Alan Dershowitz is coming to Idaho. Not everyone is happy | Opinion
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- University of Idaho law school invites Alan Dershowitz for 2025 Bellwood Lecture.
- Some criticize the choice over Epstein, Trump ties and views on Israel.
- Dershowitz is speaking as part of a lecture series funded by an endowment.
The University of Idaho College of Law is bringing Alan Dershowitz, retired Harvard law professor and noted celebrity lawyer, to Boise on Oct. 17 for a lecture.
Not everyone is happy about it.
“I am writing to you as an Idaho citizen, as a Boise rabbi of thirty plus years and as a proud Jew to express my deep disappointment in the selection of Alan Dershowitz to deliver the 2025 Bellwood Lecture,” Dan Fink, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel in Boise, wrote in an email to the College of Law dean and shared with the Idaho Statesman.
“I believe this choice to be a shanda for the Jewish people and a source of harm to law and decency in our city and state,” he wrote, using the Yiddish word for something scandalously shameful.
Others on social media have decried Dershowitz’s selection, including The Idaho 97 Project, a local political advocacy group.
“Given this man’s involvement with Jeffery Epstein and the current administration, we are astounded that he is this year’s Bellwood Lecture speaker at the University of Idaho College of Law,” the group wrote on its Facebook page. “We encourage all of our followers who can and are willing to attend and to ask the hard questions.”
The free lecture is open to the public, but seating is limited, and an RSVP is required. The lecture will include a moderated question-and-answer period. It’s scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17, at Boise Centre on the Grove.
Dershowitz a polarizing figure
Dershowitz represented convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and helped negotiate his controversial non-prosecution agreement in 2008, leading to accusations that he enabled Epstein’s conduct.
He’s also defended O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson, Harvey Weinstein, Claus von Bülow and Julian Assange.
Dershowitz was a member of President Donald Trump’s defense team in Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial, arguing in favor of broad presidential power, arguments that were widely attacked by legal scholars, politicians and the media for suggesting a president could act in self-interest without legal consequence.
“If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment,” Dershowitz said during the Senate impeachment trial.
As several observers noted, Dershowitz’s flimsy argument would justify Richard Nixon’s actions in the Watergate scandal.
Dershowitz also has come under fire from human rights groups for his defense of Israel over the issue of Palestine.
“The suffering of Palestinians, which does not compare to the suffering of many other groups, has been largely inflicted by themselves,” Dershowitz wrote an op-ed for The Hill in 2019. “The issue could be solved if Palestinian leaders were prepared to accept the ‘painful compromises’ that Israeli leaders have already agreed to accept.”
Dershowitz is a man of paradoxes
Dershowitz has been a staunch opponent of the death penalty, but he’s defended the use of torture of terrorism suspects. He supported Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden for president, but defended Trump against impeachment.
He’s been an advocate for free speech, but he got into a noted public row with fellow professor Norman Finkelstein, who accused Dershowitz of plagiarism. Dershowitz threatened to sue over Finkelstein’s book and lobbied — successfully — to get DePaul University to deny Finkelstein tenure in 2006. Talk about cancel culture.
Why is Dershowitz coming to Idaho?
Dershowitz is speaking as part of the Bellwood Lecture series, which was endowed by the late Judge Sherman J. Bellwood, a 1939 graduate of the University of Idaho, lawyer, president of the Idaho State Bar Association and Idaho District Court judge until his retirement in 1981. Bellwood died in 1995, creating the Bellwood Endowment Fund “to enable the College of Law to invite and present persons learned in the law to lecture on legal subjects from time to time,” according to his will.
It is the largest endowed lectureship at the University of Idaho. The lecture is funded entirely by the endowment.
“The Bellwood Lecture has for many years hosted prominent leaders in law to provoke thought and drive hard conversations among the next generation of Idaho lawyers,” according to a prepared statement from the university emailed to me. “University of Idaho does not endorse the political or social stance of any Bellwood speaker but instead looks for speakers who bring a variety of legal perspectives.”
Past Bellwood Lecture speakers have included Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, journalist David Halberstam, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and legal scholar Anita Hill, who alleged that Justice Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor.
How and why was Dershowitz chosen?
The lecture is “presented by” the University of Idaho College of Law “in partnership with” the Judicial Branch of the State of Idaho and the Idaho State Bar Association, according to materials advertising the speech.
“A renowned constitutional scholar, longtime Harvard Law School professor and high-profile defense attorney, Alan Dershowitz has advised U.S. presidents, argued before appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and played pivotal roles in some of the most significant legal cases of the last 50 years,” according to the State Bar’s promotion of the event.
College of Law Dean Aviva Abramovsky selects the speaker, according to university spokesperson Jodi Walker.
I emailed Abramovsky, who didn’t respond. I also emailed University of Idaho and College of Law communications officials, the state courts spokesperson and the State Bar Association asking to talk to someone about how and why Dershowitz was selected to speak.
I received an emailed statement from Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Bevan:
“I am aware of the concerns raised by students, faculty, alumni, and community members regarding Professor Dershowitz’s selection,” the statement reads. “I take these concerns seriously and appreciate those who have shared their perspectives. The controversies surrounding Professor Dershowitz are real and significant, and I understand why they have prompted strong reactions.
“At the same time, the legal profession regularly requires us to engage with difficult ideas and controversial figures. Law students and lawyers must learn to critically evaluate arguments from speakers across the political and ideological spectrum. This is essential preparation for legal practice.
“The Bellwood Lecture provides an educational forum, not an endorsement of any speaker’s personal beliefs. I am reviewing all feedback and remain committed in my role with the Bellwood Lecture to fostering both robust intellectual exchange and a respectful learning environment.”
How much is Dershowitz getting paid?
No one would tell me that either, but New College of Florida in May paid Dershowitz $25,000 for two speaking engagements, including commencement, which drew protests and an alternative graduation ceremony.
I’m one of those people who’s been concerned about shutting down free speech, particularly on college campuses.
I’m all in favor of protesting speakers you don’t like, but I’m not in favor of trying to get a speech canceled or shouting down a speaker. Abhorrent speech should be exposed to the daylight.
If you don’t agree with a speaker, don’t go. Or, better yet, go and hear what the person has to say, then form an opinion. But at least hear them out.
If you go hear Dershowitz speak, write a letter to the editor or guest opinion and tell me what you agreed or disagreed with.
I believe we need more speech, not less.
Scott McIntosh is the opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman. You can email him at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com or call him at 208-377-6202. Sign up for the free weekly email newsletter The Idaho Way.
This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
