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4.2.12
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Among the public figures I have counseled is Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I had met Bibi when he was a student in Cambridge in the early 1970’s. We got to know each other when he served in New York as Israel’s representative to the United Nations. He has been to our home for dinner and we have been at his. Over the years, he has sought my advice on legal and governmental matters, but not on Israeli domestic politics, which he knows I stay out of.

Shortly after he first became Prime Minister, he invited me to his office on a Friday afternoon.

My wife, our daughter and I stood outside of the King David Hotel trying to hail a cab, but all the cab drivers were heading home for the weekend. It looked like we might be late for our appointment with the Prime Minister. Suddenly a car pulled up. It was the mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert, whom I knew. He rolled down his window and shouted, “Alan, you’ll never get a cab on a Friday afternoon. Where do you need to go?” I told him and he willingly agreed to drive us there. As I began to get into his car, a cab driver pulled over and said, “I’ll take them.” Olmert replied, “No, no, it’ll be my pleasure.” The cab driver pulled his car in front of Olmert’s, blocking it and shouting, “I don’t try to run Jerusalem, why are you trying to be a cab driver? Stop taking business from me.” Only in Jerusalem! I paid the cab driver what his fare would’ve been and took the ride with the mayor.

When I got to the Prime Minister’s office, Bibi spent a few minutes with us and then invited me to his private office for a confidential meeting. He explained that this was one of the most secure locations in the world and that anything I told him would never leave the room. He then said, “There’s been something I have been waiting to ask you.” I expected him to ask my advice on some critical security or political issue, as he had in the past. I said, “Sure, ask me anything.” He put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, “So, did O.J. do it?” I was taken aback but I quickly responded, “So, Mr. Prime Minister, does Israel have nuclear weapons?” Bibi looked at me sternly and said, “You know I can’t answer that question.” I looked back at him and said, “Aha!” Bibi understood and we both laughed.

Over the years I have advised Netanyahu on a variety of issues during his tenure as Prime Minister and between his terms. I do not share all of his political and diplomatic views, and he knows that, but he seems to value my judgment, as do several other Israeli political leaders to the left of him. They know I care deeply about Israel and will always give them my unbiased views.

Recently, Netanyahu made the following statement during a nationally-televised conference in Israel:

“First off, I would like to congratulate the Globes Conference for its foresight in inviting Alan Dershowitz and I would like to say to Alan. Israel has no greater champion and the truth has no greater defender than Alan Dershowitz.”

I was obviously flattered by his comment. Several hours later, I received a call from President Obama, who had apparently learned of Netanyahu’s words. He said he valued my views because “you’ve always been straight with me over the years that we’ve known each other.” He asked me

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