Alan Dershowitz: ‘In the 1930s, the rabbis of Poland also said that everything will be OK’

American Jewry is heading into a downward spiral amid a burst of global antisemitism that is becoming normalized, while major Western countries outside the United States will become unlivable for Jews, prominent American Jewish lawyer Alan Dershowitz said on Sunday.

His blunt warning came just days before Zohran Mamdani will officially take office as Mayor of New York City—which is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

“In the 1930s, the rabbis of Poland also said that everything will be OK,” Dershowitz told JNS in an interview. “You can look at the faculty and students of today, and predict what the country will look like in 20 years.”

The status of Jews in America is undergoing a “permanent, long-term change”

He voiced concern that extremist views on both sides of the political aisle could increasingly become mainstream, arguing that the status of Jews in America is undergoing a “permanent, long-term change.”

Dershowitz predicted continuing and growing global antisemitism ahead, despite the end of the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza triggered by the terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, making it hard for Jews to remain in major Western countries.

“More Jews will have to make aliyah, and will not be able to live in Canada, Australia, France and Spain,” he said.

‘A deep antisemite’

The Brooklyn-born Dershowitz, 87, said he has no doubt that Mamdani is “a deep antisemite,” and voiced profound consternation over the future of a city he once called home.

“I want him to fail,” said Dershowitz. “My worst fear is that if he succeeds in the way Hitler succeeded in his first two years, it will make many more people accept antisemitism.”

‘Self-hating idiots’

The longtime Democrat turned Independent, known for his staunch support for the State of Israel, said he never would have dreamed that such a candidate would become mayor of New York, and did not mince words regarding the third of the Jewish community who voted for Mamdani, calling them “self-hating idiots” who have lost their way.

“Jews can be smart, they can be really stupid, they can be self-hating and self-destructive,” he said.

The last pro-Israel president?

Amid winds of change blowing from the West, Dershowitz believes that Israel must develop a self-reliant military.

“Donald Trump may possibly be the last pro-Israel president,” he said.

Despite his move away from the “anti-Israel” Democrat party, Dershowitz does not retract his lifelong support for a two-state solution, long-supported by the international community, even after the Oct. 7 massacre, putting him at odds with current mainstream Israeli public opinion. However, he said that the Palestinians need to earn it sans Hamas.

‘Meritocracy is dead’ at Harvard

In the interview, Dershowitz, who taught law at Harvard for half a century, also lamented the fall of liberal arts education in America in general, and at “increasingly mediocre” Harvard in particular.

“Liberal arts education—especially at the Ivy Leagues—has become a study in mediocrity,” he said. “Mediocrity is being rewarded at Harvard while meritocracy is dead.”

He contrasted that academic worldview with Israel, “the poster-child of meritocracy,” a country the size of New Jersey with no natural resources and enemies all around which, he said, offered an “oversized contribution to the world of science, medicine and hi tech.”

"Harvard is going down"

He noted that “not a single” member of the 100-strong Harvard Law School faculty—half of whom are Jewish—had spoken out on behalf of Israel (the Divinity School, he said, “would make Jesus angry” due to their views on the Jewish state.)

Moreover, on a personal level, not a single member of the law school where he taught for five decades until his retirement 12 years ago wrote him a condolence note after the death of his son this year, who had suffered from a brain tumor, he added.

“Harvard is going down, and other universities will emerge to take its place,” he predicted.

Dershowitz pledged to continue speaking out for Israel, blasting prominent New York institutions such as the 92nd Street Y, the Reform Temple Emanuel and even the Jewish Modern Orthodox Ramaz school for boycotting him.

“I will fight for Israel for the rest of my life,” he said.

© JNS