In a fiery dispute reignited by the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, renowned constitutional lawyer Alan Dershowitz has strongly denied an explosive quote attributed to him concerning celebrated academic Mahmood Mamdani.
The controversy centers on a decades-old allegation that Dershowitz once declared he would “blow his brains out” if Mamdani were ever elected mayor of New York City. The claim resurfaced and gained significant traction on social media, amplifying a long-standing intellectual feud between the two prominent figures.
The Resurfaced Allegation
The incendiary quote, allegedly from the 1990s, was widely circulated on X (formerly Twitter) amid heightened tensions at Columbia University, where Professor Mamdani is a key faculty member. Users shared the statement to highlight the deep-seated animosity between Dershowitz, a staunch defender of Israel, and Mamdani, a sharp critic of its policies.
Dershowitz’s Furious Rebuttal
Dershowitz, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Law School, issued a swift and unequivocal denial. He took to social media to condemn the claim as a malicious falsehood designed to defame him.
“I have been told that a complete fabrication is circulating on social media,” Dershowitz posted. “I challenge anyone to produce any evidence that I ever said or wrote such a despicable statement. It is an outright lie.”
He further described the allegation as a “blood libel,” a term historically used for false and malicious accusations against Jews, and framed its circulation as a deliberate smear tactic in the current politically charged climate.
A Rivalry Spanning Decades
This clash is a microcosm of the deeply polarized ideological battle over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has permeated American academia for years. The two protagonists represent opposing poles of the debate:
- Alan Dershowitz (85): One of America’s most famous legal scholars, known for representing high-profile clients and for his uncompromising defense of Israel in the Western world.
- Mahmood Mamdani (78): A globally respected scholar of political science and post-colonial theory, known for his critiques of Israeli policy and Zionism, which he has compared to apartheid.
Their intellectual paths have crossed for decades, often in heated public and academic debates.
Context: The Columbia University Protests
The current flashpoint is Columbia University, the epicenter of recent student-led protests against the war in Gaza. Professor Mamdani has been viewed as a supportive academic figure for the student protestors. Conversely, critics of the protests, including Dershowitz, see them as a hotbed of rising antisemitism masquerading as political activism.
The resurfacing of the alleged quote serves as a weapon in this information war. Those circulating it aim to paint Dershowitz’s pro-Israel stance as extreme and violent. In turn, Alan Dershowitz denies saying he’d ‘blow his brains out’ if Mamdani became NYC mayor, framing the accusation as a smear tactic by his ideological opponents.
As of now, no verifiable evidence, such as a recording or a published transcript, has emerged to substantiate the quote. Without proof, the incident highlights how unverified claims can be weaponized on social media to fuel an already volatile debate.
