Peace in the Middle East, terrorism and the role of American Jews in the Arab-Israeli peace talks were topics informally debated by professors yesterday evening at Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel.

In a panel discussion moderated by Associate Professor of Government Peter Berkowitz, Frankfurter Law School Professor Alan M. Dershowitz and the New Republic's Editor-in-Chief Martin H. Peretz discussed the fragile nature of the peace process before an audience of 50.

Peretz compared the current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to those between the Irish Republican Army and the British government, referring to the situation in Israel as "one-way peace."

After criticizing Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat for honoring the "intentions and ambitions" of Arab terrorists, Peretz said withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank compromises Israel's security.

"Israel is doomed to live dangerously as long as it lives at all," he said.

Dershowitz also focused upon the issue of terrorism, calling the legitimization of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) by the world community "a terrible mistake."

"Once the world sends a message of the legitimization of terrorism, the genie is out of the bottle and it is here to stay," the law professor said.

Dershowitz attacked the Palestinian authorities for their hypocrisy in condemning Islamic fundamentalist terrorism when the PLO has yet to retract clauses in its covenant calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.

"It made me sick to my stomach to see President Rudenstine smiling with Yassir Arafat.... That in my view was wrong," said Dershowitz.

He also spoke about Israel's May 29 elections for prime minister, saying that as an American Jew and self-proclaimed civil libertarian, he supports conservative Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu. He added that if he were an Israeli, he would probably give his vote to the more liberal government currently in power.

"I will not live to see the end of [terrorism], and I presume that you who are much, much younger will not live to see the end of terrorism in the Middle East," Dershowitz concluded.

Prior to the discussion, Dershowitz attended a tea sponsored by the Hillel Jewish Learning committee and spoke with a group of approximately 30 students for about an hour