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Oxford Union votes against BDS

SignFromDog

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Final-score-Dershowitz-137-BDS-101-431866

In a debate on the subject of BDS, Alan Dershowitz faced off against Peter Tatchell. Presumably Dershowitz convinced Oxford students that boycotting Israeli filmmakers, academics and peace activists would be illiberal and counterproductive. They voted 137 to 101

I can't wait to see the video

Reply 1

Illiberal Liberal

Alan Dershowitz is a fraudulent excuse of an 'academic'.

Interesting result nonetheless. I think the motion would have passed at the Cambridge Union, mind.

Reply 2

SignFromDog

Original post by Illiberal Liberal

Alan Dershowitz is a fraudulent excuse of an 'academic'.

That's a very serious accusation. Dershowitz is broadly recognised in the legal profession and legal academia as a serious thinker and a storied academic. He was a Harvard professor at 28. So presumably he is considerably smarter than you are, and considerably more accomplished.

Perhaps you can expand on precisely why you are claiming he is "fraudulent"?

Reply 3

Illiberal Liberal

Original post by SignFromDog

[video="youtube;PKvRzgCPd4Q"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKvRzgCPd4Q[/video]

Reply 4

SignFromDog

Original post by Illiberal Liberal

Yes I've seen that video. Nothing in it makes out the case that he is fraudulent. If the best you have is a typo in Dershowitz' book that tends to understate the number of Palestinian refugees (i.e. if Dershowitz had done it deliberately, it would be contrary to the argument he's making) then you really don't have very much.

You should try to distinguish your partisan disagreement with his conclusions from becoming emotionally involved in the subject and resorting to highly charged, unsupported insults.

Dershowitz is possibly the most highly respected academic in the United States. These allegations by Finkelstein were investigated and dismissed. I actually quite like Finkelstein but he's his own worst enemy on his obsession with Dershowitz and you don't do yourself any favours by taking up this poison chalice.

But if you would like to continue to assert this, instead of posting a video, why don't you show us you're capable of thinking for yourself and tell us specifically what aspects of Dershowitz' book are fraudulent.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

KimKallstrom

Original post by Illiberal Liberal

Alan Dershowitz is a fraudulent excuse of an 'academic'.

Interesting result nonetheless. I think the motion would have passed at the Cambridge Union, mind.

Possibly one of the strongest cases of butthurt and saltiness ever seen on the forums right here

Reply 6

SignFromDog

Original post by KimKallstrom

Possibly one of the strongest cases of butthurt and saltiness ever seen on the forums right here

PRSOM and well said. Dershowitz is probably the best known academic in the United States, and has a brilliant legal mind. He was a Harvard professor at age 28.

The accusation from Finkelstein essentially comes down to a typo in Dershowitz' book that was something along the lines of Dershowitz writing 3000 rather than 300,000

The crux of this is that the lower number would actually go against Dersh's argument, so why on earth would he fabricate that, rather than it obviously just being a typo?