My day with Bibi.

·35 min·3 clips

Alan Dershowitz describes his private dinner and frank discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu about Gaza and Palestinian statehood.

Alan Dershowitz opens the episode by describing his recent private dinner and discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, covering topics like the Gaza conflict and efforts to recognize a Palestinian state. He explains that Netanyahu believes such recognition would cost lives and reward terrorism. Dershowitz recounts his long-standing friendship with Netanyahu, which began in 1970 when they appeared on a PBS debate show called The Advocates. He notes Netanyahu was a student at MIT at the time, while Dershowitz was a young professor. Dershowitz discusses Netanyahu's current political situation, including his coalition government that includes extremist right-wing figures Ben Gavir and Smutrich. He compares Netanyahu to Donald Trump, highlighting similarities in their political styles and media criticism. Dershowitz shares personal connections to the Gaza war, mentioning a distant cousin who was killed in battle. He analyzes the civilian-to-combatant casualty ratio in the conflict, arguing it is the lowest of any modern war based on Israeli and Hamas figures. Dershowitz critiques media outlets like the New York Times and CNN for uncritically reporting Hamas data. He delves into international law, explaining the rule of proportionality in military targeting. The conversation with Netanyahu also covered the International Criminal Court, United Nations actions, and recent moves by countries like France and England to recognize a Palestinian state. Dershowitz warns that such recognition would reward the October 7th attacks and encourage terrorism. He references his book 'Why Terrorism Works' to argue that terrorism succeeds when it is rewarded. Dershowitz describes his advisory relationships with multiple U.S. presidents, including Trump, Clinton, and Obama, noting he ended his relationship with Obama over broken promises. He plans to provide Netanyahu with legal analysis on specific issues discussed. The episode concludes with Dershowitz reflecting on his love for Israel and his ongoing meetings with Israeli leaders during his visit.

As heard by us

A private dinner turns into a forceful defense of Netanyahu's war record.

The segment mounts a hard-charging defense of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel's conduct in an almost two-year war, framed through a private dinner, a Newsmax conference speech, and a sustained argument over casualty ratios and media coverage.

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Why you'd press play

For when your dinner story turns into a battle over casualty math and who is counting what.

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