The dueling academics-Norman Finkelstein and Alan Dershowitz-continue to snipe at each other even after DePaul University announced that it has denied tenure to Finkelstein, the controversial assistant professor who has harshly criticized Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians and denigrated what he calls the "Holocaust Industry."

When Finkelstein's tenure application came up at DePaul, the nation's largest Catholic university, many in the Jewish and Zionist communities dedicated themselves to fighting it. (See "Dershowitz v. Finkelstein," Chicago Jewish News, May 25.) Among them was Dershowitz, the celebrated Harvard Law School professor, attorney and author.

Finkelstein's 2005 book, "Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History," criticized Dershowitz and especially his pro-Israel stance. The two have engaged in an intermittent feud in the pages of magazines and newspapers since 2003.

A faculty committee in Finkelstein's department, Political Science, voted in favor of tenure, but the college dean, Charles Suchar, and the University Board on Promotion and Tenure recommended against it. DePaul President Dennis Holtschneider makes the final decision on all tenure applications.

On June 8, the university released a statement confirming that Finkelstein had been denied tenure. "Over the past several months, there has been considerable outside interest and public debate concerning this decision. This attention was unwelcome and inappropriate and had no impact on either the process or the outcome of this case," Holtschneider said in a statement.

Finkelstein, in a phone conversation with Chicago Jewish News, said he "wasn't happy" with the decision, but wasn't surprised by it.

"My teaching record, my public record, speak for themselves, and I don't see any need for me to defend them," he said. "It seems that playing by the rules is not sufficient to overcome the external pressure to deny me tenure.

"I don't think there is anybody who has followed the case, including the president (of the university) and the provost, who can say with a straight face that this decision was made independent of outside pressure. I'm quite sure they don't believe it," he said.

He said he has not yet decided whether he will go on teaching at DePaul, which he could do. "We'll see what happens. I am not making a final decision yet," he said.

Finkelstein said there have been "some new developments" in the case, referring to a story in The Chronicle of Higher Education stating that another DePaul professor, Mehrene E. Larudee, an assistant professor of international studies, also was denied tenure. She said she believed the decision was because of her support for Finkelstein, according to the publication.

Dershowitz said in a phone conversation with Chicago Jewish News that "Finkelstein's ploy didn't work. What he tried to do was to use me to get tenure," he said. "He tried to create a feud and make it into Dershowitz versus Finkelstein. It failed. DePaul saw through it."

He said that three other universities had turned Finkelstein down for tenure. "He would never get it on his merits because he has never written anything in a peer-reviewed journal," he said. "So he thought by attacking me and Elie Wiesel and others, he'd have to get tenure. But the tactic failed. The DePaul administration saw through him. If I helped, I'm happy."

DePaul's statement that the university neither expected nor welcomed outside influences was naive, Dershowitz said. "When Finkelstein goes around attacking everybody, you shouldn't expect the people attacked to remain silent. I'm very proud of what I did," he said. HONORING CHICAGO MEN... 06-15-07_klutnick.gif The Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs, a national organization, will join with the Midwest Region to honor 45 influential Chicago Jewish men as they hold their biennial convention July 11-15 at Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale.

This is the first time the organization, which consists of 270 affiliated clubs, has held its convention in the Chicago area.

Selecting 45 influential Jewish men from a variety of professions was a way to tap into the "local flavor" of the region, Steve Lessman, a past president of the Midwest Region and local chairman for the convention, said.

"Chicago has had a strong, thriving Jewish community for well over 150 years," he said. "Jewish men from Chicago have made substantial contributions to American life in government, business, sports, entertainment, literature and religion, and it was really difficult to select these men as outstanding representatives of Chicago's Jewish community."

Noting the contribution of Chicago-era men to the organization, he pointed out that Arthur Goldberg, a former United Nations ambassador, U.S. Secretary of Labor and U.S. Supreme Court justice received its Distinguished Service Award in 1983. In addition, three past international presidents, Albert Jacobson, 1952-54; Mannye London, 1965-76; and Jerry Agrest, 1987-88, are from the Chicago area.

"Having our first FJMC convention here is a fitting venue to honor Jewish men from our community. Eleven of the 19 clubs in our region are in Chicagoland," Lessman said.

There are some 25,000 members throughout North America in the FJMC's affiliated clubs, Lessman said. The clubs are dedicated to involving Jewish men in all aspects of Jewish life.

During the week of the convention, each of the 45 men will have his individual biography displayed on the dining tables at the convention site.

The notable men are: Max Adler, Dankmar Adler, Ben Aronin, Jacob Arvey, Barney Balaban, Saul Bellow, Jack Benny, Henry Crown, Dr. Joseph Bolivar DeLee, Leonard Dubkin, Rabbi Bernhard Felsenthal, Todros Geller, Arthur Goldberg, Bertrand Goldberg, Rabbi Solomon Goldman, Benny Goodman, Larry Goodman, Henry Greenbaum, Ben Hecht, Sidney Hillman, Rabbi Emil Hirsch, Milton Horn, Bernard Horwich, Gov. Henry Horner.

Also, Philip Klutznick, Irv Kupcinet, Sid Luckman, Julian Mack, Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, Abner Mikva, Steven Nasatir, Sol Polk, A.N. Pritzker, Jerry Reinsdorf, Admiral Hyman Rickover, Julius Rosenwald, Barney Ross, Dr. Theodore Sachs, Seymour Simon, Studs Terkel, Mel Torme, Maynard Wishner, Sidney Yates, Sam Zell.

For more information about the convention, call Lessman at (630) 368-9177.