Norman Finkelstein is the son of Holocaust survivors. He is also a "resolute atheist," believes Israel has committed horrific war crimes and believes the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is actually quite simple.

Monday night in the HUB, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) sponsored the event "Palestine Under Siege," a lecture with Finkelstein and moderated by professor emeritus Arthur Goldschmidt. SJP contacted various Jewish and pro-Israeli groups both on campus and nationally to provide another perspective on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but all declined to debate with Finkelstein.

Finkelstein said moderates have struggled to prevail over extremists, and though most say the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is "uniquely complex and controversial," it may not be complicated at all. He said the view Americans receive on the issues from common media outlets is skewed, because the facts from the United Nations and the International Court of Justice -- neutral organizations focused on human rights -- are never presented.

Finkelstein pointed out that in 2004, according to the International Court of Justice, Israel had no right to be occupying the Gaza Strip and West Bank because those territories were obtained by war, which is illegal.

He pointed out the Goldstone report, which he said is Judge Richard Goldstone's 575-page report on his trip to Gaza where he found Israel had committed war crimes.

Goldstone is an ardent Zionist who sits on the board of directors of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is not an anti-Semite, Holocaust denier, or self-hating Jew, Finkelstein said.

Penn State Hillel did not wish to participate in this debate because they "aren't interested in this type of dialogue," president Michal Berns said.

President of SJP Shadi Ghrayeb said he wished a pro-Israeli group would have provided another speaker to provide balance, but an opponent might have had nothing to say to Finkelstein, who is notoriously tough to debate with.