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John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (c2003), Edition: 1, 264 pages
Description
The Case for Israel is an ardent defense of Israel's rights, supported by indisputable evidence. Presents a passionate look at what Israel's accusers and detractors are saying about this war-torn country. Dershowitz accuses those who attack Israel of international bigotry and backs up his argument with hard facts. Widely respected as a civil libertarian, legal educator, and defense attorney extraordinaire, Alan Dershowitz has also been a passionate though not uncritical supporter of Israel.
User reviews
LibraryThing member MSWallack
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
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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 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
LibraryThing member stan925
A must read !!
LibraryThing member tuckerresearch
An excellent resource to combat any Israel-haters. It is chock-full of history and recent politics. The latter half of the book is a bit repetitive and drags, but is still well worth it. Dershowitz makes good arguments and collects the facts. True there may be some bibliographical issues, but they
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are easily corrected, and do not detract a lick from the argument. Show Less
LibraryThing member Hankus36
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
Show More
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 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
LibraryThing member melsmarsh
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.
LibraryThing member xuebi
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
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 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.
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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 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.
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LibraryThing member cpg
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
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 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.
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
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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 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.
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LibraryThing member JBGUSA
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
I gave the book four rather than five stars because it is a bit repetitive in many respects. The same positive attributes of
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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 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
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
264 p.
ISBN
047146502X / 9780471465027
UPC
723812697342
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