'From Epstein and almost to the ICJ – Meet Israel’s Defender Alan Dershowitz'
"Leave it to Dersh to somehow blame women for what "Hamas is doing."
Jan 08, 2024
With the release of more of the Epstein files this past week it was also fairly widely reported that Netanyahu allegedly wanted Alan Dershowitz to represent Israel at the ICJ Hearing scheduled for the 11th and 12 January, regarding Israel’s alleged violations of the Genocide Code as detailed in South Africa’s very thorough Application Instituting Proceedings which formally launched legal action against Israel.
In his analysis of the proceedings filed with the ICJ, In Gaza genocide, US defends Israel’s ‘aura of power’, Aaron Maté recommends at least reading pages 59-67 of South Africa’s Application filed with the ICJ “which collects Israeli leaders’ genocidal rhetoric in nine pages of chilling detail.”
Professor Malcolm Shaw will have to argue that Israel is in fact complying with international law, and that extreme statements from Israeli leaders don't reflect official policy in Gaza, says Israeli legal expert
Prof. Shaw is considered one of the world's leading experts on international law. He has advised the British government, other foreign governments and international organizations and has appeared before the ICJ in the past, as well as the European Court of Human Rights and Britain's highest court. In addition, he wrote one of the key textbooks used in introductory courses on international law.
In the first stage of the case, Shaw will have to contend with South Africa's request for an injunction ordering Israel to stop the war in the Gaza Strip on the grounds that it constitutes genocide. Though such an order could theoretically be enforced by the UN Security Council through sanctions, America would likely veto such a move.
Nevertheless, an injunction could result in Israel and Israeli companies being ostracized and subject to sanctions imposed by individual countries or blocs.
The ICJ announced on Thursday that it will hear South Africa's petition next Thursday and Friday. The petition also accuses Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including indiscriminate use of force and forcible displacement of Gazans.
Dr. Tamar Megiddo, an expert on international law at Hebrew University, noted that aside from arguing that Israel is in fact complying with international law, Shaw would have to argue that extremist statements by senior Israeli officials, such as "there are no innocents in Gaza," have no relationship to Israel's official policy or what the army is actually doing in Gaza.
Last week, Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi warned senior army officers that there's a real risk of the ICJ issuing such an injunction.
This evening when I took a look it was widely reported that, “Retired Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, 87, will be Israel’s appointee to the 15-judge panel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague that will this week hear South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, Jerusalem announced Sunday.”
Given what Dershowitz has been spouting about of late and some of the allegations of sexual impropriety made against him within the Epstein files, it’s a wise decision by Israel not to use Dershowitz.
In spite of this, I still feel that it is worth sharing the following article published by The Palestine Chronicle so that it is archived here on Substack for posterity.
Dershowitz, a former Harvard law professor, is a defense lawyer who has represented such individuals as OJ Simpson and former US President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants American lawyer Alan Dershowitz to represent Israel at the International Court of Justice hearing next week, Barak David, who reports for AXIOS, wrote on his X account on Monday.
On December 29, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ, requesting that the court indicate ‘provisional measures’.
In an interview with the Palestine Chronicle, international law expert, Dr. Triestino Mariniello, explained that, “South Africa’s application requests the court to indicate provisional measures”, which “are binding and they are aimed at the protection of the human rights of Palestinians, including the cessation of fire.”
On December 29, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ, requesting that the court indicate ‘provisional measures’.
In an interview with the Palestine Chronicle, international law expert, Dr. Triestino Mariniello, explained that, “South Africa’s application requests the court to indicate provisional measures”, which “are binding and they are aimed at the protection of the human rights of Palestinians, including the cessation of fire.”
According to an ICJ press release on December 29, the application “alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Eylon Levy, a spokesman for the Israeli government, told reporters on Monday that Israel has decided to “appear before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel.”
Enter Dershowitz
Dershowitz, a former Harvard law professor, is a defense lawyer who has represented such individuals as OJ Simpson and former US President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial.
