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

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

“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.”

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.

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.”

(snip)

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

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-bernie-sanders-says-criticism-of-israel-shouldn-t-be-confused-with-anti-semitism-1.7682234

[thesquanderer]

1. If only Nixon could go to China, maybe only a Jewish president can be fair to the Palestinians?

And before someone misinterprets that, my point is simply that Nixon could afford to be more open to China because people on the other side had confidence that he wasn't going in as some kind of stooge for the Chinese, he had established his anti-communist cred. Similarly, it may be easier for a Jewish president to be open to dealing more favorably with the Palestinians, as he similarly would not be easily accused of any inherent pro-Palestinian bias.

[wysimdnwyg]

2. "Criticizing Israel Shouldn't Be Confused With anti-Semitism"

This is something I think we on the left have failed to properly convey. Republicans sold the message that anything that even smells remotely anti-Israel is antisemitic, and we've done a piss-poor job of countering that argument. Just like being against the current American government is not anti-American, being against the current Israeli government is not antisemitic. It's disgusting that people go out of their way to falsely imply that any comments or actions that don't agree with, or in protest of, Netanyahu or his goverment and their actions is in any way the same as antisemitism.

[corbettkroehler]

3. I Concur With The Piece And First 2 Replies

Bibi relies on the canard that criticizing him is anti-Semitic. Remove the religious aspect and you have what amounts to a repeat of Dubya in 2002 saying, "You're either with us or the terrorists."

Oh, right, Bibi also loves to use a 10:1 ratio in his response to any "attacks" from the Palestinians whom he continues to oppress and starve.

Perhaps a Jewish POTUS will turn out to be the only person who could achieve lasting fairness for Palestine. Lord knows, what we have now is a joke.