Who Is Norman Finkelstein? Age, Biography and Wiki
Norman Finkelstein was born on December 8, 1953, making him 71 years old in 2025. Finkelstein is a prominent American political scientist, author, and activist known for his critical views on Israeli policies and the discourse surrounding the Holocaust. Finkelstein's work often delves into the political implications of historical narratives, propelling him into the spotlight as a controversial figure in academia.
| Occupation | Political Scientist |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | December 8, 1953 |
| Age | 71 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Sagittarius |
| Country | U.S |
Popularity
Norman Finkelstein's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
As of 2025, Norman Finkelstein's height is reported to be approximately 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm). His weight is around 160 pounds (73 kg), maintaining a healthy build throughout his career. Finkelstein's commitment to a balanced lifestyle reflects his active engagement in political discourse and academia.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Norman Finkelstein’s personal relationships have often been private. As of 2025, there are no public confirmations regarding a boyfriend or significant other. Finkelstein was previously married to American author and activist Marianne Farkas, but the status of his dating life remains largely under wraps. He tends to keep his family life and intimate relationships out of the public eye, focusing more on his academic and activist endeavors.
Finkelstein's parents were Jewish Holocaust survivors. His mother grew up in Warsaw and survived the Warsaw Ghetto and the Majdanek concentration camp. His father was a survivor of both the Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz.
After the war they met in a displaced persons camp in Linz, Austria, and then emigrated to the United States, where his father became a factory worker and his mother a homemaker and later a bookkeeper. Finkelstein's mother was an ardent pacifist. Both his parents died in 1995.
Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Norman Finkelstein's net worth is estimated to be approximately $1 million. His financial earnings stem primarily from his career as a scholar and author, where he has published several acclaimed books and engaged in speaking events around the globe. Finkelstein's works often challenge prevailing narratives, allowing him to command a respectable salary through academic roles and royalties.
Finkelstein first taught at Rutgers University as an adjunct lecturer in international relations (1977–78), then at Brooklyn College (1988–1991), Hunter College (1992–2001), New York University (1992–2001), and DePaul University (2001–2007).
The New York Times reported that Finkelstein left Hunter College in 2001 "after his teaching load and salary were reduced" by the college administration. He has said he enjoyed teaching at Hunter and was "unceremoniously kicked out" after begging the college to keep him on with just two courses a semester for $12,000 a year.
Hunter set conditions that would have required him to spend four days a week teaching, which he thought unacceptable. Finkelstein taught at Sakarya University Middle East Institute in Turkey in 2014–15.
Career, Business and Investments
Norman Finkelstein has built a multifaceted career over the decades. He initially garnered attention with his books, including "The Holocaust Industry" and "This Time We Went Too Far," both of which dissect the politics surrounding the Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has served as a professor and lecturer at various institutions, influencing students and academics worldwide.
Additionally, Finkelstein has made appearances in documentaries and features that address controversial political issues, increasing his visibility and engagement in public discussions. His commitment to social justice continues to shape his academic pursuits and public speaking engagements.
Finkelstein rose to prominence in 2000 after publishing The Holocaust Industry, a book in which he writes that the memory of the Holocaust is exploited as an ideological weapon to provide Israel a degree of immunity from criticism. He is a critic of Israeli policy and its governing class.
The Israeli government barred him from entry to the country for ten years in 2008. Finkelstein has called Israel the "Jewish supremacist state", and views it as committing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people.
Through personal accounts in one of his books, he compares the plight of the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation with the horrors of the Nazis. Finkelstein's most recent book on Palestine and Israel, published in 2018, is Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom.
Social Network
In 2025, Norman Finkelstein maintains a presence on social media as a platform for his opinions and updates on his work. Though not extensively engaged, he utilizes platforms like Twitter to communicate with followers, share his thoughts on current events, and promote his publications. His concise and often provocative posts attract attention and stimulate discussions among his supporters and detractors alike.
In Understanding Power, Noam Chomsky wrote that Finkelstein sent his preliminary findings to about 30 people interested in the topic, but no one replied, except for him, and that was how they became friends: "I told him, yeah, I think it's an interesting topic, but I warned him, if you follow this, you're going to get in trouble—because you're go
ing to expose the American intellectual community as a gang of frauds, and they are not going to like it, and they're going to destroy you.
So I said: if you want to do it, go ahead, but be aware of what you're getting into. It's an important issue, it makes a big difference whether you eliminate the moral basis for driving out a population—it's preparing the basis for some real horrors—so a lot of people's lives could be at stake.
But your life is at stake too, I told him, because if you pursue this, your career is going to be ruined. Well, he didn't believe me. We became very close friends after this, I didn't know him before."According to Chomsky, the controversy over Finkelstein's research caused a delay in his earning his Ph.D. at Princeton University.
Chomsky wrote that Finkelstein could not get the faculty to read his dissertation, and that Princeton eventually granted Finkelstein his doctorate only "out of embarrassment" and refused to give him any further professional backing.
Education
Norman Finkelstein is highly educated, holding a Ph.D. in political science from Princeton University. His academic background laid the foundation for his career as a political analyst and author, enabling him to engage critically with matters of historical and political significance. His education, combined with his personal experiences, deeply informs his perspectives on international relations and social justice.
He is a graduate of Binghamton University and received his Ph.D. in political science from Princeton University. He has held faculty positions at Brooklyn College, Rutgers University, Hunter College, New York University, and DePaul University, where he was an assistant professor from 2001 to 2007.
In 2006, the department and college committees at DePaul University voted to grant Finkelstein tenure. For undisclosed reasons the university administration did not tenure him, and he announced his resignation after coming to a settlement with the university.
