Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Protesters Expected at Alan Dershowitz Speech at Columbia University



Protests are expected to disrupt a talk Wednesday evening by Alan Dershowitz at Columbia University.

Dershowitz's sold-out talk about the Constitution, free speech, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will likely be disrupted by dozens of
anti-Israel student activists, said Ofir Dayan, the media coordinator for Students Supporting Israel, the group hosting the event, reports the Free Beacon.

"They sign up in large numbers so that they can protest," she said. "[They] have an anti-normalization policy, which means they do not engage or discuss with anyone who has a different opinion. Their opinion is that Israel should be wiped off the map and that all terrorism targeting Israel or Israelis is ‘legitimate,' so anyone who is against the murder of innocent civilians and supports Israel's right to exist is shunned from the conversation," according to Dayan.

Dershowitz has been a strong supporter of free speech and has criticized groups from the Left and Right who attempt to prevent speech.

Some 30 seats have been reserved by those affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, and Jewish Voice for Peace, according to Dayan, a tactic she said has been used in the past to facilitate shout-downs of SSI programming.

Dershowitz told the Washington Free Beacon in an email, "I am a centrist liberal who supports a two state solution. If protesters try to stop students from hearing my centrist views it shows how afraid they are of differing perspectives. I'm confident that Columbia University will assure my physical safety and allow the students to listen to me. I invite protesters to ask me hard questions but I will not be silenced by intolerant censors, either of the extreme left or extreme right."

From Dershowitz's Twitter feed:


-RW

1 comment:

  1. No free speech for the Eric Snowden's:

    "That is why Congress made it a crime for Snowden to take it upon himself to decide which secrets to reveal to our adversaries, including terrorists who are seeking to do us harm. Just as the intelligence community should not alone be empowered to strike the balance among security, privacy and secrecy, so too — in a democracy — no individual whistleblower should be allowed to decide by himself what to disclose.

    Our Constitution, with its unique system of checks and balances, grants this power and responsibility to a combination of executive, legislative, and judicial authority — monitored by a free and independent press. It is an imperfect solution, but like democracy itself, it is better than its alternatives."
    https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/09/14/dershowitz/nUBlr9N3HmWNSkQEX8OmGJ/story.html

    Actually, the Constitution doesn't address the subject at all.

    Also,
    "Dershowitz Clashes with WaPo Reporter over Snowden, Swipes at Journalists ‘Acting on His Behalf’"
    https://www.mediaite.com/tv/dershowitz-clashes-with-wapo-reporter-over-snowden-swipes-at-journalists-acting-on-his-behalf/

    ReplyDelete