Finkelstein is a political scientist and prominent critic of Israel, best known for his book The Holocaust Industry (2000).

The son of Holocaust survivors, he earned a PhD from Princeton University.

• In 2007, following a public dispute with Alan Dershowitz, DePaul University denied him tenure, and he left the university.

• In 2008, Israel barred him from entering the country for ten years.

His bibliography includes: • Image and Reality of the Israel–Palestine Conflict (1995) • The Holocaust Industry (2000) • Beyond Chutzpah (2005) • Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom (2018)