Yes, it’s true: Tariq Ali and Noam Chomsky will speak at a rally for Norman Finkelstein at DePaul University this fall. No, Finkelstein is not running for public office. He wants to get as much victim publicity from the fact that he was not promoted (meaning retained) as a political science professor at the largest Catholic institution in the country. And what would such a protest be without Tariq Ali and Noam Chomsky!
But it seems that Tony Judt and John Mearsheimer are also starring at the protest meeting or teach-in or whatever they’re calling it. And, frankly, I am amazed that Mearsheimer and Judt are willing, in one grand gesture, to put themselves in alliance for and with nut cases on the Israel-Palestinian issue. Poor Tony Judt. He knows what he’s doing. I’m not sure that Mearsheimer actually does.
I found out about this stellar event defending Fink while reading Jamie Kirchick’s guest posting at Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish on August 30.