War Against the Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism

by Alan M. Dershowitz

In War Against the How to End Hamas Barbarism, Alan Dershowitz—#1 New York Times bestselling author and one of America’s most respected legal scholars—explains why the horrific attack of Oct 7 and Israel’s just response changes everything. 
It has changed the relationship between Israel and the United States, especially with regard to the possibility of direct American intervention. 
It has required Israel to consider its nuclear option as a last resort to assure its survival. 
It has revealed dangerous attitudes among America’s future leaders on today’s college campuses toward Israel’s possible destruction.
It has exposed media biases that have been exacerbated with Israel’s vulnerabilities. 
It has united Israelis and Jews around the world as never before, despite the deep divisions among them politically, religiously, and ideologically.  Nothing will ever be the same. 
It has clouded the future of peace between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbors and has diminished the proposals for a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
It has made predictions about the future of the region nearly impossible, except that imposing instability is inevitable.

In this short book, Dershowitz analyzes these transforming events and suggests how to move forward.
 

Genres: History, Israel, Nonfiction, Politics, Judaism, War

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2023

About the author

Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is known for his career as an attorney in several high-profile law cases and commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He has spent most of his career at Harvard, where, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor in its history, until Noam Elkies took the record. Dershowitz still holds the record as the youngest person to become a professor of law there.

As a criminal appellate lawyer, Dershowitz has won thirteen out of the fifteen murder and attempted murder cases he has handled. He successfully argued to overturn the conviction of Claus von Bülow for the attempted murder of Bülow's wife, Sunny. Dershowitz was the appellate advisor for the defense in the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Reviews

[Alex Dimaio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish he didn’t have to write this book.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Necessary book since many people seem to not understand the background and historical context of this war while participating in protests. I'm afraid Prof. Dershowitz will be preaching to the choir here since I doubt many Palestine supporters will be reading this. But content wise, good stuff. While too many civilians have been tragically killed, I think Hamas is responsible for it and they have to be gotten rid of for the region to have peace.

[Noah · Rating 1 out of 5]

A clearly rushed book with bad arguments.

[Kristy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This rating is not about the argument being made by Dershowitz. (Which I mostly agree with) It instead reflects how disjointed and repetitive it was. The fact that this book was thrown together in a rush to get it published is painfully obvious.

[Margot O’Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Dr. Young. I would consider myself “pro Israel” and agreed mostly with his viewpoint but I do have contentions with this book. I think the quote “When Nazi kids were killed in the bombings of Dresden, I wouldn’t have the same compassion as when Jewish kids were put in the crematorium” was a little insane. Yes, there is a difference in morality per se because one is deliberate killing and the other is genocide, but at the end of the day they’re both children and I just don’t think that was well phrased. Overall an interesting read but there were definitely some questionable statements made.

[Morris Massre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this book an extra star if it wasn’t riddled with grammatical errors. It appears the publishers were in a big rush to get this book out in a hurry. It may have been a better choice to wait a bit longer for the outcome of October 7 before writing this so that readers would have a better understanding of what the outcome of a situation like this turns out to be.
The first half the book is basically information the ordinary person with a brain and basic understanding of the Middle East would know, which I am well versed on. However, there are so many folks out there who have no idea about the events leading up to October 7 or why Hamas does the incredibly cruel things they do. That half is for the person who needs that information, essentially to get a better ideal of what kind of country Israel really is and how Hamas has basically scammed the entire world into feeling sorry for them and throwing money at them for years in which they have used to buy weapons, build tunnels, buy off the media and the UN and spy on the citizens of southern Israel. There are many who do not realize that Israel really is the good guy here and the country has fallen victim to character assassination by way of social media.
The other half of the book is essentially a reprinting of the Hamas charter and some interviews with Dershowitz. All of this is important because you need this in order to get a better understanding of his views and their propaganda. Dershowitz’s views are important because he has been at the center of all this forever, both as a professor at Harvard and a friend of Israel. His law skills have put him at the forefront of piecing together the legal intricacies of terrorism, protesting and free speech.
What I did not know was what is in the Hamas charter and it really is full of holes, violence, hatred, stupidity and hypocrisy. On the one hand they claim they are a religion of peace, but use violence to get there. On another hand they claim that they do not hate Jews, yet espouse what is written in the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. They also claim they believe in democracy and love all, yet have never had a democratic election and women, gays, Jews and Christians have no place in their society. This explains why they are such a ridiculous organization, if you want to call it that.
The chants of the protesters echo exactly word for word what is written in that charter. I wonder who could have given them that information? It is obvious that something very fishy is going on with the funding of the protesters and that will come to light in good time.

[Ange · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC BOOK!!!! I LOVED IT SO MUCH I GOT IT FOR MY KINDLE TOO. Every human being with a brain needs to read this. I've read his other books as well and its so thought provoking. He provides credible sources for everything he says on every page so you cant argue against anything. Super proud to be Jewish and this book was heartbreaking and also gave me alot of confidence. Simple to read and understand. Love his writing ability.

[Castles · Rating 4 out of 5]

In itself, the book is not written very well, not edited very well, repetitive and evidently written in a haste. Still, my rating goes for the urgency and importance of the debate in this tragic topic and the event that came.

