Harvard Law School professor and well-renowned attorney Alan Dershowitz surprised audience members Thursday evening when he revealed he was both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel during a lecture about his new book "The Case for Israel."
Dershowitz is best known for working with high-profile clients, such as O.J. Simpson and Mike Tyson, and for his appointment to the Harvard faculty at 25, the youngest in the school's history.
Dershowitz's "The Case for Israel" has established him as an informed source on the Israel and Palestine conflict, but he made a point early in the lecture to clarify he was an advocate for peace and a two-state resolution.
The speech was one of the World View Lecture Series at MSU and one of a number Dershowitz has given across the country on college campuses, including UCLA and The Ohio State University.
Dershowitz said the college campus tour targets young Americans because, in his experience, most are uninformed about the details of the conflict. He argued that as the future leaders who also might become involved in the Israel and Palestine conflict, they need to hear all sides of the issue.
"It occurred to me it was important for them to know," Dershowitz said. "I've tried very hard to fill that void."
He added that the student audience has an added appeal for their open and most often liberal perspective.
"Students are less into the blame game and more, 'Where to go from here,'" he said.
The Wharton Center's Pasant Theatre's seats were filled with a mixture of students and area residents.
Lansing resident and 1980 MSU alumnus Gregory Jones came to hear Dershowitz speak more about the conflict in the Middle East.
"I have seen Mr. Dershowitz on TV a lot and am interested in how he will justify the case for Israel," Jones said. "I want to hear his point of view and say I've seen him in the flesh."
International relations freshman Cole Freeman had a different motivation to hear Dershowitz address Michiganians. Freeman is the campus political coordinator for Sparty Pac, a campus pro-Israel group trained to lobby for Israeli rights by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Sparty Pac currently is undergoing a name change to become Spartans for Israel.
Freeman said he saw Dershowitz last month at a Chicago lecture and wanted to be part of his outreach on MSU's campus.
"I hope the people that are coming will learn a lot about Israel and will become involved," he said.
Dershowitz's two-hour combined lecture and question-and-answer session filled almost all 600 seats in the Pasant Theatre.
Beyond the topic of Dershowitz's newest novel, audience questions sparked responses about the seasoned lawyer's opinions on civil unions for gay and lesbian couples and the possible deletion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance; Dershowitz supports both causes.
The Hillel Jewish Student Center helped to sponsor the program with other campus institutions and Lansing area groups.
Program Director Jeff Lazor of the Hillel Center, who helped organize the lecture, said the purpose of bringing the high-profile lawyer to campus was to present the facts and let people make their own judgments for a peace solution.
"He may not have changed people's opinions, but he certainly has opened people's eyes," Lazor said.
