My position misrepresented

The op-ed by Yahya Chaudhry, “Praise for anti-zionism,” is so filled with factual errors, ad hominems and outright bigotry that I am shocked it was published by a fine student newspaper without elementary fact-checking.

Chaudhry accuses a United States senator, who happens to be Jewish, of dual loyalty – a canard that dates back to the discredited protocols of the Elders of Zion. He accuses me of being “crazed” because I support a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. He misquotes several Israeli leaders and falsely characterizes their position.

He places several purported statements in quotation marks without revealing their source, beyond saying that they are “Israeli leaders.” He describes Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as a “violent conquest” without mentioning that the 1967 War, which led to Israel’s occupation, was started by the Arab states, and that Israel has ended its occupation of the Gaza.

He bases his article on a fabricated quotation that a discredited reporter attributed to Jesse Jackson. Jackson has not only categorically denied saying that, “Barack Obama would rid the United States of ‘Zionist’ control if elected,” he has in fact praised Zionism as a “liberation movement” and has advocated the same two-state solution as Senator Lieberman and I do.

Chaudhry’s worst bigotry is reserved for the Jewish religion, which he mocks with the following characterization: “if Jews really are God’s chosen people, then the Jewish state of Israel does not need American support. Israel has a monopoly on God. Who would go against Him?” This is anti-Semitism, pure and simple.

Alan M. Dershowitz
Professor of Law
Cambridge, Mass.