FROM OUR PRINTED SEPT. 1, 2025 Edition
by Kristen Brissette
Recently, Attorney Alan Dershowitz, age 86, a seasonal Chilmark resident, was refused service at the Good Pierogi stand at the West Tisbury Farmers Market on Martha’s Vineyard. As a result, Dershowitz is threatening legal action against the farmers market to ensure they only have booths that will sell to everyone and will not allow booths to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, or politics.
While at the farmers market, Dershowitz attempted to purchase pierogi from the Good Pierogi stand when he was refused service by the vendor/owner Krem Miskevich. In a video Dershowitz made explaining the confrontation, he claims he said to Miskevich, “I would like to buy six pierogi.” Miskevich said, “No.” “Oh, you have run out of pierogi?” asked Dershowitz. Miskevich replied, “I have plenty of pierogi. I just won’t sell them to you. I won’t sell them to you because I don’t approve of your politics. I don’t approve of who you represent. I don’t approve of who you support.” Miskevich cited ethical objections to Dershowitz’s history of defending clients such as Jeffrey Epstein, O.J. Simpson, and Donald Trump. Miskevich said selling to Dershowitz would feel like endorsing sexual abusers’ defense.
The West Tisbury police were called to assist in the situation. An officer approached Dershowitz at the stand and asked Dershowitz to walk away with the officer to discuss the confrontation. The officer said that Miskevich’s stand was a private establishment, and he had the right to refuse to serve Dershowitz. The officer told Dershowitz the farmers market was on private property and that Dershowitz had to leave. Dershowitz explained to the officer that the property was not private, and it was against Dershowitz’s rights to ask him to leave.
In the video posted on the social media platform X, Dershowitz said, “A bigoted vendor at the Martha’s Vineyard Farmers Market refused to sell to me because of my political views. I’m suing.” Since Dershowitz was wearing a “Proud American Zionist” shirt at the time of the confrontation, he suspected anti-Semitism and political bias denouncing the refusal as modern-day McCarthyism.
Returning to the market one week later, Dershowitz offered Miskevich a signed copy of his book, The Ten Big Anti-Israel Lies And How To Refute Them With The Truth. Dershowitz said to Miskevich, “In an effort to restore community, I ask you to sell me pierogi to keep the island together so we don’t have two pierogi stands: one selling to anti-Zionists and one selling to others. He offered the vendor an opportunity to sell him pierogi and demonstrate that Miskevich was prepared to sell to anybody and not allow anti-Zionism to decide which people Miskevich would sell to. The inscription in the book read, “To Krem, please learn the truth.” Miskevich refused to sell Dershowitz the pierogi and rejected the book.
After Dershowitz called Miskevich an anti-Semite, Miskevich asked Dershowitz for proof. Dershowitz said, “You protested the Jewish Culture Festival last year which had nothing to do with Israel or Zionism; it was just Jewish food, Jewish music, and Jewish art. You protested it, and the Rabbi said that was an anti-Semitic act. Do you disagree with that? Do you think it is OK to protest a Jewish cultural event and not be called an anti-Semite?” Miskevich did not answer Dershowitz.
Instead, Miskevich was upset that Dershowitz did not address him with proper pronouns since he uses they/them and said, “My pronouns are they/them, and you continue to misgender me.” Dershowitz said it was a slip of the tongue, and he was happy to call Miskevich whatever pronouns they/them preferred but said, “This is not about that. This is about you protesting a Jewish event. You won’t answer that question?” A bystander called Dershowitz a bully, and the crowd began to chant “Time to go.”
In response to the incident, Florida pierogi shop owner and Mar-a-Lago member Peter Nowocien offered Dershowitz and his family free pierogi for life, framing it as a stand against political discrimination.
Dershowitz intends to pursue a lawsuit against the farmers market arguing that refusal of service based on political or ideological belief is unlawful. The dispute has grown into a debate over free speech, discrimination, and the ethics of serving controversial figures. ♦
