Dershowitz: Harris won presidential debate; Israel must prepare for worst case scenario

‘Israelis have to assume that Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Legendary US lawyer, Harvard Law professor, and author Alan Dershowitz said in an interview that Kamala Harris won the presidential debate against Donald Trump and that Israel should prepare for the “worst case scenario” of a Harris presidency.

The 86-year-old law professor told i24NEWS’ Hebrew channel anchor Danielle Roth-Avneri that, based on Harris’s strong debate performance, “Israelis have to assume that [Vice President] Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States.”

Israelis must plan for “the worst-case scenario,” he said.

Dershowitz said this scenario means that Israel may receive less support from the US than it has in the past and may have to become “more self-reliant.”

Dershowitz recently announced that he was leaving the Democratic Party because it had been “hijacked” by far-left anti-Israel activists.

“Many of them are pro-Hamas,” he said.

Dershowitz expressed concern that Harris’s running mate Tim Walz said anti-Israel activists had some “good points” and commented, “No, they don’t have good points.”

“The Democrats are moving away from Israel, whereas the Republicans are strongly supporting Israel,” he said.

Dershowitz added that he is not a Republican but identifies as an Independent.

“I’m an independent, and I will make my decision based on the totality of the circumstances,” he said.

Dershowitz also said that a Harris victory means that Israelis and other Jews can expect more hostility on college campuses, given the intensity of the anti-Israel protests last spring.

Dershowitz accused the Democratic Party’s leadership of promoting antisemitism and anti-Zionism at last month’s Democratic National Convention.

“I was so unhappy. It was the most anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist convention I’ve experienced,” he said. “I was disgusted at the Democratic National Convention. Absolutely disgusted,” Dershowitz said in an interview with Zev Brenner.

The attorney and liberal activist chastised Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris over her decision to snub Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his July address to a joint session of Congress.

As vice president, Harris also serves as President of the U.S. Senate, who by tradition presides over Senate sessions when a foreign dignitary is present.