Chomsky vs. Dershowitz [VIDEO]

By Bruce Ackerman . Posted April 19, 2007.

Despite impressive scholarly chops, flawless references and an international reputation Alan Dershowitz has been lobbying -- successfully, thus far -- to prevent Political Science prof. Norman Finkelstein from getting tenure at Depaul University.

Calling it "utterly shocking" and "outrageous," Noam Chomsky explains that Dershowitz objects to Norman Finkelstein's scholarly work on human rights violations in Israel, the misuse of anti-semitism and bad faith negotiations of Israel. Of course, Finkelstein did so in the framework of debunking Alan Dershowitz's "The Case for Israel," initially charging that Dershowitz plagiarized and lied to make his case.

Dershowitz went so far as to contact the Governor of California, the Terminator, to prevent the publication of "Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Misuse of History."

Failing that, what does Dershowitz do? According to Chomsky "he does what any tenth-rate lawyer does," you change the subject. The subject is now Finkelstein, though the real issue is Dershowitz and his lies about Israel....

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Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.

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