A letter addressed to San Diego State Provost Nancy Marlin criticized the invitation of political science professor Norman Finkelstein to speak at a lecture series about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict earlier this week.

In the letter, representatives of Aztecs for Israel, the Jewish Student Union and Alpha Epsilon Pi questioned Finkelstein’s credibility.

“Many view Finkelstein not as a respectable scholar, except among Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis, radical Islamofascists and other assorted anti-Semites, who constitute his primary readership and audience,” the letter reads.

SDSU political science professor Jonathan Graubart organized the lecture series, titled “International Law and Global Justice: Friends, Acquaintances or Enemies?” Graubart said he deliberately put the question mark at the end of the series title because he invited speakers who hold differing viewpoints on the conflict.

Though Graubart said he doesn’t agree with some of the speakers’ stances, he thought it was important for students to gain a broad prospective of the conflict.

The letter offended Graubart, who said he thought it was a personal attack, not only on Finkelstein, but also on himself, as the event organizer.

“The implication is that by virtue of inviting Dr. Finkelstein and, thus, giving him academic credibility, I am in league with human beings uninterested in promoting peace, as well as ‘Holocaust deniers…and other assorted anti-Semites,’” he wrote to the provost in a responding letter.

Graubart, who said he “cares deeply about the Jewish people” and about reaching a “satisfying two-state solution,” said Finkelstein can sometimes be blunt and insulting because he often uses nonacademic language during speeches. However, Graubart added that he thinks all six of his speakers “have something valuable to say.”

“What bothered me about organizations on campus that purport to be pro-Israel, like Aztecs for Israel, is they have a very narrow view of what’s acceptable discourse and … they can be very cutting to people who fall outside of their narrow perspective, including Jewish people like myself,” Graubart said.

Finkelstein, who wrote “Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel is Coming to an End,” said he hadn’t read the letter yet, but heard about it.

At the lecture series, Finkelstein said international law and human rights law—not religion—should be the guidelines for a resolution to the conflict.

Finkelstein’s activism sparked controversy in the past. He said Israel bears a significant part of responsibility for its section of the Middle East and violating international law.

“I don’t think that most Jews would defend the sorts of things Israel does,” Finkelstein said. “So I think I’m more representative of Jewish opinion than Aztecs for Israel … and there were Jews in the audience today. Do you think they tried to defend what Israel does?”

Aztecs for Israel President Mor Frankle, who signed the letter, said Finkelstein’s talk was “disheartening and targeting.”

“He spent 20 of his allotted 40 minutes talking about ‘young American Jews,’ and as somebody who specifically fits in that description, I didn’t quite understand how that discussion had anything to do with his proposed  solution to the Middle East conflict,’” Frankle wrote in an email.

The letter Frankle signed labels Finkelstein’s talks as “hate speech.” It reads that the assessments can be confirmed on YouTube, “where a clip is posted of Finkelstein’s appearance on a Holocaust denial program on Lebanese TV.”

Finkelstein, whose mother and father were victims of Nazi Germany and placed in concentration camps during World War II, said he is not anti-Jewish.

“Given my family’s background, to deny the Nazi Holocaust, I’d have to be insane,” Finkelstein said.

Graubart said he wasn’t sure if the letter meant to directly attack him as the event’s organizer or suggest that Finkelstein denies the Holocaust. Graubart however, added that the letter read as though it did both.

“To be in denial of the Holocaust, to me, that was really quite insulting, quite offensive,” Graubart said.

Other people who signed the letter included JSU President Lauren Zinn and Associated Students JSU representative Jon Davidi.

Zinn didn’t comment, saying the letter sufficiently explains their stance.

“To introduce and refer to (Finkelstein) as an acceptable speaker who will shape young minds on our campus concerns, offends and is shocking to many of us SDSU students,” the letter reads.

College of Arts and Letters Dean Paul Wong responded to the letter on behalf of the provost.

“We believe that our learning experience includes exposure to views, which we may or may not agree with,” Wong wrote in an official statement. “We will ensure that the lecture and discussion will provide opportunities for questions and comments, which would enable the students to gain a better understanding of complex issues.”

Here is the letter written to Provost Marlin opposing Finkelstein’s lecture on campus. Here is the letter written by Professor Graubart in response.