The Case for Israel

This book was written over 20 years ago, during the second intifada, but a surprisingly and depressingly amount of it is just as relevant today. A lot of the arguments are still in wide circulation, even the ones that are easily debunked.

Each chapter presents an argument attacking Israel, often in the form of direct quotes by Israel's harshest critics, followed by what Dershowitz sees as the real story, and a defense for that position. Many of them end up being legalistic arguments which may be technically correct but aren't likely to change anyone's mind. Also, by focusing on intellectuals like Edward Said, Noam Chomsky, et al. he runs the risk of ignoring what's actually happening on the ground in favour of lofty pronouncements.

In a show more few places, he deliberately chose the most inflammatory phrasing of an argument, then cynically used this strawman version as the basis for his defense. He also could have done a better job with the more valid complaints. At times he resorted to hand waving and stating controversial assertions as "obvious," or disputed items as if they were established facts.

But the biggest problem is his reluctance to admit fault on Israel's part, which made the entire book feel less like an honest search for the truth, and more like a sleazy defense attorney pulling every trick to exonerate an obviously guilty client. By refusing to accept the validity of even a single Palestinian grievance or Israeli misstep, he undermines all of the good work that he put into this project. Which is really too bad, because most of it is quite good and rather prescient, and had he been able to make the case in a less biased manner more people might have listened and we wouldn't be in the current mess. show less

Finally, a book by Dershowitz I can stand

To say that I have not been a fan of Alan Dershowitz would be an understatement. Time and again, his views have differed from mine, and he has expressed those views in the most strident, and sometimes offensive, terms possible. But several reviewers mentioned this book as a useful complement to Yaacov Lozowick's _Right to Exist: A Moral Defense of Israel's Wars_, a book I thought was excellent, so I decided to give _The Case for Israel_ a try.

Well, I'm not sure that I learned a lot from Dershowitz that I didn't learn from Lozowick, but this book is an easy read, fairly well-organized, and, for the most part, competently done. At times I wished Dershowitz would have addressed an issue more deeply show more rather than (what seemed like) giving it a surface treatment. And there was some annoying repetition within _The Case for Israel_. I don't know if this is a style Dershowitz has developed for arguing to juries, who can't be counted on to be paying close attention the first time a point is made, or maybe it's a consequence of the book having its genesis in notes Dershowitz has been assembling over the course of 40 years, but I find it aggravating for an author to present a quote for the second or third time as if he's presenting it for the first.

The reaction to this book by Dershowitz's prominent critics has been interesting. The focus of their counterattack seems to be to impugn Dershowitz's integrity by charging him with plagiarism, in particular with improperly citing primary sources rather than citing the secondary sources they say he relied upon. That may (or may not) say something about Dershowitz's character or the care with which he assembled this book, but it's not clear what it says about Dershowitz's argument. Some of his critics go on to assert that the secondary source he relied upon has allegedly been discredited, but when challenged to give examples of inaccuracies that Dershowitz's book inherited from that secondary source, few or none seem to be forthcoming. When Dershowitz offered to give Norman Finkelstein $10,000 if he would point out an inaccuracy in the book, the best Finkelstein came up with is that a couple of figures are too low by a factor of 100, but these are figures that would strengthen Dershowitz's case if they were higher! This example may benefit Finkelstein financially (if Dershowitz pays up), but it's hard to see it as more than a Pyrrhic victory when it comes to substance. It reminds me of the gang-at-Cheers' response when they learned that Gary (of Gary's Oldtown Tavern) had tricked them into "pants"ing their hero, Wade Boggs: "Look at the bright side. We've got Wade Boggs' pants! We're number one! We're number one! . . ." For those of you who remember it, I think the comment that the barfly Al made about this "victory" celebration applies in this situation as well. show less

Overall excellent book and a keeper. In fact I'm having it autographed on Sunday, November 20, 2016 at Temple Emanu-el in New York City. I encourage all nearby to come.

I gave the book four rather than five stars because it is a bit repetitive in many respects. The same positive attributes of Israel are listed, over and over. And some of the same examples are rehashed. Ditto with regard to their various nemesises, the Arabs and their complicit European allies. It is a miracle that any garrison state can keep most attributes of a democracy intact. Dershowitz has skillfully shown how well Israel has adhered to the rule of law, minority rights and freedoms in the face of constant suicidal warfare. I recommend the book to anyone with a show more serious interest in the Middle East and a willingness to think beyond the moronic chants and slogans of the college BDS movement and the toxic propaganda of the Arab nations and other anti-Semites, cranks and Holocaust deniers. show less

This was an excellent book, but, unfortunately, it wasn't perfect. Anybody that is interested in Israel (especially the Israeli-Palestinian dispute) should read this book. Even more important, those who would like to defend Israel but who do not feel that they have the background to answer the allegations of Israel-bashers (or pro-Palestinians), then this book will provide you with much of the knowledge (and ammunition) needed. The book is laid out as a series of allegations leveled against Israel, each followed by examples of the allegation and by a rebuttal (often consisting of both history lesson and legal and/or moral arguments). My biggest complaint with Dershowitz's book is that if you do not agree with some of the arguments that show more he makes in earlier sections, then the arguments raised in later sections may fall flat (for example, some people will never [although they're idiots] agree that Israel was fighting a defensive war in the 1967 Six Day War; if you do not accept this argument, then many of the arguments that are premised on this argument are weakened). Highly recommended! show less

This was an excellent book, but, unfortunately, it wasn't perfect. Anybody that is interested in Israel (especially the Israeli-Palestinian dispute) should read this book. Even more important, those who would like to defend Israel but who do not feel that they have the background to answer the allegations of Israel-bashers (or pro-Palestinians), then this book will provide you with much of the knowledge (and ammunition) needed. The book is laid out as a series of allegations leveled against Israel, each followed by examples of the allegation and by a rebuttal (often consisting of both history lesson and legal and/or moral arguments). My biggest complaint with Dershowitz's book is that if you do not agree with some of the arguments that show more he makes in earlier sections, then the arguments raised in later sections may fall flat (for example, some people will never [although they're idiots] agree that Israel was fighting a defensive war in the 1967 Six Day War; if you do not accept this argument, then many of the arguments that are premised on this argument are weakened). Highly recommended! show less

The Case for Israel outlines 31 popular misrepresentations and fallacies concerning Israel such as "Israel is the Cause of the Israel-Palestinian Conflict" and "Israel is the Prime Human Rights' Violator in the World". Each chapter is laid out in the same way: the Accusation, the Accusers (quotes from Noam Chomsky, Edward Saïd,, and other Arab sources figure heavily), the Reality (the actual state of affairs), and the Proof - Dershowitz's reasoning for this.

This method of addressing noted accusations against Israel is useful for correcting historical and political biases with historical facts including numerous quotes from the Mandate era. Dershowitz does this to counter the growing intellectual strain of anti-Semitism that show more unfortunately is present in universities and intellectual debate; however, Dershowitz does not shy from legimately criticising Israel for its actions in the Israel-Palestinian Conflict or elsewhere. This book though seeks to restore balance and a factual basis to an extremely polarised debate.

Though this book is soundly constructed, there are places where Dershowitz's arguments need development. Nevertheless, this books outlines simply the key points of the Israel-Palestinian Conflict though for a more detailed or scholarly approach, the reader would be advised to read other books after this. show less

Well this is more than a bit of a warhawk book than I would have been comfortable with although it tends to make very interesting points that I will want to look further into in the future.