Israel-Palestine conflict

[nintendo048]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O5zgXeCynQ
This is norman finklestein he is a professor of jewish ancestry at depaul university in chicago illinois. This speech is about how the holocaust is used to deflect criticism from the israeli-palestenian conflict. he has a book in it he purports that only 1.5 million jewish prisoners died in the holocaust. Can i get your insight on that. How do you feel about the clip and this guy as a person

[Ben Davis]

Okay, don't know much about him but my thoughts can be summarised thus:

1. misdirection is a despicable debating tactic: he was right to insist that the holocaust is not used to derail his positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict

2. His specialist subject is the Israel-Palestine conflict. Therefore I find it difficult to take his suggestion seriously that the holocaust death toll was ~1.5m when the overwhelming majority of data and expert analysis supports a figure ~6m

*makes note to learn more about Finkelstein

[nintendo048]

Okay, don't know much about him but my thoughts can be summarised thus:

1. misdirection is a despicable debating tactic: he was right to insist that the holocaust is not used to derail his positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict

2. His specialist subject is the Israel-Palestine conflict. Therefore I find it difficult to take his suggestion seriously that the holocaust death toll was ~1.5m when the overwhelming majority of data and expert analysis supports a figure ~6m

*makes note to learn more about Finkelstein

right but in the book he wrote he cited that the numbers fluctuated alot and not all of the holocaust scholars cited 6m ?????? If you want to learn more about him here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_Industry
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0...0&ajr=sabc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Finklestein

[Ben Davis]

right but in the book he wrote he cited that the numbers fluctuated alot and not all of the holocaust scholars cited 6m ??????

Not all holocaust 'experts' believe the figure was ~6m; there are (for example) the holocaust deniers who place the figure at ~0. So simplistically, it's accurate to say the numbers fluctuate however it's an inaccurate (arguably dishonest) position as the overwhelming majority of experts agree that the figure is ~6m and can provide the data to support that statement.

[nintendo048]

right but in the book he wrote he cited that the numbers fluctuated alot and not all of the holocaust scholars cited 6m ??????

Not all holocaust 'experts' believe the figure was ~6m; there are (for example) the holocaust deniers who place the figure at ~0. So simplistically, it's accurate to say the numbers fluctuate however it's an inaccurate (arguably dishonest) position as the overwhelming majority of experts agree that the figure is ~6m and can provide the data to support that statement.

it would be ridiclous to say the 0 people died in the holocaust. There are tanks and guns and camps and stuff. But what im saying is that if the estimated number fluctuated so much. And even in finklesteins book he sited ellie wisel and the other famous scholars. And their estimated differ greatly???