Cowardly Lions

I was invited to participate in a debate at the Oxford Union on November 28, 2024 that included Israeli professor Benny Morris. I was subsequently informed by the Union that, after agreeing to attend, Professor Morris stipulated that he would only participate in the debate if former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was also invited. The Union then approached Mr. Olmert but, according to the Union, Olmert “firmly declined to participate if you [i.e., Norman Finkelstein] were part of the debate. Despite multiple discussions, his position remained unchanged, which subsequently led to Benny Morris withdrawing as well.” It does give pause just how pusillanimous Israel’s chief historian and former Prime Minister are—and how powerful is the weapon of Truth. The Opposition to the motion no longer included a qualified scholar (the Union replaced Morris with a certifiable psychopath) so I withdrew from the debate. I suppose things could have turned out worse: Morris and Olmert might have booby-trapped my pager.

P.S. Morris is now complaining that the decision to cancel a lecture by him in Germany on account of his deranged anti-Palestinian statements was “sheer cowardice.” I wonder how he would describe his decision not to publicly debate me at Oxford unless Olmert was there to protect him?