Lee Heidhues 10.30.2023
Bernie Sanders is in a tough spot. Yes. Bernie is Jewish. Bernie has also been one of the most fervent supporters, at least rhetorically, speaking up on behalf of the Palestinian people.
Now Bernie is stuck between the hard rocks of his Judaism and his support for the Palestinians.
His is the dilemma ripping apart for the Progressive movement in the United States.
Excerpted from Aljazeera 10.30.2030
Senator Bernie Sanders is now drawing ire from many of his supporters who feel let down by his current stance towards the Israel-Hamas war.
The senator’s current unwillingness to call for a ceasefire has left many of his Palestinian, Arab and Muslim supporters with a sense of disappointment if not betrayal.
As the Israeli military offensive in Gaza intensifies, killing thousands of children and levelling entire neighbourhoods, Sanders has not called for a ceasefire. Because of his reputation as an anti-war voice, critics say he is uniquely positioned to amplify demands for ending the hostilities in Gaza.
“At a time when Washington is lining up behind those, including the president, who are beating the drums of war, we need leaders with the courage and the legacy of anti-war activism to break that consensus and say all human life is precious by demanding a ceasefire,” said Eva Borgwardt, political director at IfNotNow, a progressive Jewish group.
“If anyone can do that in the Senate, it is Senator Sanders.”
Omar Baddar, a Palestinian American analyst who supported Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign, said it is “hard to convey the depth of the disappointment” he feels over the senator’s failure to back a ceasefire.
“I know the political climate in the US at the moment is scary, anti-Palestinian and intolerant of dissent, but that’s precisely why Sanders’s voice would be so valuable,” Baddar told Al Jazeera. If Sanders speaks out, Baddar believes his actions will “create the political space” for others to do the same.
In a stunning moment during the 2016 United States presidential race, Senator Bernie Sanders called out his then-rival Hillary Clinton for failing to mention Palestinian rights in a speech she delivered to a pro-Israel lobby group.
Standing on stage in a nationally televised 2016 primary debate, Sanders highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and criticized the unconditional support that the Israeli government — under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — receives from Washington.
“There comes a time when, if we pursue justice and peace, we are going to have to say that Netanyahu is not right all of the time,” he said.
It was a rare statement to come from a Washington politician. Few, even among left-leaning Democrats, have questioned whether the United States should reconsider its “unwavering” support for Israel.
But flash forward seven years, and Sanders is now drawing ire from many of his supporters who feel let down by his current stance towards the Israel-Hamas war.
Top photo: “Progressive” Bernie Sanders in front of the White House. Now joined at the hip with Israel’s war of destruction against the Palestinian people?
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