The Hypocrisy of Senator Bernie Sanders
Political News and Analysis
The Hypocrisy of Senator Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders Condemns Anti-Semitism in Iowa Menorah Ceremony
December 30, 2019
The presiding Rabbi Yossi Jacobson at the ceremony asked Sanders why he rarely discussed his Judaism while on the campaign trail and reluctantly participated in the Chanukah Menorah lighting ceremony. Sanders dodged the question and for good reason.
One can only smell a rat in the hypocrisy in Sander’s condemnation of rising Anti-semitism. His own actions belie any genuine concern. Sanders in his role in the Senate has most often taken anti-Israel positions and anti-American positions that contradict his usual populous meaningless platitudes of supposed Israel support.
What are Bernie Sander’s stands on issues that matter to Jewish voters
At the recent Democratic debate on December 19, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “racist,” and called for a US policy toward Israel that makes space for both Israeli security and a “pro-Palestinian” perspective.
Sanders said, “Israel has — and I say this as somebody who lived in Israel as a kid, proudly Jewish – Israel has the right to exist, not only to exist but to exist in peace and security. But what US foreign policy must be about is not just being pro-Israel. We must be pro-Palestinian as well.”
“We must understand that right now in Israel we have leadership under Netanyahu, who has recently, as you know, been indicted for bribery, who, in my view, is a racist.
What we need is a level playing field in terms of the Middle East, which addresses the terrible crisis in Gaza, where 60 percent or 70% of the young people are unemployed,” he added.
Additional Commentary by Jerome S. Kaufman
One must fact check check Sander’s blanket statements along with their crowd pleasing meaningless platitudes. There is absolutely no evidence that Netanyahu is “racist” He is simply defending a very small portion of the land that was given to the Jewish people by G-d in the first place and, in a far less significant temporal way, the League of Nations and the British Mandate.
As to Gaza, the mess in Gaza is entirely the problem of Hamas who wrested all the territory away from the Palestinian Authority after Israel PM Ariel Sharon unilaterally relinquished Israel’s jurisdiction over Gaza in a misguided gesture of “peace” in August 2005.
Sharon had the Israel Defense Forces forcibly remove 8600 well established Israeli residents of a thriving community of productive green houses, which the Arabs promptly destroyed when given the land and against their own financial self interests.
It is often said that one can be judged by the company one keeps. In Sander’s case, that concept is an absolute road map.
Sanders has allied with surrogates like Linda Sarsour, a vehement anti- Jewish anti-Israel activist, and Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan congresswoman, who are harshly critical of Israel — not just because of its policies, but of its status as a Jewish state.
He has also enthusiastically teamed up with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
the millennial “it girl” of modern progressivism who is he hopes propping up the septuagenarian socialist senator “This is not just about running for president,” she said in a video announcing her support. “This is about creating a mass movement.” Whatever that means.
Ocasio-Cortez was joined in her endorsement by Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar. “Proud to endorse @SenSanders for President, glad that @AOC and @RashidaTlaib are on board too,” she tweeted. “It’s time.”
You may remember In February, Omar responded to a tweet from journalist Glenn Greenwald, who posted about House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy threatening to punish Omar and another congresswoman for being critical of Israel.
Omar wrote back, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” a line about $100 bills from a Puff Daddy song. Critics jumped on the tweet and said Omar was calling up a negative and harmful stereotype of Jewish Americans.
In another tweet soon after, Omar named the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, saying it was funding Republican support for Israel, which is another complete lie. This tweet received bipartisan backlash, and Omar was widely accused of anti-Semitic speech.
Rashida Tlaib (MI Rep) also dived into the hate speech There was this headline back in January from a New York Post editorial: “Rashida Tlaib casually dives into anti-Semitism”
The focus of the editorial was Tlaib’s remark in support of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and her criticism of colleagues who supported Israel. Tlaib said: “They forgot what country they represent.”
This drew an immediate rebuke from the Jewish Democratic Council of America and the Anti-Defamation League. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) said this: “This ‘dual loyalty’ canard is a typical anti-Semitic line. BDS isn’t about freedom & equality, it’s about destroying Israel.”
You may also remember the charade Rashida Tlaib pulled pretending to want to visit her aged, sick grandmother in Israel. Her real mission was of course to thickly spread anti-Israel hatred in the country. PM Netanyahu opposed the visit for awhile but then under US administrative pressure okayed it with the proviso that Tlaib could not travel around the country spewing her poison. At that point Tlaib suddenly lost interest in visiting her sick grandmother.
Then there was Sanders confusing equivocal position on BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel)
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and James Risch, R-Idaho introduced the first bill to be considered in the Republican-led Senate, consolidating four bills that languished in the last Congress: One codifies into law $38 billion in defense assistance for Israel over 10 years; another protects states that pass laws against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, including states that ban contracts with Israel boycotters.
Bernie Sanders quickly reacted and blasted the introduction of anti-BDS bill as ‘absurd’
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 – “While I do not support the BDS movement, we must defend every American’s constitutional right to engage in political activity. It is clear to me that this bill would violate Americans’ First Amendment rights.
Although Sanders has grandstanded his opposition to BDS, especially before Jewish audience, when push came to shove, he voted against the Marco Rubio/James Risch legislation which put teeth into the States ability to act against BDS. Just another example of Sander’s hypocrisy and sham support of Israel and Jewish causes.
In summary, those who say you are known by the bedfellows you keep are dead right. A golf buddy savant of mine said it a little differently. He always reminded his daughters that “When you lie down with dogs, you get fleas.” I guess Sander’s father forgot to remind him of that. Maybe it is time the voters of this beautiful country did?
Jerome S. Kaufman, Publisher/Editor Sande
