dershowitz is a demonstratable plagiarist and literal liar, who's opinions are largely based on falsities, many of his own creation.
As per the debate, as soon as chomsky answered that nicaragua had been more 'humane in the face of terrorism', I almost felt sorry for dershowitz. Almost.
As per the plagiarism, I offer this debate transcript:
ALAN DERSHOWITZ: First tell me why I shouldn't be teaching at Harvard.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: On page 207 of your book you say that to deliberately misinform, miseducate, and misdirect students is a particularly nasty form of educational malpractice.
ALAN DERSHOWITZ: Of which I accuse Noam Chomsky and others.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: I consider what you have done in the book to be a paradigmatic illustration of misinforming, miseducating and misdirecting. Allow me to finish.
AMY GOODMAN: Let him make his point.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Allow me to finish Mr. Dershowitz I've with very respectful of your time. On page 213 you discussed Holocaust fraud by Robert Soan and you write, quote, “it was there extensive historical research” referring to his book.
ALAN DERSHOWITZ: That's right.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Instead there was the fraudulent manufacturing of false anti-history.
ALAN DERSHOWITZ: That's right. And Chomsky wrote as you . . .
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Please don't bring in Mr. Chomsky. He can defend himself. We're talking about you and your book. It was the kind of deception referring to the book that let me quote clearly, for which professors are rightly fired.
ALAN DERSHOWITZ: I stand by that. NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Not because their views are controversial, let me underline this again, but because they are violating the most basic canons of historical scholarship.
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