Renowned legal scholar Alan Dershowitz recently announced that he is leaving the Democratic Party, after being “disgusted” by what he witnessed at last month’s Democratic National Convention.
The retired Harvard Law School professor, who is a longtime self-described liberal Democrat, told radio host Zev Brenner on Aug. 23 that he felt the Chicago gathering was “the worst convention in American history” because of the number of speakers who have publicly expressed opposition to Israel.
“They had more anti-Jewish, anti-Zionist people who were speaking, starting with [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] – a miserable, anti-Zionist bigot,” Dershowitz said during an appearance on “Talkline with Zev Brenner.” “Then of course they had [Sen. 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.”
Dershowitz argued the Democratic Party gave anti-Israel arguments “legitimacy” by allowing those that espouse them to speak at the convention.
“[B]y giving them platforms, what it says is that when AOC does call Israel a genocidal country and rails against it, she now has the imprimatur of the Democratic Party,” he explained.
“I was disgusted at the Democratic National Convention,” he added. “Absolutely disgusted.”
“I am no longer a Democrat. I am an independent,” he continued, without revealing who he plans on voting for on Election Day.
“I’ll decide who to vote for at the last minute based on the totality of the circumstances,” Dershowitz explained. “I want to see how they deal with Iran. I want to see how they deal with Iran attacks on the United States. I want to encourage the current administration to support Israel. So I’m not revealing my vote until you know, maybe Nov. 1.”
Dershowitz, who faced criticism from the left for defending former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial, indicated that he has “gradually” been moving away from the Democratic Party but that the convention was the nail in the coffin.
“I cannot be associated with the party that features as its speakers, AOC, [Al] Sharpton, Liz Warren and Bernie Sanders,” he said. “That’s not my party.”
