Atheist finds religion

Famed American attorney Alan Dershowitz has squared off against London-based Australian-born Geoffrey Robertson QC, Dershowitz arguing against the proposition that the Pope should be brought to trial for crimes against humanity owing to numerous sexual assaults commited by priests. Robertson's strategy was to monopolise the floor:

The chairman tried warning gestures, civil glances and banged his glass on an empty Schweppes bottle. Nothing worked. Robertson had things to say and could not be stopped. His adversary, Alan Dershowitz, provoked warm applause with his first words: "What I want to do in the time I've been allotted for my remarks …''

The audience wasn't cooperative either:

But the really dangerous stuff came from the floor. That elegant old leftie Tariq Ali ("What we can learn from terrorists") sat aghast as a man on microphone 2 confessed to cheering as the twin towers came down. "At last," said this voice in the dark, "someone was serving it up to them." In a suddenly silent opera theatre one person applauded.

Dershowitz the next night appeared before a better-behaved crowd at Sydney’s Central synagogue:

In a dialogue with The Sydney Morning Herald’s chief reporter Peter Hartcher, Dershowitz spoke to the 2000 capacity audience on issues including the death penalty, the cost of justice, J-Street and the Goldstone Report, his support for Israel, his favourite US politicians, Archbishop Tutu, his childhood, Iran. the mosque at Ground Zero and a job offer from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The enthralled audience sat glued to their seats as Hartcher took them on a journey spanning Dershowitz’s amazing career.

Staunch Zionist Dershowitz pulled no punches:

Iran was his next in his sights. Dershowitz said that the Israeli red line…a line which if crossed by Iran would invoke an attack…is six months ahead of America’s and he advocated a three day war by the U.S. to knock out Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in order to maintain peace in a region threatened by Iran’s nuclear capability.

The prospect of a pre-emptive strike on Iran eliciting a negative response from Antony Loewenstein:

With 2000 people hearing Dershowitz at this venue and no doubt many of them Jews who love the idea of a Zionist who speaks about glorious Israeli democracy, occupation and bombing Iran, my religion is sick, perhaps beyond repair.

So, provoked by Dershowitz, atheist Loewenstein suddenly dons a yarmulke, signs up for Hebrew lessons and begins to observe the significant holy days that up until now have meant nothing. As if.

The hypocrisy from Loewenstein is mind boggling. Here he is in his "best seller" My Israel Question (second edition, page 36):

Zionism is not Judaism. Dliberately associating the two is a dishonest method of silencing anyone who may disagree with either.

Thus does Loewenstein condemn his own dishonesty.

And just to round things out nicely there's this from Loewenstein's just updated bio:

His 2010 ABC Radio National feature documentary, A Different Kind of Jew, was a finalist in the UN Media Peace Awards.

Notwithstanding that it could be argued that Loewenstein is no Jew, he has been nomiated for an award not by the United Nations, but rather by the United Nations Association of Australia. The poor guy gets very little right; no wonder he's such a darling of the Left.