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Evgeny Finkel or Eugene Finkel is a political scientist and historian at Johns Hopkins University who studies political violence, genocide, East European and Israeli politics, and Holocaust studies. In April 2022, Finkel claimed that after the initial phase of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was resisted by Ukrainian armed forces, the aims of the invasion evolved, and the combined evidence of widespread war crimes, including the Bucha massacre, together with genocidal intent, as illustrated by the essay What Russia should do with Ukraine published in RIA Novosti, established that genocide was taking place.

Childhood and education

Evgeny Finkel was born in Lviv. Finkel and his family moved to Israel when he was 13 years old. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international relations from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD in political science from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Research career

As of 2018, Finkel's research fields included political violence, genocide, East European and Israeli politics, and Holocaust studies.

Russia–Israel relation in the Syrian civil war

In comments on the Syrian civil war in April 2018, Finkel stated that even though Israel was opposed to the government of Bashar al-Assad, which was supported by Russia, Israel and Russia had common interests in opposition to Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and al-Qaeda, and in preventing the war from extending beyond the borders of Syria. According to Finkel, the Israeli and Russian militaries coordinated closely in order to prevent direct conflict between their forces and to prevent a major escalation of the war.

Media statements

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

In early April 2022, following the Bucha massacre of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finkel argued that the initial intent of the invasion was unlikely to have been genocide, but that the "combination of violence, widespread and deliberate, and the rhetoric" showed that the intent and actions had evolved into genocide. Finkel stated that he had often criticised governments for misusing the term "genocide". In the case of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he stated that the massacres demonstrated "a campaign intended to destroy Ukrainians as a national group, if not in whole, then certainly 'in part'". He argued that evidence of a switch to genocidal intent was "abundant", and that the 3 April essay, What Russia should do with Ukraine published by RIA Novosti was one of the best examples, similar to earlier statements by Russian president Vladimir Putin, and "outlin a clear plan to destroy Ukrainians and Ukraine itself". Finkel stated that the publication of the article in a major state controlled news medium was necessarily approved "from above".

Genocide scholar Raz Segal and law scholar Luigi Daniele argue that "applying the same standard indicated by Finkel" would lead to the conclusion that Israel was already carrying out genocide against Palestinians before the Israel–Hamas war in 2023, because "Israeli journalists and top policy makers denied Palestinians' existence, their right to a state, and collective civilian protection".

Works

• Finkel, Evgeny (2017). Ordinary Jews: Choice and Survival during the Holocaust. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-8492-6.
• Finkel, Evgeny; Gehlbach, Scott (2020). Reform and Rebellion in Weak States. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-84749-0.

References

1. ^ "Eugene Finkel Joins Johns Hopkins SAIS as Associate Professor of International Relations". Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. 2018-09-04. Archived from the original on 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
2. ^ Buncombe, Andrew (2022-04-05). "Killings in Ukraine amount to genocide, Holocaust expert says". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-04-09. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
3. ^ Finkel, Eugene (2022-04-05). "Opinion: What's happening in Ukraine is genocide. Period". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
4. "Eugene Finkel – Associate Professor – Academic and Faculty Liaison, SAIS Europe". Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
5. Hilsman, Patrick (2018-04-27). "Russian and Israeli Military Relations Remain Durable Despite Strain". The New Humanitarian. Archived from the original on 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
6. Segal, Raz; Daniele, Luigi (2024). "Gaza as Twilight of Israel Exceptionalism: Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Unprecedented Crisis to Unprecedented Change". Journal of Genocide Research: 1–10. doi:10.1080/14623528.2024.2325804.
7. Sloin, Andrew (2018). "Choice, Politics, and the Anomalies of Survival". Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies. 36 (1): 232–238. doi:10.1353/sho.2018.0014.
8. "Histoire@Politique : comptes-rendus : Evgeny Finkel, Ordinary Jews. Choice and Survival During the Holocaust". Centre d'histoire de Sciences Po (in French). 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
9. Shostak, Arthur (2018). "Ordinary Jews: Choice and Survival during the Holocaust". The European Legacy. 23 (5): 602–603. doi:10.1080/10848770.2018.1441184.
10. "Ordinary Jews | Reading Religion". readingreligion.org. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
11. Gruner, Wolf (2018). "Ordinary Jews: Choice and Survival during the HolocaustEvgeny Finkel". Holocaust and Genocide Studies. 32 (3): 472–474. doi:10.1093/hgs/dcy046.
12. "Evgeny Finkel, "Ordinary Jews: Choice and Survival during the…". New Books Network. Retrieved 17 November 2020.

• Living people
• Johns Hopkins University faculty
• Ukrainian emigrants to Israel
• Historians of the Holocaust