Case debunks myths, advances peace cause - Guest column

Alan Dershowitz, world-renowned Harvard law professor, finally refutes the common myths proclaimed by the anti-Israel side of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In keeping with the theory, "Do what you know best," Dershowitz displays his "case" using a defense attorney's strategy -- citing the accusation, the accusers, the reality and then proving the case. The book touches on a wide range of issues -- Is Israel a colonial, imperialist state? Have the Jews exploited the Holocaust? And has Israel engaged in genocide against Palestinian civilians? Each of these, plus 29 other myths, are given their own chapter to be discussed.

The first accusation in the book, "Israel is a colonial, imperialist, settler state, comparable to apartheid South Africa," is followed by two statements of accusation and then by Dershowitz reality. "Israel is a state comprising primarily refugees and their descendants exercising their right of self-determination. ... These Jewish refugees were escaping from the countries that had oppressed them for centuries."

Dershowitz uses a somewhat condescending tone to prove that Jewish refugees should not be compared to European imperialists. For one thing, the Jews wanted nothing to do with the places they came from, and when they came, they took up jobs as fieldworkers, in land that was not rich in natural resources. He then gives a brief history lesson of both Jews in the Diaspora and in Israel, further showing the absurdity of a Jewish imperialism. This proves to be an effective method of presenting his case, as he is able to show numerous examples and reasons in defense of his views and the state of Israel.

He is also probably more critical of Israel and the Israeli government than any other government; it is necessary to look at this book as a fair view of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This fair view Dershowitz feels is rare, as he says, Israel is unfairly looked at though the world's eyes. The discrepancy between Jewish and Arab Israelis is discussed in detail; however the Israeli democracy is better to its Arab neighbors than their Arab counterparts.

The most effective portion of the book is the conclusion, in which Dershowitz lists off a number of "I can understands," in which he gives leeway to the obvious groups of people for favoring the Palestinians, yet has a problem that "peace-loving people committed to equality and self-determination should favor the side that rejects all the values they hold dear and oppose the side that promotes these values."

Israel is and will always be at a disadvantage on the world stage, if for no other reason than that it is the only Jewish democratic state. But the truth is that the United Nations sanctioned it, the wars were won and the nation most certainly has a right to exist and continue to hold its own in a world that's rooting against its success.

Stephanie Hausner is a sophomore.