Abraham ─ The World's First (But Certainly Not Last) Jewish Lawyer

One of the world’s best-known attorneys gives us a no-holds-barred history of Jewish lawyers: from the biblical Abraham, who argued with God on behalf of the doomed sinners of Sodom, through modern-day advocates who have changed the world by challenging the status quo, defending the unpopular, contributing to the rule of law, and following the biblical command to pursue justice.

As Alan Dershowitz sees it, the Hebrew Bible’s two great examples of advocacy on behalf of problematic defendants—Abraham trying to convince God not to destroy the people of Sodom, and Moses trying to convince God not to destroy the golden-calf-worshipping Children of Israel—established the template for Jewish lawyers for the next four thousand years. Whether because throughout history Jews have found themselves unjustly accused of crimes ranging from deicide to ritual child murder to treason or because the biblical exhortations regarding “justice, justice, shall you pursue” have been implanted in the Jewish psyche, Jewish lawyers have been at the forefront of the battles against tyranny, in advocating for those denied due process, in negotiating for just and equitable solutions to complex legal problems, and in the efforts to ensure a fair trial for anyone accused of a crime.

In this survey of Jewish lawyers throughout history, Dershowitz profiles Jewish lawyers both wellknown and unheralded, admired and excoriated, victorious and defeated—and, of course, gives us some glimpses into the gungho practice of law Dershowitz-style. Louis Brandeis, Theodor Herzl, Judah Benjamin, Max Hirschberg, Rene Cassin, Bruno Kreisky, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Elena Kagan are just a few of the “idol-smashers, advocates, collaborators, rescuers, and deal-makers” whose advocacy helped to change history. Dershowitz’s concluding thoughts on the future of the Jewish lawyer—given today’s rates of intermarriage and assimilation—are presented with the same thought-provoking insight, shrewdness, and candor that are the hallmarks of more than four decades of his writings on the law and how it is (and should be!) practiced.

ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ is the New York Times best-selling author of more than thirty books, includingTaking the Stand: My Life in the Law, Chutzpah, The Best Defense, Reversal of Fortune,and The Case for Israel. His articles and essays have appeared in hundreds of publications, includingThe New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post,the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, The Jerusalem Post, and Haaretz. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus, at Harvard Law School, and has been practicing law for more than fifty years in the areas of civil liberties, human rights, and criminal law. The recipient of many honorary degrees and awards, including the Anti-Defamation League's William O. Douglas First Amendment Award, Dershowitz is married and has three children and two grandchildren.