Dershowitz channels Joan Peters

Alan Dershowitz debated Norman Finkelstein on Democracy Now! yesterday over the merits of Dershowitz's new book, The Case For Israel. Finkelstein accused Dershowitz of heavily plagiarizing Joan Peters' notorious book From Time Immemorial, misrepresenting a key finding by Israeli historian Benny Morris, and making several false assertions about Israel's record on torture and its treatment of Palestinians.

To add further drama, Dershowitz had issued an open challenge to any critic of his book during a previous appearence on MSNBC's Scarborough Country. "I will give $10,000 to the PLO," Dershowitz announced during the taping on September 8th, "...if you can find a historical fact in my book that you can prove to be false.”

Finkelstein rose to the challenge and, well, you'll have to judge for yourself whether Alan should be dropping a check in the mail anytime soon.

The transcript is available here, although it's not complete. I recommend taking an hour out to watch or listen to the debate, both for amusement and just to witness Dershowitz squirm.

Update: Alex Cockburn picks up on Dershowitz's plagiarism. The Harvard Crimson has run an article on the controversy, which Dershowitz has responded to.