Alan Dershowitz announced in late August during an interview with Talkline with Zev Brenner that he was ending his support for the Democratic Party in response to the Hamas support he witnessed outside the Democratic National Convention.
Dershowitz is a well-known American lawyer and law professor known for his work in US constitutional law and American criminal law.
Asked by Brenner his feelings toward the events that transpired at the convention, Dershowitz said, “I was so unhappy. It was the most anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist convention I have experienced…”
“Let me tell you why this was the worst convention in history, I think [in] American history,” Dershowitz told Brenner. “They had more anti-Jewish, anti-Zionist who were speaking - starting with AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), a miserable anti-Zionist bigot. Then, of course, they had Liz Warren, who is one of the most anti-Jewish people in the Senate. Then they had Bernie Sanders, who is one of the most anti-Jewish people in the Senate. Then, to top it off, they had one of the worst antisemites in modern American history…Last night, at the convention…Reverand Sharpton…the guy who provoked a pogrom in Crown Heights.”
He added that while the Democrats instructed the “anti-Jewish” speakers not to discuss Israel, they still platformed them, “legitimat[ing]” them.
Dershowitz further charged that Gov. Josh Shapiro had his career stalled in the party because of his Jewish identity.
“I understand that if his name [were] John Sheppard, not Josh Shapiro, he would have been the democratic nominee,” Dershowitz said, later assuring, “I don’t think that Kamala Harris is antisemitic. I don’t think that she didn’t pick Shapiro just because he was Jewish, [or] just because she doesn’t like Jews…I think that she got a lot of pressure. We know she got a lot of pressure from the hard left of the Democratic Party, and she knew that if she nominated Josh Shapiro…there would have been demonstrations…”
The lawyer later said that he was not Shapiro’s biggest supporter, in particular, due to his negative comments on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden's 'chutzpah'
While describing US President Joe Biden as a friend with whom he shared a long history, Dershowitz criticized the “chutzpah” of the president for claiming the outside pro-Palestinian protesters, “who were tearing down fences,” “demanding Hamas” and “burning American flags,” “may have good points.”
“There were no fine people standing outside of the convention center and screaming ‘Hamas will win,’ ‘we are all Hamas’ screaming ‘there was nothing wrong with October 7’...” Dershowitz said, drawing comparisons to what he claimed was misreporting of former-US President Donald Trump’s comments on there being good people on both sides of the neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville.
“I am no longer a Democrat. I am an independent,” Dershowitz said, adding that he would later decide who to vote for based on their response to a potential attack by Iran. He said he would not reveal his vote “until maybe November 1” to encourage the administration to take a more pro-Israel stance.