At 86 years old, without a secretary, researchers, or assistants—just his wife Carolyn—Alan Dershowitz continues his lifelong mission as a one-man legal powerhouse. From his home in the US, the renowned Jewish lawyer is distributing a million booklets on American campuses titled "The Ten Biggest Lies About Israel." His goal? To equip students, often young enough to be his great-grandchildren, with reliable information about the Jewish state.
Simultaneously, Dershowitz is forming a top-tier legal team from across the US to defend Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, against arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
"The Wall Street Journal called it a dream team," Dershowitz shared in a Zoom interview. "I reached out to dozens of colleagues, including some of the world's most prominent lawyers—two former US attorneys general, a former FBI director, and a former governor of New York. Together, we've put together a legal dream team to defend Israel and its leaders against the ICC's unjust and illegal attempts to arrest somebody without any justification. Our defense will extend beyond legal briefs; we'll also make Israel's case in the court of public opinion. Convincing the world that Israel's actions do not constitute war crimes and that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Israel is critical. We will also submit amicus briefs as friends of the court."
A political agenda
Recently, France reversed its stance on the ICC arrest warrants. After initially pledging to comply, French officials clarified they are not obligated to detain Netanyahu or Gallant should they visit the country, despite France's ICC membership. Dershowitz sees this shift as unsurprising.
"It's 110% politics. If it was justice, we'd see arrest warrants for the leaders of Syria and Iran. Syria, for example, has committed such atrocious crimes not only against their own people but also against people in Lebanon and Israel. Iran obviously has of all kinds of war crimes on its hands. Yet Israel is the only western target in the history of the ICC with a functioning judiciary. There's no question the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel."
Dershowitz confirmed reports from senior Israeli officials, as well as US Senator Lindsey Graham, that ICC officials abruptly canceled a planned visit to Israel. He accuses ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan of betrayal.
"I was on the phone with ICC officials a few months ago when they promised to visit Israel. They had scheduled a meeting to look into the issue of Israel's judicial complementarity—a principle stating the ICC only intervenes if a country fails to investigate or prosecute crimes adequately. I helped arrange the visit. At the time, we didn't know this, but Khan was under scrutiny for alleged misconduct. He decided to cancel the trip at the last minute."
Is Khan being blackmailed?
"I don't know. But I think he thought he would benefit from going after Israel. Even his assistant was shocked that the trip was canceled. It's all 100% political. Even the good decisions, like France's refusal to comply with the warrants, are political. The fact that Canada would comply, while France won't, these are all political decisions."
The US Stands Firm
Senator Lindsey Graham's legislative proposal to impose US sanctions on any country cooperating with the ICC could strain Washington's relationships with close allies such as Germany, Britain, France, and Canada. Nevertheless, Dershowitz sees this as a logical step for the US.
"The ICC's next target will be the United States. If you take the ICC's, application for arrest warrants, everything they said about Israel and about Netanyahu and Gallant can be said about American presidents, American generals. That's why the US is concerned about the precedent the Israel case might establish for the US. Most Americans who know the ICC despise it. Americans do not want to see their soldiers—or those of their allies—subjected to phony trials in a foreign court. I think this warrant against Israel is a suicide note for the ICC. I think it will mark the end of the ICC."
How will that happen?
"More and more countries will refuse to recognize ICC warrants. Many nations worldwide will fear they're next. Once the ICC violates the principle of complementarity and targets democracies with legitimate judicial systems, every NATO country will worry about being in the crosshairs."
Frustration with Senate leadership
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Jewish Democrat, has declined to advance legislation imposing sanctions on the ICC, which has already passed in the House of Representatives. When asked if this disappointed him, Dershowitz responded candidly.
"Schumer is incapable of disappointing me because he is such an incredible hypocrite. He takes orders from the Democratic Party, and I believe this comes from the White House. But as soon as Trump's in the White House and as soon as the majority leader of the senate is a Republican, this statute will be passed and signed."
