Criticizing Israel Shouldn't Be Confused With anti-Semitism, Sanders Tells Jewish Supporter

Authored by haaretz.com and submitted by heqt1c
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2020 Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders before speaking at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., August 11, 2019.

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday that he does not think criticism of Israel's government should be conflated with anti-Semitism.

“As somebody who is proudly Jewish, to be critical of a right-wing Netanyahu government in Israel is not to be anti-Semitic,” Senator Sanders told a town hall meeting in New Hampshire.

He added that “the fault is not all with Israel” when it comes to the conflict, and that the current Palestinian government is “corrupt.”

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Sanders addressed the issue after a Jewish supporter of his, who was likely affiliated with the left-wing Jewish group IfNotNow, asked him about his opposition to Israeli occupation of the West Bank. IfNotNow later posted a video of their conversation on Twitter.

“It’s a funny thing. All that I have ever said about this issue is that U.S. foreign policy should be even-handed. That’s all,” Sanders said. “We respect Israel. It has every right to live in peace and security, but so do the Palestinian people.”

skip - Bernie Sanders speaks in a town hall meeting in New Hampshire.

JUST NOW: @BernieSanders grounds his opposition to Netanyahu's racist policies in his Jewish identity.

"As someone who is proudly Jewish, to be critical of a right-wing Netanyahu government in Israel is not to be antisemitic." pic.twitter.com/kfXmsLP0yz — IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) August 13, 2019

Sanders has often criticized Netanyahu, and has recently called his government racist. Sanders has emphasized his Jewish identity and the fact that he had lived for several months in Israel as a young man and volunteered in a Kibbutz when addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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The goal of U.S. policy in the Middle East, he added, should be “to bring people in the region together, to create peace that works for everybody.” Sanders reiterated that the United States could “leverage” the aid money it provides to Israel, “in order to end the racism we have recently seen in Israel.”

Sanders slammed Saudi Arabia for having a negative influence in the region, describing the kingdom's regime as “corrupt and murderous.”

In addition, Sanders spoke about the turnout by young voters in the United States.

“I’m delighted you’re involved in the political process,” he said, addressing a supporter. "If your generation voted in the same percentage as people 65 years of age or older, we would transform this country.” He also accused Republicans of “trying to make it harder for young people to vote.

Randomabcd1234 on August 14th, 2019 at 13:57 UTC »

As a Jew, I'm glad that we have a Jewish candidate who can speak to this with at least some authority. We know that Sanders isn't anti-semitic, so we should be able to listen to him on this. Caring about human rights of Palestinians isn't anti-semitism.

jackimoya on August 14th, 2019 at 13:18 UTC »

Wow, someone being rational.

Dont_U_Fukn_Leave_Me on August 14th, 2019 at 13:16 UTC »

People who call all of Israel's critics 'anti-Semitic are not confused, they are just lying.