Dershowitz on Intimidation on Campus..

Here's an interview with Alan Dershowitz with Deborah Passner of CAMERA on Campus about academic freedom and intimidation.

DP: What are the significant issues surrounding the Middle East-related controversies at Columbia University?

AD: The most significant issue at Columbia is academic freedom. Students should have the right to express views on Israel without fear of retaliation or exclusion from classes by professors. The most significant alleged violation at Columbia was when professor Joseph Massad allegedly said to his student that unless she acknowledged Israeli barbarity she could not remain in the classroom. That clearly violates the student’s academic freedom.

But on a broader level the issue is also one of an atmosphere. When I do a comparison between Harvard and Columbia, the differences are shocking. At Harvard, all sides of the issues are presented, generally quite fairly. You hear very few complaints from students. They can access information and aren’t presented a one-sided view, whereas at Columbia, students credibly complain that the Middle East department is almost completely one-sided and they hear only one narrative which is full of factual inaccuracies and mistakes. When students try to correct them, they’re silenced and there is an atmosphere not only of intimidation, but also of one-sidedness.

DP: So you believe that the situation at Columbia is more problematic than at most universities?

AD: It’s hard to compare Columbia with particular universities without being expert on every university. But, certainly, Columbia seems to be the worst, at least among the prominent universities with a significant Jewish student and faculty population. And its department of Middle East studies is reputed to be the worst.

A striking example is that at Columbia, Edward Said was regarded as a moderate. Edward Said broke with Yasir Arafat because he thought Arafat was too soft on Israel when in the early 1990’s he decided that it was essential to at least pretend to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and to adopt the two state solution. Edward Said never believed in the two state solution. He himself not only encouraged and incited violence, but he engaged in violence. He threw rocks along with his sons at Israeli soldiers. He lied about his own background and biography.

Nevertheless, he was regarded as a moderate, whereas when I came to speak at Columbia there were signs saying that I was not welcomed even though I favor a two state solution and I’m opposed to the occupation. There was a sign that said "you’re not welcomed here." I couldn’t even get a faculty member to introduce me, and my views are right in the center. If Edward Said were to speak, probably a major university official would introduce him.

DP: Who introduced you?

AD: A student. Since my speech, a professor, a very courageous professor, George Fletcher at the law school has now become much more involved and has challenged anybody in the Middle East department to debate him on the issues. As far as I know, there has been no response to that, because they do not want to debate. They have a captive audience and they have essentially a monopoly so why expose their fallacious views to the marketplace if they do not have to.

Please read the entire interview.