Alan Dershowitz to Newsmax: Trump Warrants Praise for Devotion to Israel (Newsmax/"The Chris Salcedo Show")
By Jay Clemons | Monday, 17 October 2022 09:35 PM EDT
Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School and one of this country's foremost authorities on the U.S. Constitution, often acknowledges he didn't vote for Donald Trump in either the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections.
That aside, the Democrat-favoring Dershowitz still appreciates what former President Trump has done through the years, in terms of providing unwavering support to Israel.
"The [Zionist Organization of America] just gave Trump its highest award," Dershowitz told Newsmax Monday afternoon, while appearing on "The Chris Salcedo Show."
For Trump's illustrious award — which has previously gone to such luminaries as Lord Balfour, Winston Churchill, President Harry Truman, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, and former Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin — the Zionist Organization characterized the former president as "the best friend Israel ever had in the White House."
And Dershowitz agrees with that sentiment, saying Trump and Truman had the best presidential records for embracing and protecting Israel's ideals and values.
Dershowitz says "I didn't vote for [Trump] … but certainly admire his work" with the Abraham Accords, a series of landmark agreements — made official by the Trump White House in 2020 — in which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain both recognized Israel's sovereignty, enabling the establishment of full diplomatic relations.
Or, as Trump referred it to then, "peace in the Middle East."
Despite Trump's appeal with the ZOA, some left-leaning media outlets took exception to the Republican's recent call for American Jews being more supportive of Israel.
"When you make antisemitism into a partisan issue, that really is a terrible, terrible thing," said Dershowitz, author of the book, "The Price of Principle: Why Integrity Is Worth The Consequences."
During the interview, Dershowitz seemed chagrined by how Trump's pro-Israel remarks have received more pushback than previous antisemitic statements from Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.
"The Republicans have done far more" in terms of censuring their own members for making ill-conceived comments, says Dershowitz.
The special Newsmax contributor also expressed disappointment in colleges shutting out Jewish speakers, or establishing "Jewish-free zones," specifically the University of Cal-Berkeley, which recently welcomed a number of different-minded viewpoints to a speakers bureau — minus the Jewish perspective, according to Dershowitz.
"A Zionist speaker? God forbid," said Dershowitz, with a mocking tone. "And those are all left-wing Democrats making those rules" at UC-Berkeley.
Bottom line: Dershowitz says both political parties need to rein in the anti-Jewish discussions. Perhaps take a page from Trump's personal playbook.
"There's too much 'anti' in this country," quipped Dershowitz, alluding to any type of bias that has "anti" in the front.
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