Alan Dershowitz

Alan Dershowitz
Professor Alan M. Dershowitz is Brooklyn native who has been called "the nation's most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer" and one of its "most distinguished defenders of individual rights," "the best-known criminal lawyer in the world," "the top lawyer of last resort," "America's most public Jewish defender" and "Israel's single most visible defender - the Jewish state's lead attorney in the court of public opinion." He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Dershowitz, a graduate of Brooklyn College and Yale Law School, joined the Harvard Law School faculty at age 25 after clerking for Judge David Bazelon and Justice Arthur Goldberg. He has also published more than 100 articles in magazines and journals such as The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post. The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Nation, Commentary, Saturday Review, The Harvard Law Review and the Yale Law Journal, and more than 300 of his articles have appeared in syndication in 50 national daily newspapers. Professor Dershowitz is the author of 27 fiction and non-fiction works with a worldwide audience. His most recent titles include "an exceptional, action packed book," The Trials of Zion, a novel which has been called "a thought-provoking page turner," Rights From Wrong, The Case For Israel, The Case For Peace, Blasphemy: How the Religious Right is Hijacking the Declaration of Independence and Preemption: A Knife that Cuts Both Ways, Finding Jefferson - A Lost Letter, A Remarkable Discovery, Shouting Fire and The First Amendment In An Age of Terrorism. In addition to his numerous law review articles and books about criminal and constitutional law, he has written, taught and lectured about history, philosophy, psychology, literature, mathematics, theology, music, sports - and even delicatessens. In 1983, the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith presented him with the William O. Douglas First Amendment Award for his "compassionate eloquent leadership and persistent advocacy in the struggle for civil and human rights." In presenting the award, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel said: "If there had been a few people like Alan Dershowitz during the 1930s and 1940s, the history of European Jewry might have been different." Professor Dershowitz has been awarded the honorary doctor of laws degree by Yeshiva University, the Hebrew Union College, Brooklyn College, Syracuse University, Tel Aviv University, New York City College and Haifa University.

ARTICLES BY: Alan Dershowitz

August 14, 2014 1:50 pm

Supporting Hamas is Anti-Semitic

Criticizing specific Israeli policies is certainly not anti-Semitic. Indeed many Israelis are critical of some of their nation's policies. But support for Hamas is anti-Semitic,...

August 7, 2014 11:26 pm

Hamas’ Phony Statistics on Civilian Deaths

It's a mystery why so many in the media accept as gospel Hamas-supplied figures on the number of civilians killed in the recent war. Hamas...

August 5, 2014 3:21 pm

How the International Community Facilitates Hamas’ Use of Human Shields

How many times have you heard on television or read in the media that the Gaza Strip is "the most densely populated area in the...

August 1, 2014 5:47 pm

No, President Obama, Israel Could Not Do More to Prevent Civilian Casualties

Imagine you are the Prime Minister of Israel or the President of the United States, or the Chief-of-Staff of either Army. Your soldiers are fighting...

July 31, 2014 3:06 pm

Qatar, and Other American ‘Allies’, Are Among the Villains in Gaza

American allies, especially Qatar and Turkey, have been providing material support to Hamas, which the United States has listed as a foreign terrorist organization. This...

July 23, 2014 2:23 pm

The Media’s Selective Reporting on Gaza Deaths Incites More Violence, Anti-Semitism

The media has obsessively counted every dead body in the conflict between Hamas and Israel. They rarely explain why so many more Palestinians than Israelis...

July 22, 2014 4:03 pm

By Targeting Ben Gurion Airport, Has Hamas Ended the Prospects for a Two State Solution?

Hamas's decision to fire rockets in the direction of Ben Gurion Airport may well have ended any real prospect of a two-state solution. Whether the...

February 12, 2014 12:55 pm

Ten Reasons Why the BDS Movement is Immoral and Hinders Peace

As a strong supporter of the two state solution and a critic of Israel's settlement policies, I am particularly appalled at efforts to impose divestment,...

November 12, 2013 4:35 pm

Nuclear Peace With Iran in Our Time: Is This Our Chamberlain Moment?

The deal that has been offered to Iran—to soften some sanctions in return for a promise by the mullahs to preserve the status quo with...

October 2, 2013 2:21 pm

Netanyahu’s Powerful UN Speech is Being Distorted by the Media

I was in the General Assembly when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his speech about Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iran's nuclear program. I...

September 8, 2013 2:06 am

Assad is Adopting Hamas’ ‘Dead Baby’ Strategy

As Congress debates whether to authorize President Obama to engage in a punitive-deterrent military attack on Syria, the Assad regime is adopting what I have...

July 29, 2013 12:30 pm

United States Presses Israel to Release Murderers But Won’t Release Pollard

The Israeli cabinet took a courageous and politically unpopular step by approving the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners, including many terrorists who had murdered Israeli...

June 5, 2013 4:00 pm

Samantha Power Will Wow Them at the United Nations

President Obama's decision to nominate Samantha Power as the United States representative to the United Nations is right on. Power is perfectly suited to stand...

June 4, 2013 4:09 pm

Syria Shows Why Israel Must Remain Strong

Fareed Zakaria explained why neither side in the Syrian conflict is likely to surrender: "People fight to the end because they know that losers in such...