Ever see one of those news items that makes you do a double-take? One that's remarkable, but perhaps not totally unexpected? Well, this is one of those stories: Storied American legal mind Alan Dershowitz, a lifelong liberal Democrat, has changed his party registration to Republican. Republicans may liken Mr. Dershowitz's act to crossing the Jordan, although Democrats are probably more likely to describe it as akin to crossing the Styx. He had previously left the Democratic Party in 2024, registering as an independent.
The news was put out on the Fox News morning program, Fox & Friends.
DERSHOWITZ DEPARTS: Legal legend Alan Dershowitz is officially ditching the Democratic Party. The lifelong liberal is registering as a Republican, citing the Democratic Party's "hostility" toward Israel and a radical shift that he warns is "bad for America."
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) April 21, 2026
"I intend to work… pic.twitter.com/sfpZvgfG7N
The post reads in full:
DERSHOWITZ DEPARTS: Legal legend Alan Dershowitz is officially ditching the Democratic Party. The lifelong liberal is registering as a Republican, citing the Democratic Party's "hostility" toward Israel and a radical shift that he warns is "bad for America." "I intend to work hard to prevent the Democrats from gaining control of the House... and Senate, and I urge those who share my concerns about the increasing influence of radicalisms in the Democratic Party to vote, campaign and contribute for continued Republican control of Congress."
Mr. Dershowitz himself announced the change in a Wall Street Journal column. He writes:
The Democratic Party has become the most anti-Israel party in U.S. history. Last week all but seven Senate Democrats voted for an arms embargo against the Jewish state, and an avowed enemy of Israel, Abdul El-Sayed, is gaining ground in the Democratic campaign for U.S. senator from Michigan.
There is no denying that the hard left, anti-Israel wing of the Democratic Party has moved from the fringe to the mainstream. Until recently there was an age gap, with younger voters more strongly opposing Israel, but recent polls suggest that the trend now includes Democrats of all ages. Republicans have their own antisemitic fringe, but for now it remains a fringe.
He's not wrong; we've observed, for some time and with growing disgust, the increasing trend towards antisemitism and Israel-hatred on the left, and no, hatred isn't too strong a word. There's another side to this, and it's a phenomenon common enough in some of our Democrat-run major cities: Appeasing a growing and increasingly vocal Muslim minority, which in some places is on the cusp of becoming a majority.
Mr. Dershowitz has made his intentions plain:
I believe that the Democratic Party’s hostility to Israel represents a deeper and more dangerous shift away from the center and toward a radical approach that is bad for America and the free world. So I intend to work hard to prevent the Democrats from gaining control of the House and Senate, and I urge those who share my concerns about the increasing influence of radicalism in the Democratic Party to vote, campaign and contribute for continued Republican control of Congress. I will contribute money to Republican candidates, campaign for them, make speeches at Republican events, and urge pro-Israel Americans to change party affiliation or at least vote against Democrats. Until something changes, I will vote Republican for representative, senator and president.
He's correct.
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This is a man who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and for Joe Biden in 2020. (He has not stated his 2024 presidential vote.) He has had a long career, having graduated from Yale Law School in 1962 at the top of his class, going on to become a member of the Harvard Law School faculty in 1964, becoming what was then the youngest full professor of law in the school's history in 1967, at the age of 28. Some of his more interesting and remarkable clients include Patty Hearst, Jim Bakker, Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein, and President Donald Trump. He has always championed freedom of expression, even when the expression is odious and offensive, and the speaker, likewise; case in point, his defense of Harry Reems.
It was his support for Israel that forced his hand. He will be in disagreement with his new fellows on the notion of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, but on Israel's security, he is solid.
Mr. Dershowitz seems to be saying something previously said by no less than Ronald Reagan: He didn't leave the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party left him.
Editor’s Note: Hollywood, academia, and liberal elites are out of touch with the average American.
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