Attorney Alan Dershowitz has proven himself to be a man of principle time and time again. He has argued against impeachment, for instance, even though he opposes President Trump on many of his policies and proposals. For Dershowitz, the law and the Constitution are No. 1.
Today, Dershowitz published an essay asking, “Is Rashida Tlaib Guilty of Bigotry?” Tlaib is the new darling of the progressive left because she called President Trump a “motherfucker.” She is also, as a Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress, a leader in the so-called BDS movement to boycott Israel (technically Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).
Tlaib and the other leaders of BDS face a major challenge due to a bill before Congress that would allow local and state governments to “boycott” companies that are themselves boycotting Israel. Tlaib and Bernie Sanders say that the bill is an attack on free speech, and imply that the attack on BDS is because American Jews are more loyal to Israel than the USA. Dershowitz demolishes that argument.
If Congress were considering legislation prohibiting boycotts directed against gays, women or Muslim owned companies, would Senator Bernie Sanders be arguing that such a ban would violate the First Amendment? If Congress were considering legislation prohibiting companies from boycotting majority Muslim countries, would Rashida Tlaib be accusing its supporters of dual loyalty?
As Dershowitz points out, the bill would not prohibit speech at all, but rather discriminatory action — a type of ban that has already passed constitutional muster.
To single out only the “Jew among nations,” and not the dozens of far more serious violators of human rights is bigotry pure and simple, and those who support BDS [boycotts divestments and sanctions against Israel] only against Israel are guilty of bigotry.
— Read Dershowitz’s full argument at www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13529/rashida-tlaib-bigotry
