Dershowitz

WASHINGTON, November 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Muslim Legal Defense and Education Fund (MLDEF), an Islamic organization set up by a group of American Muslim lawyers in 2002 to defend Muslims' rights in the U.S., recently filed a disciplinary complaint with the Massachusetts State Bar against Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz.

Dershowitz of Harvard Law School advocates ethnic cleansing by the Israeli Army to deter Palestinian bombers.

On March 11, he wrote an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post newspaper and New York Daily News newspaper suggesting that the Israeli army destroys whole villages as a means of deterring anti-Israel Palestinian attacks.

He called on Israel to destroy a Palestinian village in retaliation for each "terrorist" attack.

"The residents (of the village) would be given 24 hours to leave, and then troops will come in and bulldoze all of the buildings.

"The response will be automatic. The order will have been given in advance of the terrorist attacks and there will be no discretion.

"The point is to make the automatic destruction of the village the fault of the Palestinian terrorists who had advance warnings of the specific consequences of their action.

"The soldiers would simply be acting as the means for carrying out a previously announced policy of retaliation against a designated target.

"Further acts of terrorism would trigger further destruction of specifically named locations.

"The "waiting list" targets would be made public and circulated throughout the Palestinian controlled areas, " Dershowitz proposed.

Dershowitz’s comments are morally reprehensible and are totally inconsistent with the moral character that the public is entitled to expect from members of the bar, said the MLDEF in a letter to the Massachusetts State Bar.

In its letter, MLDEF asked that Dershowitz be disciplined for his comments that call for ethnic cleansing.

Dershowitz has engaged in a conduct that contravenes the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct and thereby lessens public confidence in the legal profession, said the MLDEF letter.

Through his advocacy, Dershowitz has violated Rule 8.4 (d) of the “Rules of

Professional Conduct”, it added.

As an officer of the legal system Dershowitz has sworn an oath to uphold the laws of the State of Massachusetts and of the United States.

In his article, Dershowitz clearly advocates violating international law and this action is inconsistent with his obligations under the above Rule, said the MLDEF.

It is undeniable that Dershowitz’s proposal specifically calls for collective punishment against scores of individuals who have no connection to the crime they are being held accountable for except for the fact that the suspect comes from their town or village or is related to them, it stressed.

If acted upon by the Israeli military it would have the potential effect of terrorizing the larger Palestinian population to flee from their homes thus ethnically cleansing these areas, MLDEF asserted.

Dershowitz’s advocacy that Israel and its people engage in illegal action of this sort is prejudicial to the rule of law he is ethically obligated to uphold, it added.

While Israel rejects applying the 4th Geneva Convention to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, stating that those territories were captured in 1967 as a result of a defensive war, the United States of America does not endorse this position.

At a special U.N. meeting held in Geneva on July 15, 1999, a resolution was unanimously passed by the signatory nations stating that the Fourth Geneva Convention does apply to the Occupied Territories.

As an American citizen Dershowitz is legally bound by this interpretation.

Dershowitz deliberately attempts to incite the Israeli government to ignore International Law and commit repeated Nuremberg Crimes against the Palestinian People.

Nevertheless it should be noted that the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has convicted journalists who never participated in actions themselves or held official government positions for war crimes.

These individuals advocated in print and through broadcast mediums for the destruction of property and the killing of civilians in contravention of the Geneva Conventions.

They provided the intellectual rationalization that allowed the government and others to begin war crimes.

Similarly Dershowitz is taking advantage of his position as an eminent American jurist to rationalize the commission of a war crime for those Israeli decision makers who read his articles in their leading newspapers.

It is important to realize that Dershowitz’s approach is not merely the theoretical musings of an academician.

Subsequent to the publication of his article, Israeli authorities have actually enacted his policy by identifying suspected bombers and destroying the homes and farmlands of their families.

The Board of Bar Overseers has an affirmative obligation to ensure that members of the State Bar do not engage in conduct or speech that openly calls for the commission of a crime.

Doing so is clearly prejudicial to the administration of justice.

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