In late July a most important and informative book will be published. It is important not only for the information it will set forth on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also for the biased, misleading and outright false way that that conflict is presented by Israel’s American Zionist apologists.

The book is Norman Finkelstein's Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History. It is to be published by the prestigious University of California Press, in spite of an extreme Zionist campaign to stop the book’s publication. Norman G. Finkelstein teaches Political Science at DePaul University. His books include The Holocaust Industry (2000); A Nation on Trial (1998; with Ruth Bettina Birn), named a notable book for 1998 by the New York Times Sunday Book Review; and Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict Second edition (2003). The last book was one of the first I read on the conflict and was an eye-opener.

Because the book has faced a concerted campaign by Alan Dershowitz to stop its publication, I think a detailed description both of the book and of the controversy is warranted.

Below is the following:

A description of the book, followed by the table of contents.
U. C. Press’s statement on the publication of the book and Questions and Answers about U.C. Press’s decision to publish the book.
The article in the magazine The Nation about the book and the Dershowitz campaign against it
Several reviews of the book by prominent authors and authorities.
PRE-PUBLICATION COPIES ARE AVAILABLE ON BOOK-SELLER’S WEB SITES. I ORDERED MINE AT AMAZON.COM FOR $15.30

1. DESCRIPTION AND TABLE OF CONTENTS

In this long-awaited sequel to his international bestseller The Holocaust Industry, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an iconoclastic interrogation of the new anti-Semitism to a meticulously researched exposé of the corruption of scholarship on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Bringing to bear the latest findings on the conflict and recasting the scholarly debate, Finkelstein points to a consensus among historians and human rights organizations on the factual record. Why, then, does so much controversy swirl around the conflict? Finkelstein's answer, copiously documented, is that apologists for Israel contrive controversy. Whenever Israel comes under international pressure, another media campaign alleging a global outbreak of anti-Semitism is mounted.

Finkelstein also scrutinizes the proliferation of distortion masquerading as history. Recalling Joan Peters' book From Time Immemorial, published to great fanfare in 1984 but subsequently exposed as an academic hoax, he asks deeply troubling questions here about the periodic reappearance of spurious scholarship and the uncritical acclaim it receives. The most recent addition to this genre, Finkelstein argues, is Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz's bestseller, The Case for Israel.

The core analysis of Beyond Chutzpah sets Dershowitz's assertions on Israel's human rights record against the findings of the mainstream human rights community. Sifting through thousands of pages of reports from organizations such as Amnesty International, B'Tselem, and Human Rights Watch, Finkelstein argues that Dershowitz has misrepresented the facts.

Thoroughly researched and tightly argued, Beyond Chutzpah lifts the veil of controversy shrouding the Israel-Palestine conflict.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Introduction

PART I. THE NOT-SO-NEW "NEW ANTI-SEMITISM"
1. From Jesus Christ Superstar to The Passion of the Christ
2. Israel: "The Jew of the World"
3. Exaggeration, Diversion, Spillover

PART II. THE GREATEST FRAUD EVER SOLD
Introduction
Trampling Rights: Preliminary Remarks
4. Casualties
5. Political Liquidations
6. Torture
7. Willful Destruction of Property
8. Economy
9. Supreme Court
10. Of Crimes and Misdemeanors
Trampling Rights: Concluding Remarks

Appendix I: History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Appendix II: Peace Process
Index

UC PRESS'S statement on the publication of the book and Questions and Answers about U.C. Press’s decision to publish it.
http://www.ucpress.edu/ | Q&A
The University of California Press is pleased to publish Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History by Norman Finkelstein. Since 1893, UC Press has been especially well known for pioneering books on critical social and political issues. As one of the largest, most distinguished scholarly publishers in the world, we are respected for attracting authors whose work transcends traditional academic boundaries. We have built a reputation for publishing books that matter. We think this one does.

Beyond Chutzpah scrutinizes what Norman Finkelstein describes as "the proliferation of distortion masquerading as history" around the Israel-Palestine conflict. He questions this scholarship and asks why, in his view, it receives uncritical acclaim within the academy. To support his thesis, Finkelstein uses Alan Dershowitz's recent bestseller The Case for Israel as a springboard from which to investigate controversial human rights cases involving Israel over the last few decades. Sifting through thousands of pages of reports, and presenting the first accessible distillation of key human rights findings, Finkelstein argues that Dershowitz has misstated the facts. Most integral to this argument, Finkelstein claims that a long and lasting solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict will never be attained without a basis in truth.

Anticipating the publication of Beyond Chutzpah, Professor Alan Dershowitz launched a letter-writing campaign, targeting our Board of Directors, the UC Administration, and Governor Schwarzenegger. We take this seriously. We are confident in our processes of factual and scholarly review, a protocol we follow as one of the leading university presses, and as a publisher of critical, incisive scholarship on politics, international studies, and domestic issues. We are also buttressed by enthusiastic reviews of this book from several scholars in Middle Eastern and Jewish Studies, who see this book as a critical work in the field.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS about UC Press’s decision to publish Finkelstein's book

Why is UC Press publishing this book?

The University of California Press has historically published controversial books and has a strong and wide-ranging list of books on the Arab world, the Middle East, and Jewish Studies. It goes without saying that university presses, like universities, foster academic freedom so as to widen discussion on vital issues and to contribute to debate in the public sphere.

Beyond Chutzpah was originally to be published by the New Press. Why was the project brought to the University of California Press?

Norman Finkelstein exercised an “out clause