American Jews have been among the most ardent and loyal supporters of the Democratic Party for more than a century. But as JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin notes, as the party’s intersectional left-wing base embraced hatred for Israel and even antisemitism in recent years, the argument for a shift in political loyalties is now being made by some who were closely identified with the Democrats.
One such person is famed legal analyst and retired Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, who joins Tobin on this week’s episode of “Think Twice.” A prolific author, Dershowitz has written a new book titled Why I Quit the Dems and So Should You! The confessions of a reluctant Republican. In it—the 63rd book he has published in his career—the 88-year-old documents the reasons why he left the Democrats after 70 years as an ardent and involved supporter of the party and many of its candidates.
Dershowitz asserts that his beliefs remain unchanged. But the Democratic Party has been gradually becoming more illiberal and woke: It is “a systemic problem,” he says.
“I am a liberal, but I’m no longer a liberal Democrat, because I think that’s an oxymoron,” Dershowitz says.
“I don’t think Democrats are liberals. The reason I basically made the switch was not because [New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani got elected or because [Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Dr. Abdul] El-Sayed was nominated. It’s because [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer supported them. It’s because the mainstream of the Democratic Party ... wouldn’t stand up against the antisemites in the Democratic Party. Whereas U.S. President [Donald] Trump did stand up against some of the extremists in the Republican Party.”
“So, for me,” he continued. “The issue is not the extremes; it’s how the center deals with the extremes.”
When asked about criticism from Democrats that prioritizing Israel and the battle against antisemitism makes Jews “single-issue voters,” Dershowitz had a ready reply.
“We should become more single-issue voters. If I were living in Germany in 1932 and I were an environmentalist or a vegetarian or somebody who wanted full employment for Germany, I wouldn’t care about those issues. I would care about Adolf Hitler. Seven thousand German Jews voted for Adolf Hitler,” Dershowitz declared. “I think the time has come for single-issue voting. Antisemitism is the most serious danger in the world today of bigotry.”
Dershowitz admitted that he was a “reluctant Republican” because he still agreed with the Democrats on many issues. He also held out the possibility that the Democrats could reject their antisemites as well as noting that the isolationist wing of the Republican Party, led by Vice President JD Vance, whom he says is “not pro-Israel” yet also “not antisemitic” worries him.
The legal authority also says he had recently reconnected with his friend Larry David after the “Seinfeld” producer and “Curb Your Enthusiasm!” star publicly broke with him because Dershowitz had represented Trump. Now that David has denounced the Democratic Socialists who have hijacked the Democratic Party, the two have reconciled, says Dershowitz.
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