Norman Finkelstein REACTS To Israeli Embassy Staffers Shooting episode artwork

EPISODE · May 23, 2025 · 40 MIN

Norman Finkelstein REACTS To Israeli Embassy Staffers Shooting

from Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté · host Useful Idiots, LLC

Click here for the full interview with Norman Finkelstein – an additional 50 MINUTES: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-interview-norman-finkelstein?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseGo to groundnews.com/useful for a better way to stay informed. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access to world-wide coverage through our link.Visit ProlonLife.com/USEFUL to claim your 15% discount and your $40 bonus gift.Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at http://betterhelp.com/USEFUL and get on your way to being your best self.Check out DeleteMe and use our code IDIOTS for a great deal: https://joindeleteme.comSupport local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comGet the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, at selectquote.com/useful.Let CrowdHealth help with your healthcare needs. Get started today for just $99 per month for your first three months by using code USEFUL at joincrowdhealth.com------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Trump Finally Calls Out Genocide… in South Africa https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/trump-finally-calls-out-genocide?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseFor $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.Two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot and killed on Wednesday evening by a man who yelled “Free Palestine.” The man allegedly wrote a manifesto, and it isn’t clear yet what his motives are, his mental state, if he was a lone actor, or as our guest today puts it: “crazy.”That guest is Useful Idiots fan-favorite Professor Norman Finkelstein, who gives his analysis of the shooting, beginning with a historical connection he made in his initial reaction.Useful Idiots: Let's start with the top news in the US: the shooting of two Israeli embassy officials outside an event in Washington, DC. What we know so far is that the alleged shooter chanted Free Palestine. There's also a manifesto that's been purported to be written by him, although we haven't confirmed that. With so much going on in Gaza, atrocities day by day, it feels a little inhuman to talk about two deaths in Washington when there's thousands of deaths going on in Gaza. But what is your reaction?Norman Finkelstein: Well, my first reaction is that you have to have the facts and make a careful evaluation on the basis of the facts. When I first read about it this morning, I thought it had occurred at the Israeli consulate. And I assumed it was a Palestinian who had committed the action. And my first reaction was to remember the [Polish Jewish] fellow Herschel Grynszpan, who assassinated the second-level diplomat in the German legation in Paris in 1938.He reacted in sheer horror at what was being done to the Jews. And he did an act. Of course, the Germans called it an act of terrorism, and that's what triggered Kristallnacht. I'm not aware of any [historians] who condemned him for the act, even though you could say it was not a very smart thing to do because it triggered Kristallnacht.So that was my initial reaction. But then that turned out to be wrong because of two things. It didn't occur in the Israeli consulate. It occurred in front of a Jewish museum in Washington. And secondly, it's unclear at this point whether the alleged perpetrator was even aware that these two people worked in the Israeli consulate. So that throws a large number of variables into the equation. There seems to be this big disconnect between a sophisticated manifesto and a fellow just going randomly in front of a Jewish museum in Washington and attempting to assassinate two people who presumably he thought were Jewish.So everything remains foggy now. I would say for me, the bottom line is it could have been a nutty guy. That's always possible. It could be a smart guy with a crazy project. It could be a crazy guy with a crazy project.Useful Idiots: Let’s talk about Israel itself. You have Israeli politicians openly talking about how every baby in Gaza is our enemy. And unfortunately, these views are widely held. What are your thoughts on Israel right now in terms of its place as a unique society on the spectrum of lunacy, of collective insanity in the same way that Nazi Germany was an example of outright collective insanity? Where do you situate Israel in that right now?Norman Finkelstein: All the demons in Israeli society, which they had to repress, all the demons rose to the surface after October 7: they had moral license to publicly espouse. It was there. If you scratch the surface with any Israeli, their loathing and contempt for Arabs in general and Gazans in particular, it was there. So there was a veneer of being civilized and what October 7 did was it enabled the Israelis to free themselves from that veneer and for all the demons to rise to the surface.On the other hand, I would say Israelis, unlike Nazi Germany, don't have the pretense or the pretext that they didn't know what was happening. Now, I'm not saying Germans didn't know. They may not have known about the death camps. They knew about the concentration camps. Did they know about the systematic extermination? There is debate about that.In Israel, everybody knows. Israel has the highest usage of the Internet of any country on Earth. The Israelis were posting on social media what they were doing. The Israeli soldiers were posting and boasting of what they were doing. Every Israeli knew and knows exactly what's happening. What has happened since October 7, it is incorrect to describe it as a state project. That's incorrect. It's a national project.Every poll taken since October 7 has shown that roughly 95% of Israelis believe that Israel is using enough or too little force in Gaza. I do think that at least in the current world, let's say since World War Two, this is in a class all its own. The sheer numbers, since the twenty-first century, it's unique in every category. There's just nothing like it.Subscribe to hear the full interview with Norman Finkelstein – 50 MINUTES longer. Norman reveals the “main enabler” of the genocide, calls out the New York Times for its coverage of the Israeli embassy shooting, discusses his debate with “that thing called Destiny,” and gives his prediction for how quickly Israeli crimes will be forgotten.00:00 Intro01:14 Dems want power until death03:20 Trump's Big Beautiful Bill08:10 MSM coverage of Israeli embassy shooting10:26 ADL's Jonathan Greenblatt on the shooting14:31 Norman Finkelstein interview preview15:50 Israeli Embassy Shooting: Norm's Initial Reaction21:58 GOP Congressman wants to NUKE Arab countries25:05 Norm's Take on Israel38:56 The "Main Enabler" of the GenocideOur Sponsors:* Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me* Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com* Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com* Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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Norman Finkelstein REACTS To Israeli Embassy Staffers Shooting

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This episode was published on May 23, 2025.

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Click here for the full interview with Norman Finkelstein – an additional 50 MINUTES: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-interview-norman-finkelstein?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseGo...

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