The Hamas’ charter added as an appendix in the end of the book is a great add, and the first time I actually read it fully, only to realize that there is, in fact, no hope for reason with these people, and no hope for this conflict at all.

[Russell P. Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye Opening

Opened my eyes in so many ways. As a sheltered American I only get my information from bits and pieces of scripted news. After reading this, I don’t know if there is but ONE answer.

What a fantastic read. Thank you, Mr. Dershowitz.

[Hattush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. Everyone should read it to better understand what is going on and how to react to it.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

He's obnoxious, but does make some good points.

For instance, he introduces “the continuum of civilianality”:
"There is a vast difference— both moral and legal— between a two-year-old who is killed by an enemy rocket and a thirty-year-old civilian who has allowed his house to be used to store Katyusha rockets. …there is a difference between civilians who are held hostage against their will by terrorists who use them as involuntary human shields, and civilians who voluntarily place themselves in harm’s way in order to protect terrorists from enemy fire."

He points out the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" essentially means "free of Jews", and that it's a quote from the Hamas charter, which he helpfully reproduces in full as an appendix to the book. It's a chilling read.

As he's done for years, he calls out the hypocrisy and double standard that Israel is held to. In particular, he takes aim at the campus protests, labelling them "pro-Hamas and anti-Israel" rather than "pro-Palestinian" as is claimed:
"[the] demonstrations do not include demands to Hamas to free the Israeli hostages, or to stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields. They are not humanitarian, designed to protect all civilian lives. Instead, they are one-sidedly directed only against Israel, and are designed to strengthen Hamas and weaken Israel.

He goes on to rant about too many marginally or entirely unrelated issues and people he doesn't like: DEI policies, BLM, The Squad, George Soros, etc.. Then Part 2 is a collection of essays, many touching on a number of subjects that have nothing whatsoever to do with Hamas, or even Israel in many cases, such as Ukraine, Germany, and a bunch about last year's divisive internal Israeli debate over "judicial reform" that was put on indefinite hold after October 7 and largely irrelevant to the situation since then.

The book was clearly [for obvious reasons] rushed to publication, and is therefore still in need of some good editing if an updated second edition is prepared. But it's not really meant as a work of literature, intended more as a tool to combat the anti-Israel and antisemitic backlash resulting from Israel's response to the October 7 attack.

[Jerry Kleiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

A very informative, easy to read book that exposes the antisemitism, hypocrisy and ignorance of the anti Israel, pro Hamas crowd. Unfortunately, it will for the most part be preaching to the choir and those that should be reading this will not.

It is quite repetitive and you can tell that it was a rushed piece of work as I am sure he wanted it out as quickly as possible after Oct 7th.

Ahimsas papa j

[PG Pariseau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disjointed, really a collection of essays, most of magazine-length but well-argued. Has several interesting and useful appendices, including the Hamas charter and statement of principles. Extensive discussion of the proposed Israeli judicial reforms in the second half. 3.5 stars rounded up for relentless moral clarity.

[Amanda-Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish I could give this a better review and the content is important information and facts every American should educate themselves on.

Unfortunately this felt hastily written and strangely but together. There are 2 long chapters, and the appendix is a third of the book.

The informative content could have been condensed to an essay or magazine article.

*hardback read

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was published a couple months after Hamas’ 10/7 terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens. Professor Dershowitz makes compelling arguments for the State of Israel. I would have rated a 5, but many of his arguments were somewhat repetitive.

[Walter Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worthy of Ingestion

Food for thought and understanding. The Professor can be predicted but if this is an issue that means something to you, he will provoke thought and assessment of what Free Speech really means.

[Hanah Polotsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, it was a fast and good read though you can see that the book is written in a rush. It is less of a deep dive into the history of Jewish state to support the argument and more a legalistic approach to explain why Israel has the right to use force to defeat Hamas.

[Dolores Downey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really shows how bad Hamas really is. Hamas is a terrorist organization and should be stopped. People who support them do not understand there agenda which is to wipe out Israel at any cost even the lives of their own children.

[pjk82 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read, took away some interesting points which I may have otherwise not thought about. The book is a long form version of a five minute discussion on CNN or Fox. Seemed a bit hastily written in order to publish timely with the 10/7 terrorism.

[David Klassen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book but only got part way through. The author is heavily pro Israel. The title would suggest his bias. I found it too much with little objectivity so I found it difficult to read and did not finish it. DNF

[Bill Zawrotny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book...but I should have read it when it first came out. Very repetitive, filled with anger (as it should be), and doesn't go far enough to address what should be done to Hamas and anyone who has supported it.

[Armin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info. But I was disappointed that half of the book had nothing g to do with Hamas.

[Edward Shuman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read

Alan Dershowitz spells it out very well. Israel must eliminate Hamas and the world must quit blaming them for the terrorists acts against them. Antisemitism is ugly.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must!

[Jason Kryske · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick but necessary read.

[Soojung Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly timely and informative addressing current events: must read

[Gregory Brokaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dershowitz, known for his defense of Israel and critique of anti-Israel sentiments, argues for ways to counter what he describes as “Hamas barbarism.

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although well written, a lot of filler. This could have been a 15-20 page essay but I guess you can't sell it.

[Claudette Germain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative read.

[Anne Sarmiento-Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit hard to read but learned so much