The Case for Israel

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The Case for Israel

First edition cover.
Author Alan Dershowitz
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Non-fiction
Publisher Wiley
Publication date 2003
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 264
ISBN 0-471-46502-X

The Case for Israel is a New York Times bestseller by Alan Dershowitz, [1] a law professor at Harvard University. The book responds to common criticisms of Israel.

The book is divided into several chapters, each of which addresses what Dershowitz identifies as being particularly strong accusations and myths about Israel, such as "Israel is the 'prime' human rights violator in the world" and "Israel is the cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict." Each chapter is divided into several sections. "The Accusation" states a common criticism of Israel, "The Accusers" lists several quotes from critics supporting the accusation, "The Reality" contains a short statement contradicting the accusation, and "The Proof" contains Dershowitz's explanation of his viewpoint. Edward Said and Noam Chomsky are among the critics that he quotes the most heavily.

Dershowitz has released a sequel in 2005 championing the two state solution. The book, The Case for Peace, explains what he believes is needed to be done in order to achieve peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Contents

[edit] Criticisms and controversy

Norman Finkelstein claims the book is a hoax[2] and that some of its citations are plagiarized from From Time Immemorial, another book Finkelstein extensively criticized. [3] These heated claims have led to what has become known to some as the Dershowitz-Finkelstein affair. Former Harvard president Derek Bok exonerated Dershowitz of the plagiarism charges.[4] Finkelstein devotes much of his book Beyond Chutzpah to responding to Dershowitz's arguments.[5]

Michael Neumann, a professor of philosophy at Trent University, wrote a book entitled The Case Against Israel published by CounterPunch in response to The Case for Israel[6].

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Dershowitz, Alan (2003). The Case for Israel. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-46502-X. 
  2. ^ The Dershowitz hoax
  3. ^ Alan Dershowitz Exposed: What if a Harvard Student Did This?
  4. ^ Marcella Bombardieri, "Academic Fight Heads to Print", The Boston Globe, July 9, 2005.
  5. ^ Finkelstein, Norman G. (2005). Beyond Chutzpah : On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History. University of California Press. ISBN. 
  6. ^ Neumann, Michael (2005). The Case Against Israel. AK Press. ISBN. 

[edit] External links