Famed attorney Alan Dershowitz has announced his departure from the Democratic Party following what he called the “most anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist convention” he has experienced.
The lawyer and Harvard Law professor emeritus made the announcement during an appearance on the Talkline With Zev Brenner podcast shortly after the Democratic National Convention, which took place in Chicago from August 19 to August 22.
The Democratic Party has been wracked by internal conflict over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7 when the Palestinian militant group launched an attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking hundreds more to Gaza as hostages.
In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.
Progressive campaigners have accused the Biden administration of failing to rein in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, with some accusing it of being complicit in genocide. Meanwhile, prominent Jewish leaders have said the conflict has triggered a rise in antisemitism, including within progressive movements.
Alan Dershowitz in New York on May 20. Dershowitz said he left the Democratic Party following what he called the “most anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist convention” he had experienced.
Sarah Yenesel-Pool/GETTY
During his interview with radio host Zev Brenner, Dershowitz said: “I am no longer a Democrat. I am an independent.” He added, “A lot of things pushed me in that direction,” citing Vice President Kamala Harris‘ decision not to preside over Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress in July and rhetoric at the Democratic National Convention.
“I was disgusted at the Democratic National Convention. Absolutely disgusted,” he said.
Dershowitz continued: “They had more anti-Jewish, anti-Zionist people who were speaking, starting with [Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]—a miserable anti-Zionist bigot.
“Then, of course, they had [Senator Elizabeth] Warren, who is one of the most anti-Jewish people in the Senate. Then they had Bernie Sanders, one of the most anti-Jewish people in the Senate.”
Sanders, who was born into a Jewish family, described himself as “proud to be Jewish” in a New York Times interview published in 2020.
Newsweek contacted Dershowitz and a Democratic Party spokesperson for comment, via online inquiry form and email, outside regular business hours.
Dershowitz said he hadn’t decided whom to vote for in November. “I want to see how they deal with Iran,” he said, adding, “I want to encourage the current administration to support Israel.”
The lawyer also said that had Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro not been Jewish, he likely would have been chosen as Harris’ running mate.
“I understand that if his name were John Sheppard, not Josh Shapiro, he would have been the democratic nominee,” he said.
Referring to Harris picking Governor Tim Walz as her running mate instead of Shapiro, Dershowitz added: “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 that 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.”
Dershowitz has a history of representing controversial clients. He worked as an appellate adviser to O.J. Simpson during his murder trial and was part of Harvey Weinstein‘s defense team in 2018. In 2020, he also helped defend then-President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial.
