Dershowitz: Jewish Organizations Have Silenced My Pro-Israel Voice Against Amnesty International’s Blood Libel

Amnesty International recently issued a 300-page blood libel against Israel. For the first time, that bigoted organization claims that all of democratic Israel, not only the so-called “Occupied Territories,” is guilty of the international crime of apartheid.

This attack is directed at Israel’s right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Previous attacks on Israel, such as those made by the Goldstone Report and former President Jimmy Carter, have been limited to specific actions or places. The Amnesty attack focuses on Israel’s democracy and singles it out as an apartheid state comparable to South Africa under white minority rule.

When the Goldstone and Carter attacks were leveled, I was asked to write detailed and credible responses. I did so and my rebuttals helped to destroy the credibility of these attacks.

But now my voice has been silenced by major Jewish organizations that have “canceled” me as a result of what they acknowledge are false charges. They know or should know that these charges were made by a woman whose own lawyers have contradicted her accusations; the U.S. government recently refused to use her as a witness. She has absolutely no credibility and there is no evidence that supports her false accusation. As I said from the day I was first accused, there cannot be actual evidence of events that simply did not occur.

But Temple Emanuel, the 92nd Street Y, the Ramaz School, and other Jewish groups have decided not to allow me to speak. These actions, by Jewish organizations, have justified the refusal of colleges and other non-Jewish organizations and media to invite me. “If leading Jewish organizations don’t want to hear Dershowitz’s views anymore, why should we?” This is a view I have heard expressed repeatedly, sometimes openly, but mostly quietly.

The result is that mine is no longer as effective a voice against anti-Israel attacks such as those being leveled by Amnesty International.

Before I was canceled by Jewish organizations, I was regarded as “America’s most public Jewish defender” and “Israel’s single most visible defender – the Jewish state’s lead attorney in the court of public opinion.” These were not my assessments; these were the assessments of others.

Indeed, the 92nd Street Y and Temple Emanuel had invited me annually to speak, and I was the second most sought after Jewish speaker at Jewish events, following only my dear friend Elie Wiesel. When Elie found out about the false accusations against me, he immediately called and worried that my voice would be silenced by this loshon harah (false talk). He committed himself to fighting against my silencing, but tragically he died shortly thereafter.

So, I am now fighting this battle alone, not for me only, but for my ability to stand up against the enemies of Israel and the Jewish community. I have received little or no support from major Jewish organizations in this regard. To the contrary, most have remained silent or gone alone with the cancelation.
My silencing and cancelation have also had another negative effect. Several young people have told me that they are now unwilling to devote time and energy to defending Jewish causes, seeing how the major Jewish community has reacted to the false accusation against me. We need young people to stand up for Israel, especially on hostile campuses, and to know that they will not be abandoned by the Jewish community, if they are in any way subject to false charges.
I will continue to speak out for Israel. I will continue to defend Jewish victims of injustice around the world through organizations such as the Aleph Institute and others which have continued to support me. I will continue to stand against blood libels, but my voice will be muted. It will no longer be heard on college campuses around the world.

Before this cancelation, I spoke on behalf of Israel on more college and university campuses than any other person. No more. I spoke to the media, wrote op-eds, published books and devoted much of my time and energy to defending Israel. I can no longer do so as effectively as I once did. This is entirely the fault of major Jewish leadership, especially at the institutions that have cancelled me.
At 83 years old, I am still strong and able to defend myself. I will continue to do so. I ask for no pity for my situation. I can deal with false accusations against me, which I am doing by suing my false accusers. What I ask for is a recognition that the leadership of the American Jewish community, has not only failed me, but has also failed Israel and the Jewish community by becoming complicit in the McCarthyite cancelation of one of Israel’s most effective voices.

I have just completed my 50th book, entitled The Price of Principle, in which I describe in detail the story of my cancelation by Jewish organizations and others. I am not ashamed to discuss these issues because I did nothing wrong. The blame lies entirely with those Jewish organizations who cancelled me without cause.

As Pogo once famously said: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Israel and the Jewish community have enough external enemies. We should not be helping them by turning against us.