It’s much better to have rules that we can actually live within. And absolute prohibitions, generally, are not the kind of rules that countries would live within. – Alan Dershowitz
I think that lawyers are terrible at admitting that they’re wrong. And not just admitting it – also realizing it. – Alan Dershowitz
I believe that if Israel were to put an end to the settlements in the West Bank tomorrow, as it did in Gaza, there would still be reluctance on the part of the Palestinian Authority to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish secular democracy. – Alan Dershowitz
I’ve thought hard about my psychological connections and I think I’ve managed to separate out the psychological from the legal, moral, and political. – Alan Dershowitz
Every lawsuit results from somebody doing something wrong. If everybody did right, we wouldn’t need laws. – Alan Dershowitz
The Israeli military plays more than a critical role in defending the citizens of the Jewish state. It also plays an important social, scientific and psychological role in preparing its young citizens for the challenging task of being Israelis in a difficult world. – Alan Dershowitz
The prosecution wants to make sure the process by which the evidence was obtained is not truthfully presented, because, as often as not, that process will raise questions. – Alan Dershowitz
We don’t have an Official Secrets Act in the United States, as other countries do. Under the First Amendment, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of association are more important than protecting secrets. – Alan Dershowitz
I understand that it’s good tactics to categorize me as a close-minded, unobjective extremist, but nobody that respects me has those views. – Alan Dershowitz
The law is agnostic about truth. It’s very skeptical of ultimate truth. That’s why freedom of speech permits lies to be told. – Alan Dershowitz
Great research universities must insist on independence from government and on the exercise of academic freedom. – Alan Dershowitz