WATCH: Alan Dershowitz Interview In London
Brian of London
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I probably don’t need to introduce Alan Dershowitz to the Israellycool audience, but the one line summary is that he’s a huge thought leader for the US left leaning Jewish population. He sat down for a long interview with my friend Jonathan Sacerdoti for i24 News in London. Plenty of criticism of Obama but a balanced interview overall with some great questions.
Dershowitz was in London speaking at UJIA’s annual dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Monday.
Here’s Sacerdoti’s summary of the talk:
i24news UK and Europe correspondent Jonathan Sacerdoti interviews Alan Dershowitz in London. Camera: Aviel Lewis
Some highlights:
“I can say this without any hesitation or doubt: the world is left a less safe place after 8 years of Obama than it was before that.”
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“The world is a much less safe place over the last 16 years. Both the Bush and the Obama administrations have ill served the interests of the United States and the world in peace and stability.”
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“I give the Obama administration a divided grade. An A- on domestic policy, and a C+ with grade inflation on foreign policy”
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“Syria gets a failing grade without a doubt. I’d say Libya gets an E for effort but a failing grade as well. I think that Russia gets a C-. I think the Iran deal, again, E for effort, and I hope it succeeds, I’m rooting for the deal to succeed. I want to be wrong, and I want Obama to be right about the Iran deal, because now it’s in place, I want to see it work, but I think we could have gotten a much, much, much better deal, and I think we failed as negotiators on Iran.”
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“I think rational voters could vote for Brexit, I think many did. And I think rational voters could vote for Sanders and for Trump, even if I regard the candidates themselves as unacceptable extremists”
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“I can’t imagine Hillary clinton saying that ‘I’m a woman and therefore I’m more sensitive or more caring.’ That just doesn’t work. A woman cannot brag about what makes women perhaps better candidates, men can brag about that. So I stand by my statement that there is still remaining sexism. One hopes that will go away over the next generation.”
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“On the one hand Russian involvement in the middle east is very bad for Israel and very bad for the influence of the united states. On the other hand if Russia could help broker a peace between Israel and the Palestinians, that would be a positive development. And Prime Minister Netanyahu has indicated a willingness to meet with Abbas anywhere, in Ramallah, in Jerusalem, in Moscow, in New York at the UN, and so far Abbas has not indicated a willingness to do that.”
“And the world doesn’t seem to recognise that Israel has offered the Palestinians essentially statehood: 1938, 1948, 1967, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2008. The blame for the lack of Palestinian statehood has to be squarely placed at the feet of Palestinian leaders.”
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“I’m very worried about Obama between the end of the election cycle and the end of his presidency. At that point he has relatively free reign and he holds personal grudges, I have no question about that, and I’m concerned he may put his own interests over the interests of the United State, the interests of peace, the interests of Israel, the interests of world stability. I’m hoping Im wrong about that… but I’m telling you candidly what my fear is. That’s my worst case scenario: a president without the checks and balances operating for two months and ten days on his own.”
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“I hope President Obama will learn lessons. First not try to intrude himself into politics. An ex-president should not be trying to influence foreign policy of the United States. There’s actually a statute prohibiting that, but it’s always violated.”
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Brian of London
