Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz thinks so.
In fact, he told the Jewish-themed Columbia University magazine “The Current” that he recently sent the Israeli Prime Minister a DVD of the famed Palestinian Chicken episode that aired early last summer.
A conversation that began in politics and policy eventually turns toward Hollywood:
Current: One last question: what’s your favorite Woody Allen movie?
Alan Dershowitz: Well, I met Woody Allen while he was filming Manhattan. He was given to me as a 40th-birthday present by friends. He agreed to have lunch with me, and we became, I wouldn’t say friends, but we became acquaintances from that time on. Since I was there while he was filming Manhattan, I think Manhattan has always been my favorite. And if you want to ask me what my favorite Larry David episode is…it’s “Palestinian Chicken.” And let me tell you this: I recently sent a copy of “Palestinian Chicken,” that Larry David gave me, to Prime Minister Netanyahu—with the suggestion that he invite Abbas over to watch it together. And maybe if they both get a good laugh, they can begin a negotiating process.
Current: Do you know if that happened?
AD: I don’t know, but I know that Netanyahu has received the DVD, and he was looking forward to watching it. So it may be that Larry David will not only win Emmys, but he may even qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize, if his episode could bring together Netanyahu and Abbas, and bring Abbas to the negotiating table.
When I emailed, Robert Weide, the director of the Palestinian Chicken episode (and the producer of a recent PBS American Masters documentary on Woody Allen, the subject of a Jewish Journal cover story), he pointed out that the episode contains some pretty profane vulgarities some might call anti-Semitic (uttered by anyone other than Larry David, count more in that camp). Worse comes to worse, in case Netanyahu didn’t get the self-deprecating gene, at least Abbas will like it.
