cake?!

[@gabrielnahman8714]

+Oners82 I have asked a precise question...seems like you're not able to reply, are you?

[@joaquinczikk8085]

If you have a problem with zionism, you should leave the US and give it back to the Natives. If Jews can't live in their homeland, you certainly shouldn't live in the States.. But even that is not true, because most of the palestinians are not native, are egyptians that came to palestine in the 1930s when the economy flourished because of the jews and british. 50% of the jews are jewish refugees from the middle east, which are as or more local as this palestinians.

[@borninvincible]

You sound like the Klan.

[@Ronald-hx5ob]

would love to see Finkelstein and Ben Shapiro but heads on Israel. Now that would be a debate to hear and see.

[@kishmish64]

please watch ring worm children of israel on you tube

[@roileon24]

Israel have one principle that they live by, Peace will be answered with peace

[@Bigbrotheriswatchingus]

+Roi Turgeman So why does Israel not practice it?

[@roileon24]

***** Who say they didn't?

[@Bigbrotheriswatchingus]

Anyone with enough operating brain cells who can read or look at pictures probably

[@roileon24]

That rule you out.

[@Bigbrotheriswatchingus]

You as well

[@RachelDerGolem]

I am glad Dr. Finkelstein lived long enough to watch the Arab world destroy itself.

[@pele-moshec2552]

He replaced his fanatical Maoist views with fanatical one sidedness agains Israel . Fanatics can't be objective !!! This guy is fanatic by nature

[@zvipatent]

at 19:20 Fink admits to having been a fool. We look forward to his realization that he is still a fool.