Noted author to speak about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Controversial author Norman G. Finkelstein will deliver a public lecture entitled, ''Israel and Palestine: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History,'' on Wednesday, March 1.

The 7 p.m. lecture, which will take place in the Hindle Auditorium in the Science Center, is free and open to the public.

The title of Finklestein's lecture is borrowed from his most recent book, which scrutinizes the arguments of some of Israel's best-known supporters, especially Allan Dershowitz. Indeed, the work ignited a public row between Finklestein and Dershowitz even before its publication by the University of California Press.

Publisher's Weekly said the book outlines what Finklestein describes as ''a growing tendency of pro-Israel commentators to use spurious charges of anti-Semitism to deflect and discredit legitimate criticism of Israel.'' The book also contains a sustained critique of Dershowitz's book, The Case for Israel.

A professor of political science at DePaul University in Chicago, Finklestein is the author of five books, including The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the exploitation of Jewish suffering (Verso: 1995; expanded second edition, 2003); Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Verso: 1995; expanded second edition, 2003); A Nation on Trial: The Goldhagen thesis and historical truth (with Ruth Bettina Birn) (Henry Holt: 1998); The Rise and Fall of Palestine: A personal account of the intifada years (University of Minnesota: 1996).

Finklestein's visit to Wheaton is sponsored by the Wheaton Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.