http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3547270,00.html
Norman Finkelstein de****ted from Israel
Controversial US academic held overnight
at Ben Gurion air****t for questioning,
denied entry due to 'security considerations'
Eli Senyor Published: 05.24.08, 21:05 / Israel News
Israel de****ted Jewish-American Professor
Norman Finkelstein to the United States
on Friday after questioning him at Ben
Gurion air****t.
Finkelstein was denied entry due
to "security concerns," authorities said.
DePaul Controversy
Controversial Jewish professor resigns post/Associated Press
In review of Harvard law professor's book,
Norman Finkelstein argued Israel uses
anti-Semitism as means to stifle criticism.
Finkelstein was detained immediately
after landing in Israel late Thursday
night and was questioned at the air****t
before being told he could not enter Israel.
"Finkelstein was boarded onto a plane
back the United States before dawn.
When he arrived we will decide
whether to appeal this decision,"
his attorney,
Michael Sfard, told Ynet.
Sfard said the entry ban could last 10 years.
"A country that starts to fear what
its harshest critics write about it
is a country that is already behaving
in a manner reminiscent of the darkest
days of the communist regime," said Sfard.
Finkelstein,
the son of a Holocaust survivor,
has written extensively regarding
Israel's policies in the territories
and accuses Israel of manipulating
the memory of the Holocaust and
present-day anti-Semitism to
justify illegitimate policies.
His work has garnered considerable
admiration in some circles and
scathing criticism in others.
In a much-publicized mêlée,
he was denied tenure at DePaul
University in 2007,
re****tedly over the frequent criticism
lobbed at him from numerous academic
and public figures,
most notably Harvard's Alan Dershowitz.
The Association for Civil Rights in
Israel (ACRI) denounced Finkelstein's
de****tation.
"The decision to prevent someone from
voicing their opinions by arresting and
de****ting them is typical of a totalitarian
regime.
A democratic state,
where freedom of expression
is the highest principle,
does not shut out criticism or ideas
just because they are uncomfortable
for its authorities to hear,
it confronts those ideas in public debate,"
said ACRI Attorney Oded Peler.
Adva Naftali contributed to this re****t
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