Known to be a staunch supporter of Israel, Dershowitz did not confirm whether he will or will not represent Israel before the ICJ.
However, two days after Ravid’s post, hundreds of previously sealed papers from a lawsuit involving the infamous Jeffrey Epstein included serious allegations against Dershowitz, among others, including many pro-Israel personalities.
Citing the unsealed court documents, the British Independent newspaper reported that Dershowitz is accused of forcing an underage girl, referred to as ‘Jane Doe3’, to have sex with him on several occasions.
Moreover, ”The filings by attorneys for Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, in which Mr Dershowitz is named a total of 137 times, also allege that he witnessed other girls being abused,” according to The Independent.
“At the centre of some of the most serious allegations was Epstein’s former attorney Mr Dershowitz, who had claimed earlier this week while appearing on NewsNation that he wanted every last document and ‘piece of paper’ to be publicly released – asserting that it would prove that he ‘did nothing wrong’,” The Independent reported.
Dershowitz reportedly published a 31-minute video to defend himself from the allegations.
“We are so tempted to just assume that if a person’s name is on a list, oh, there must be something wrong,” he said in the video, adding that it is “important to judge complicity, guilt, responsibility on an individual basis.”
However, this is not the first time the 85-year-old lawyer is linked to the Epstein scandal. In 2015, Dershowitz also denied allegations of having sex with an under-age girl.
Dershowitz has defended Israel’s actions against the Palestinians for many years. One of his many statements on the issue was in 2019, when he wrote in an article for The Hill that “the suffering of Palestinians, which does not compare to the suffering of many other groups, has been largely inflicted by themselves”.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
The Palestine Chronicle article is of course limited in its portrayal of Dershowitz. For example it does not mention that Dershowitz had been friends with Epstein for years and acted as Epstein’s attorney when charges were laid against him in the first decade of this century. This resulted in the truly nefarious “sweetheart” deal he obtained for the monster that was (is?) Jeffrey Epstein.
Alan Dershowitz, the attorney who secured the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein‘s so-called 2008 “sweetheart” non-prosecution deal when the financier was first charged with sex crimes, took to his YouTube and Rumble channels on Wednesday ahead of the release of court documents expected to link more individuals to Epstein. He titled this livestream “The Epstein list and guilt by association,” but it wasn’t long before he went on a tangential tirade about Israel and Hamas.
Emma Vigeland and team discussed Dersh’s rant during the following Majority Report segment which includes an excerpt of Dersh’s rant against “feminists” during which he says, “Me too, unless you’re a Jew”!
I will leave off with this Novera Media video, Rumours Jeffrey Epstein Worked For Israel Won’t Go Away published January 5th.
Dershowitz is a really nasty piece of work who is alleged to have at least one skeleton in his closet.
The anti-Dershowitz rants continually ignore that he was Epstein's lawyer. That doesn't prove he engaged in sexual misconduct when he was around Epstein. Was he on an Israel / Mossad mission to defend Epstein. . . possible. Naw, most likely.
Excellent work AZRA and thank you for your prescient reporting. I live in the W Cape SA now. having escaped the UK for a second time last month, but I don't take sides except against Britain and its continual warmongering. The risks of escalation in the Northern Hemisphere are unfathomable for 2024 IMHO. Here's my Global SitRep: https://www.theburningplatform.com/author/austrian-peter/
The anti-Dershowitz rants continually ignore that he was Epstein's lawyer. That doesn't prove he engaged in sexual misconduct when he was around Epstein. Was he on an Israel / Mossad mission to defend Epstein. . . possible. Naw, most likely.
Excellent work AZRA and thank you for your prescient reporting. I live in the W Cape SA now. having escaped the UK for a second time last month, but I don't take sides except against Britain and its continual warmongering. The risks of escalation in the Northern Hemisphere are unfathomable for 2024 IMHO. Here's my Global SitRep: https://www.theburningplatform.com/author/austrian-peter/
Best wishes
AP