Mar-a-Lago member offers free pierogi for life to Alan Dershowitz after Martha's Vineyard rebuff
In the latest of Dershowitz's social sufferings at the exclusive summer playground for the ultra-wealthy, the one-time Trump attorney threatened to file a discrimination lawsuit after he was denied pierogi at a farmer's market in July. Dershowitz claimed that the owner of Good Pierogi refused to serve him 'for political reasons' and his support of Zionist causes, suggesting the vendor was antisemitic.
After railing against the 'bigoted vendor' online, claiming Good Pierogi's food was 'tainted with the poison of antisemitism' and urging others to boycott the stand, Dershowitz returned to the market last week to once again try to buy some of the doughy treats. Instead, owner Krem Miskevich – who has cited Dershowitz's defense of Epstein as the reason to refuse him service – again turned him away. Good Pierogi supporters chanted 'time to go' at the famed lawyer.
After Dershowitz ran to MAGA-supporting media to complain about the ongoing ordeal of his pierogi-less existence on the island, a sympathetic restaurateur came to the rescue to fill all of the 86-year-old Harvard Law emeritus' Eastern European dumpling needs.
'Pierogi should bring people together — not divide them,' Peter Nowocien, owner of PierogiOne restaurant, told the New York Post this week.
Nowocien, who is a member of Mar-a-Lago and recently hosted an event at the president's South Florida club, said that no one should ever be denied pierogi before declaring that he'd send Dershowitz and his family free food for life.
The restaurant owner, a Polish immigrant who moved to the United States six years ago, told the Post that 'Dershowitz's disturbing experience did not sit right' with him because of his experience growing up in the shadow of Poland's communist regime.
'As a Polish immigrant, I hate to hear about discrimination in the US because of people's political views. That shouldn't happen here,' the Trump-supporting Nowocien said, adding that his father fought against communism. 'Discrimination breeds injustice.'
Nowocien also noted that while Dershowitz, who is Jewish, may not be willing to sample his restaurant's Philly cheesesteak, spicy beef, or bacon and cheddar pierogi options, the lawyer could choose the classic cheese and potato variety.
Meanwhile, it would appear that – at least for the time being – Dershowitz is going to stop trying to force Good Pierogi to serve him. Following last week's spectacle that saw him shouted out of the market, Semafor's Max Tani asked Dershowitz whether he would return over the weekend to try again.
'Heading to Israel, where they will sell me better pierogi,' the lawyer, who is a fervent supporter of pro-Israeli causes, replied.
The Independent has contacted Dershowitz for comment.
Dershowitz's war on the West Tisbury pierogi stand began in earnest at the end of last month, when he made a huge public stink after Miskevich refused to sell to him, prompting him to upload a 30-minute video about the 'bigoted vendor' while threatening a lawsuit against Good Pierogi and the local farmer's market.
While noting that Miskevich brought up his past defense of deceased sex offender Epstein when refusing him service, Dershowitz has since alleged that the vendor – who is Jewish – turned him away because they are antisemitic. (Miskevinc uses they/them pronouns.)
'As I correctly suspected, the bigot who refused to sell me perogi [sic] — Krem Miskevich — is a notorious anti-semite who is part of an anti-semitic organization that protests Jewish — not only Israeli— cultural events and doesn't believe in Israel's right to exist or to respond to what these haters regard as the 'justified' massacres of Oct 7,' Dershowitz tweeted last week, adding: 'Don't patronize anti-semites who refuse to sell to Jewish Zionists.'
Miskevich responded to Dershowitz's accusations by noting that they 'experienced a surge of emotion' when the lawyer appeared at the stand last month because he's represented and befriended 'several sexual predators and abusers including Jeffrey Epstein,' adding that they know many people who have been sexual assault victims.
Miskevich also said Dershowitz 'began to harass us, misgender me, and film us without our consent.' Additionally, they pointed out that not only are they Jewish, but they have immediate family members in Israel and friends on the island sometimes refer to them as 'Rabbi Klem.'
Despite Dershowitz's vow to boycott Good Pierogi, the celebrity attorney turned up Wednesday to join the long line of customers – most of whom were there to show support for Good Pierogi – looking to purchase the vendor's dumplings.
'I'm here in an effort to try to restore community and to ask you to sell me pierogi in the interest of keeping the island together so we don't have to have two pierogi stands: one for anti-Zionists and one for people who will sell to anybody,' Dershowitz said.
'So I'd ask you to please just sell me any one of your products to show that you're prepared to sell to anybody and not allow your anti-Zionism to decide which people you'll sell to.'
Miskevich did not budge, telling Dershowitz that they were 'very surprised that you're here because of the things that you've been saying about us and the business online,' while others rejected Dershowitz's blanket accusations of anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
Good Pierogi later posted on social media to thank customers for 'showing up for us in such a visible and powerful way,' adding that they are 'saddened by the lengths to which a disgruntled person will go' and that they 'will not give them any more air.'
As for Dershowitz's threats to sue the farmer's market and Good Pierogi for discrimination, legal experts have said that he would likely lose on the merits of the case if he decided to go to court.
'If he tried to claim that he was denied service based on his politics or the clients he has served, it would seem no,' powerhouse law firm Kelley Drye noted. 'Neither Massachusetts state law nor federal law recognize a claim for discrimination on the basis of political beliefs, affiliations, or activities in public accommodations. In fact, almost all jurisdictions, including New York, do not protect political beliefs or political associations under the applicable public accommodation laws.'
Dershowitz's past representation of Epstein has attracted renewed interest in recent weeks amid uproar over the Trump administration's handling of the disgraced financier's case.
The lawyer helped negotiate a plea deal in 2008 that granted Epstein immunity from federal charges related to sexual abuse of minors, allowing the disgraced financier to plead guilty to state charges of procuring prostitution of an underage girl, in which he served just a 13-month sentence.
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