Norman Finkelstein, the former professor of DePaul University, spoke at the DU and called for the end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories on Friday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.

About 160 students, professors and members of the community came to the auditorium to hear Finkelstein. Most agreed – some did not.

Finkelstein’s talk was based around his work on the connection between Mahatma Gandhi and the current Israeli-Palestinian affair.

According to Finkelstein, the current occupation is waning in the eyes of many.

“Israel becomes more and more indefensible to the public [of the United States],” he said.

This week is an especially important time for the conflict.

The Palestinian-recognized authorities are formally petitioning the United Nations for official statehood.

The United States government said it will veto the proposal with its highly coveted seat on the U.N. Security Council, which allows one nation on the council to have an absolute veto of any proposal.

Finkelstein dismissed the notion.

“The goal is not statehood; it is to end the occupation,” he said.

A remark near the end of the speech elicited strong emotions from the crowd.

“Gandhi’s solution is the same as Hamas, word-for-word,” said Finkelstein.

The statement was followed by cheers from his supporters and grunts from his opposition.

The lecture was first slated to last until 9 p.m. but finished at nearly 10 p.m. with a thought provoking discussion at the end.

Finkelstein is the author of works such as “The Holocaust Industry: Reflections.”      

The Middle East Discussion Group (MEDG) sponsored Finkelstein’s trip to “support the growing discussion of the Middle East,” said Clifton Martin, a graduate student at the Korbel. “The group is an open forum, it has no predispositions – the goal of the MEDG is to promote international discussion on campus.”

MEDG will be holding a meeting for both graduates and undergraduates on Sept. 22 at CSE 150 at the Korbel School on the “Exploitation of Jewish Suffering” and “Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History,” both also written by Finkelstein.

The Front Range Jewish Voice for Peace was also a co-sponsor.