In an effort to educate the UCLA community about the political
situation in the Middle East, the UCLA Burkle Center for
International Relations will be sponsoring a lecture by Alan
Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor and renowned author.
Dershowitz will be speaking about his new book, “The Case
for Israel,” which defends Israel against its critics.
His lecture will focus on Israeli military and political policy
from a more liberal standpoint, which is noteworthy because the
case for Israel is most often made from a conservative point of
view, he said.
“I defend Israel because I’m a humanitarian. I
support its right to exist and its right to defend itself, not
necessarily any one politician or policy,” Dershowitz
said.
Geoffrey Garrett, director of the UCLA Burkle Center, said all
students, no matter their backgrounds or majors, should consider
attending the event.
“Dershowitz is a powerful and engaging public speaker. His
passion about and insight into Israel will offer students a unique
opportunity, and they should definitely hear him,” Garrett
said.
He added that Dershowitz is one of a series of prominent
speakers the Burkle Institute has invited to talk about the Middle
East conflict and that students should listen to him and other
speakers “in order to understand the broad range of views
being presented on this important issue.”
Ross Neihaus, a fourth-year biology student and president of
Bruins for Israel, said Dershowitz offers an interesting point of
view to the current Middle East discussion.
“There is a lot of debate about the Middle East on campus.
It is important for students to be more educated on the topic, and
Dershowitz is a … highly respected liberal academic. … Students
will come away with a lot after attending the speech,”
Neihaus said.
Dershowitz said after his talk he will welcome questions, even
if they diverge from his point of view.
“I’m trying to speak at major, influential campuses
“¦ UCLA has the future leaders of this country … and I urge
all to attend, no matter their opinions,” Dershowitz
said.
Dershowitz has been featured in Time magazine as part of its
“50 Faces of the Future.”
His name became much more recognizable for those outside
political circles after he was part of the defense team in the O.J.
Simpson trial.
Dershowitz will speak today at 4 p.m. in Royce Hall.
Admission is free.