There is nothing particularly Jewish about the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), which speaks neither for Jews nor Democrats, according to famed Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who excoriated the Democratic Party-aligned group for virtually ignoring “issues of direct concern to the Jewish community,” including the topic of Israel and antisemitism — especially its alarming growth within the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, the well-known defense attorney and long-time Democrat claimed he is either “not Jewish enough or not Democratic enough” to receive an invite to the JDCA’s recent fundraiser event at Martha’s Vineyard.
“I was clearly disinvited,” he said of the event organized by a group claiming to represent mainstream Jewish Democrats.
Jewish Dems were honored to be joined by @HillaryClinton to discuss the importance of electing Democrats with the strong support of Jewish voters, building on our successful efforts in the 2018 & 2020 to elect Democrats who share our values.
Thanks for joining us, Sec. Clinton! pic.twitter.com/46SP5bb8Ow
— Jewish Dems (@USJewishDems) July 18, 2022
According to Dershowitz, based upon reports from those who attended, the term “Israel” was never once mentioned at the group’s “many-hours-long meeting,” despite it being only two days after President Joe Biden’s return from a visit to the Jewish state.
“They discussed every issue but Israel,” he said. “And you can even confirm that on their website where they talk about this meeting and don’t mention Israel.”
“Biden’s trip to Israel made headlines all over the world except for the JDCA to whom it was utterly irrelevant,” he added.
Highlighting that former President Bill Clinton and his wife, twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton both spoke at the event, Dershowitz pointed to the fact that “all they talked about was getting out the Democratic vote.”
“Not a word about Israel. Not a word about Iran. Not a word about AOC (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez),” he said. “Not even a word about the Democratic Party drifting away from Israel.”
Arguing that the JDCA is merely a “group of progressive Democrats who happen to be Jewish,” Dershowitz emphasized that “they do not prioritize Israel, antisemitism or other issues of direct concern to the Jewish community.”
“They elicit members based on misrepresentation of what their priorities are,” he said.
According to the group’s mission, it defines itself as “the political voice of Jewish Democrats,” advocating for “Jewish values and priorities within the Democratic Party and for the Democratic Party within the Jewish community.”
Claiming to be thoroughly familiar with the organization, Dershowitz said it was one he could “never, ever associate with.”
Furthermore, Dershowitz argued, the JDCA “does not speak for Jews, it does not speak for Democrats, and it does not speak for Jewish Democrats.”
Calling the group “akin to J-Street” — the anti-Israel organization funded by George Soros — the high-profile attorney claimed it “represents the radical fringe of the Democratic Party that happens to be Jewish and is comprised mostly of people who are Democrats — and that’s their first loyalty — who happen to be Jewish.”
“But there’s nothing Jewish about the organization,” he noted, adding that no one should confuse it for a group that “actually speaks for Democrats and for Jews,” as he called on Jewish Democrats to avoid association with the organization.
Dershowitz also insisted the group was even further to the left than J-Street because “at least J-Street talks about Israel.”
“They attack it, they criticize it – but at least they talk about it,” he said. “To the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Israel is irrelevant.”
Dershowitz accused the group of “using the word ‘Jewish’ as a way of getting people involved.”
“I know people who went to it because they thought it was an authentically Jewish Democratic organization, only to learn that it has nothing to do with anything Jewish,” he said.
The group, which claims to actively promote policy consistent with “pro-Israel, Jewish community values,” describes Republicans as having become “the party of extremists.”
Dershowitz recently accused the JDCA of being “more united behind social policy issues — abortion, gun control, the environment and the Supreme Court — than they are about Israel.”
“It is difficult to imagine any other ethnic or other group of Democrats — Blacks, Arabs, gays — that would not even mention the issues of direct concern to that group at a large fundraiser,” he said.
“Why are Jewish Democrats different?” he asked.
He also maintained that many such voters will continue to support candidates who are “best (or least worse) for our country, for the world and for Israel.”
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.