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Dershowitz details chat about Israel with president at his estate - The Bo...
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By Annie Linskey GLOBE STAFF APRIL 07, 2017
WASHINGTON — For former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz and his
wife, their recent dinner at the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida was a chance to dine
and catch up with old friends. Then President Trump showed up.
“Everyone stood up and clapped,” recalled Dershowitz, who lives in South Florida
during the Massachusetts winters.
Toward the end of the evening, Trump stopped by the table for an extended chat,
but not about the Trump-branded chocolate cake. The mogul-turned-president
wanted to discuss the prospects for Israeli and Palestinian peace with Dershowitz,
who is well-known for his hawkish, pro-Israel views.
“He pulled me aside,” Dershowitz recalled. “He wanted to talk to me privately
about the Middle East.”
The March 18 encounter provides a window into the free-wheeling and
unconventional policy making employed by Trump, who prizes spontaneity. As a
business tycoon, he liked to keep an open schedule that allowed for impromptu
meetings; it’s a style difficult to replicate in the White House but can work among
the handpicked people who frequent Mar-a-Lago.
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Dershowitz details chat about Israel with president at his estate - The Bo... https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/04/06/dershowitz-detai...
In this instance, Dershowitz was a guest of Trump’s buddy and Mar-a-Lago
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member Chris Ruddy, the CEO of the conservative news source Newsmax. The
former professor soon found himself immersed in a Washington power-player
schmooze-fest. The mood at the club was light and fun. Vice President Mike Pence
stopped over and complimented Dershowitz on his frequent cable TV appearances.
Commerce Secretary Wilber Ross said “hi.’’ A singer crooned “Don’t Cry for Me
Argentina.”
When Trump came over, Dershowitz, a Democrat mostly known for his lefty views,
shared his perspective on the National Security Agency, the fate of the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals, Trump’s travel limits on immigrants from majority-
Muslim countries, and, most critically, peace between Israel and its Arab
neighbors.
The Israeli paper Haaretz later reported that Trump asked Dershowitz to contact
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and convey the president’s belief
that peace could be achieved now. In his interview with the Globe, Dershowitz
wouldn’t confirm or deny the account.
The atmosphere at Mar-a-Lago raises questions. Critics have pointed to Trump’s
club as an example of how access to the president can be purchased. The club
jacked up its initiation fee to $200,000 from $100,000 after Trump became
president. Members have a front row seat to history. Thursday night Chinese
President Xi Jinping and his wife dined there as part of a summit with Trump. He
also feted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the club .
For Dershowitz, it helped greatly that he was at Mar-a-Lago as a guest of Ruddy.
Ruddy, it turned out, had seen Trump that day at the golf course and mentioned
that Dershowitz and his wife would be among the guests at his table of six.
In Ruddy’s re-telling, when Dershowitz’s name came up that afternoon on the links
Trump offered praise for him because he’d gone on TV and defended Trump’s
i i l b hi h i f i i i l h ll d i ll d i
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Dershowitz details chat about Israel with president at his estate - The Bo... https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/04/06/dershowitz-detai...
Dershowitz wouldn’t repeat what Trump told him privately but felt comfortable
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recounting the parts of the their conversation that occurred in front of other dinner
guests.
Trump “clearly had subjects he wanted to talk about. It was his agenda,”
Dershowitz said. “He told me he thought in the Middle East, they are ready for a
deal.”
Trump explained that he’d spoken to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and
sensed that he was ready for a peace deal, Dershowitz said.
“I responded by saying, ‘the Palestinians say that to every new president,’ ”
Dershowitz said, offering Trump a dose of skepticism.
“He said ‘Now I think they’re really ready,’ ” Dershowitz added. “I said, ‘You have
to test them. ... You have to test them, it’s not enough to just hear ‘they’re ready.’
“He shook his head in apparent agreement,” Dershowitz said.
Dershowitz said Trump made it clear he was aware that the former professor is
“very friendly” with Netanyahu.
And the Israeli media is reporting that Dershowitz was tapped to be a back channel
sorts between Netanyahu and Trump. This chatter prompted some to wonder
whether Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who’d been tasked to be the point
person on a possible peace deal, was on the outs.
But Dershowitz said that’s not the case. “The president said, ‘I know you know
Jared from Harvard. Be in touch with him.” ”
And Dershowitz added that he doesn’t have a role, formal or informal, in working
on behalf of the administration to jump start peace talks. “This was as a one off,’’
he said.
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Dershowitz details chat about Israel with president at his estate - The Bo...
Middle East, ask me.’”
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https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/04/06/dershowitz-detai...
Annie Linskey can be reached at annie.linskey@globe.com.
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