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Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan M. Dershowitz, an ardent defender of Israel and a high-profile litigator, said Israel may have been wrong to invade Gaza at Harvard Kennedy School forum on Tuesday.

Dershowitz, who said he supports the country’s broader response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, said he plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November and urge him to “quickly and decisively” end the war.

“In a democracy, decisions aren’t made by professors at the Institute of Politics, and they’re not made in these debates,” Dershowitz said in the Middle East Dialogues forum with HKS professor Tarek E. Masoud. “Israelis have the ability to make decisions about their own future, and we shouldn’t be making it for them, even if they make mistakes.”

But Israel shows no signs of slowing its campaign in Gaza. Just hours before Dershowitz spoke at the forum, Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza City following weeks of aerial bombardment. Almost 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Palestinian health ministry has reported.

At the same time, international outrage against Israel is growing — on Tuesday, United Nations commission found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and accussed top Israel officials of inciting genocide.

Dershowitz appeared at the behest of Masoud, a Harvard Kennedy School professor known for hosting divisive conversations about Israel-Palestine. Over the course of 90 minutes, the two offered starkly different interpretations of the centuries-long conflict and its path to resolution.

Masoud argued that the conflict was “mutually created,” but Dershowitz insisted otherwise, claiming that Palestinians rejected multiple opportunities for peace by refusing to acknowledge Jewish statehood. Dershowitz also repeated his support for a two-state solution, arguing his views put him “if not on the left, at least in the center” on the issue.

At the beginning of the debate, six protesters unfurled banners with messages including “Harvard hosts war criminals,” “IOF off our campus out of Gaza,” and “Harvard funds the Gaza Holocaust” above the forum stage. A similar protest was staged during an April forum with former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

On Tuesday, the protesters — some members of the group that organized a pro-Palestine encampment in Harvard Yard last year — left the building during the question-and-answer segment, shouting “Fuck you, fuck the IOP” on their way out.

Dershowitz stopped to acknowledge the protesters as they walked out, defending their right to display the messages during the forum.

“I’m a complete and total absolutist on free speech,” Dershowitz said.

But Dershowitz’s presence also prompted the Kennedy School to increase event security. Attendees went through a metal detector upon entering the forum space, and the event was heavily guarded by both security guards and police officers.

An HKS spokesperson said in a statement that the security was “standard protocol for this type of event” and reflected its “high-profile” nature.

Dershowitz has long advocated a hardline stance on the issue of Israel-Palestine — last November, he offered to represent Benjamin Netanyahu at the International Criminal Court, and he told the Jewish Press in May that killing innocent civilians in Gaza could be justified under a cost-benefit analysis.

But the Harvard professor of 50 years is most well-known for defending a roster of high-profile clients in court, including O.J. Simpson, Donald Trump, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and billionaire sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein.

Most recently, Dershowitz’s signature appeared in Epstein’s recently publicized 2003 birthday album, alongside a note joking that Dershowitz redirected a Vanity Fair article from Epstein to Bill Clinton. Dershowitz told The Crimson in July that he “very possibly” sent Epstein a birthday note but had “no recollection of it.”

Dershowitz acknowledged that there was “opposition” to his appearance at the forum, but said his only goal was to convince students that the conflict between Israel and Palestine is complicated.

“This is not an issue for demonstrations and sit-ins and disruptions of classes,” he said. “This is a complicated issue that’s ripe for discussion.”

While Dershowitz applauded Masoud and the audience for a civil back-and-forth, he said it was a “relatively unique” circumstance that didn’t absolve the University of its broader free speech woes. (Harvard has been repeatedly accused of failing to encourage open debates with an overwhelmingly liberal student and faculty base, though officials have started several programs in recent months aimed at reviving intellectual debate.)

“Debate has died a sordid death at places like Harvard around the country,” Dershowitz said. “If this is the beginning of an attempt to resurrect free speech and debate, three cheers for that.”

“I’ll come back anytime you invite me,” he added.

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at elise.spenner@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @EliseSpenner.

—Staff writer Tanya J. Vidhun can be reached at tanya.vidhun@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tanyavidhun.