The Unconstant Liberal

Jeff writes from England:

I just came back from seeing Allan Dershowitz speak. First I went to a buffet lunch (over 50 people) at my Rabbi’s house where he (Dershowitz) gave a pre-talk talk. Then we walked over to a nearby Oxford U. college where he gave a “big talk.” Both talks were about Israel and both were excellent. Dershowitz is an excellent speaker and debater. He is funny, intense, insightful, brave, very watchable and often right, despite his liberalism. But that doesn’t make him right all the time. After lunch, he defended Israel brilliantly, urging people to become much more positive about Israel’s right to exist and Israel’s right to defend itself. He also said that he was also pro-Palestinian and that he sought justice for them, but that they had to change their mindset. He pointed out the numerous opportunities for a state that the Palestinians have blown. So far so good. I then brought up the “cartoons” issue, and Dershowitz condemned the Western media for its appeasement. So far very good. But then, after another prodding from me, he started talking about how the main problem was extremist Muslims and that most “moderate” Muslims simply wanted to get on with everyday life. I cringed to myself. I confronted him afterwards about his “moderate” Muslim opinion, stating that it was mostly “moderate” Muslims who wanted Rushdie dead and mostly “moderate” Muslims who have supported the cartoon violence around the world. Once again liberal guilt blinds a very intelligent man to the reality of Muslim culture. I said that it’s not a matter of individual Muslims being nasty people, rather it’s a matter that Muslims can’t be truly “moderate” due to Islam’s theology. The Hirsi Alis and Ali Sinas have forsaken Islam totally but they are a real fringe. So Dershowitz, like many other clever thinkers, is blinded to the true menace of Islam in the end. Like many other prominent intellectuals who have put their hope in “moderate” Islam,he is doomed to be proven wrong again and again, and we in the West must suffer due to their incorrect analysis and strategy.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 07, 2006 06:03 PM | Send