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Dershowitz v. Chomsky at Harvard

Brian Leiter

Amusing account of their recent "debate" here (if you read the account, you’ll see why "debate" is in quotes–only one side was actually debating, it appears).  I’ve opened comments, for anyone else who has a first-person account to offer.

UPDATE:  You can view the debate itself here.

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5 responses to “Dershowitz v. Chomsky at Harvard”

  1. Adam

    Josh Buermann has gathered the sources used by Chomsky during the debate here: http://www.flagrancy.net/chomskyplanet.html

    The debate itself was mildly amusing. Whereas Chomsky dealt with "objectively verfiable" facts (you can check the sources for context, and I advise you do), Dershowitz repeatedly cited "personal correspondence" with Dennis Ross, Bill Clinton, and ARIEL SHARON. What a clown.

    Reply
  2. Jerry Monaco

    I saw the debate streaming over the Internet. What I observed is the following. For those, uninformed by facts and history, Dersh. comes off as a superb rhetorician in the cynical sophistic way that Cicero believed won court cases. There was very little use of facts or history in Dersh's rhetoric and much abuse of Chomsky and absurd denial of things that Dersh knows occur ed (like the Clinton Administration's sale of helicopters to Israel to suppress the Intifada) . Yet Dersh comes off quite well in "television" style. Dersh. speaks in sound-bites. Chomsky does not. Chomsky relies on facts and analysis. When the Dersh. interrupts, as he often did, the thread of facts and analysis can get lost. Thus it is possible for Dersh. to score all of the rhetorical points and still lose the debate.

    Yet it is my impression that if you are not paying attention to the facts of the case Chomsky came across as a person who couldn't compete with Dersh. Dersh wins in the world of rhetorical flourishes that scores points, as if the debate was not about issues, but was a sort of boxing match.. In short, Dersh, not having the facts on his side, shouted and pounded the table very impressively, and got the cheers of the crowd.

    But would Dersh have swayed a deliberating jury, as opposed to a non-deliberating crowd. If 12 citizens had retired for a day and voted on the question put by the debate, would they have come down for Chomsky or Dersh. I think a deliberating jury would have found for Chomsky. I also think that Dersh's style is a bad example for lawyers and a good example for, dare I say, sophistic demagogues.

    Jerry Monaco

    Reply
  3. Brendan Hogan

    I saw the opening rounds of this debate on CSPAN booktv it is available for viewing in their archives here:
    http://www.booktv.org/General/index.asp?segID=6499&schedID=388
    I am not sure what software you need to download and watch it.
    I concur with Jerry Monaco's comments about what I saw. Dershowitz also engaged in a continuous stream of ad hominem attacks on Chomsky during the opening rounds. What I found most amusing (or appalling, if I took Dershowitz seriously) is that Dershowitz referred to the dispersal and separation of Palestinian areas in the most recent arrangement as , in my first encounter with this term, 'functionally contiguous'. He cited the time it would take to drive from one separated area to another being as short as 90 minutes as evidence of this claim (!). Chomsky, of course, referred to them as 'Banthustans'.
    Brendan

    Reply
  4. Brendan Hogan

    An earlier post on this topic did not make it through, but here is the most relevant piece of it. The website where, I believe if you have the right software, the Chomsky/Dershowitz event can be watched is at
    http://www.booktv.org/feature/index.asp?segid=6499&schedID=388

    Brendan.

    Reply
  5. D.Evans

    You can also watch the debate at the Harvard Institute of Politics website: http://www.iop.harvard.edu/events_forum_archive.htmln

    Reply

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