"Israel is, despite its enormous weaponry, the underdog," says leading attorney and civil libertarian Alan Dershowitz. "It is attacked throughout the world. It is the only state in the world today subject to open threats of annihilation."

Dershowitz has won a name for himself over the past decades by representing criminal defendants such as Mike Tyson, Patty Hearst and O.J. Simpson, has also drawn fury and support for his unrelenting pro-Israel views.

He believes that while criticism of Israel abounds the world over, many of Israel's detractors are Jews themselves.

"Today, Israel is a source of embarrassment for French Jews and many British Jews. They want to disassociate themselves because otherwise they won't be invited to dinner parties," says Dershowitz in this exclusive interview with Leadel.NET. "It's very important for people to restore a sense of pride in the accomplishments of the Jewish state."

Dershowitz, who was raised with an Orthodox Jewish education, said that his legal beliefs and support for Israel are intertwined.

"I support Israel because I am a civil libertarian and a human rights activist," says Dershowitz. He defines civil liberties as a legal process which "recognizes that majority shouldn't always rule, that there are always going to be dissenting views, that there must be a right to free speech, a right to dissent from religion, freedom not only of religion, but from religion, there must always be due process, fair trial. The guilty must be defended along the innocent."

This is the third edition of Leadel.NET'S 'Living the Vision' series on The Jewish World.

Visit leadel.NET for more online interviews with Jewish leaders.