Israel appears to have no love for socialist front-runner Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed Jewish man who hobnobs with vicious antisemites.
Speaking at this year’s AIPAC conference, which began Sunday in D.C. and was slated to continue until Tuesday, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, said bluntly that the Jewish state wants nothing whatsoever to do with Sanders.
Part of his anger stemmed from Sanders’ recent unsubstantiated declaration that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a racist.
“We don’t want Sanders at AIPAC. We don’t want him in Israel,” Danon responded Sunday from AIPAC. “Whoever calls the prime minister of Israel a ‘racist’ is either a liar, an ignorant fool, or both.”
Today at #AIPAC2020, I responded to Bernie Sanders’ comments about AIPAC and Israel:
“We don’t want Sanders at AIPAC. We don’t want him in Israel. Anyone who calls our prime minister a “racist” is either a liar, an ignorant fool, or both!”— Ambassador Danny Danon | דני דנון (@dannydanon) March 1, 2020
The remarks were a long time coming.
Sanders has repeatedly used his Jewish ethnicity as a crutch to protect himself from legitimate allegations of antisemitism
“I am very proud of being Jewish,” he said at the tenth Democrat presidential primary debate last Tuesday. “I actually lived in Israel for some months. But what I happen to believe is that, right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel, through Bibi Netanyahu, you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country.”
“And I happen to believe — I happen to believe that what our foreign policy in the Mideast should be about is absolutely protecting the independence and security of Israel, but you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
He neglected to mention that the “suffering of the Palestinian people” is a byproduct of their own decision to be led by terrorists who pine for Israel’s elimination from Earth.
He also neglected to mention that his campaign surrogates include vicious antisemites like Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, both of whom responded to a terror attack on Israel last May by defending the terrorists responsible for the attack.
Listen to Sanders’ remarks below (disable your adblocker if the video doesn’t appear):
The remarks provoked widespread condemnation, and not just from Danon.
“That remark is shocking,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in an interview last Wednesday with Army Radio. “The remark by Sanders, who is of Jewish background, is his second against the State of Israel on topics that are at the core of Jewish belief, Jewish history and Israel’s security.”
Previously, Sanders had echoed the rhetoric of his surrogates by highlighting the concerns of the terrorist-backing Palestinians over those of the Israeli people.
“He in effect wanted to deny us the right to self-defense,” Katz said.
The foreign minister also slammed Sanders for admitting during the debate that he would consider relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel back to Tel Aviv.
“There is no Jew who hasn’t dreamed of Jerusalem for thousands of years, to return, and we returned, and I think President Trump did an important thing, without connection to internal disagreements within the United States,” he said. “He recognized the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the State of Israel.”
“Now, in the new peace plan, the deal of the century, he recognizes Jerusalem in its entirety as Israel’s capital. And we will stick to that and insist on that, and of course act to persuade [people] in the U.S. regarding those things. And whoever comes out against that – naturally, people who very much support Israel will not tend to support him [Sanders].”
But not only does the front-runner Democrat candidate appear to not support Israel. He also appears to boast a strong aversion to AIPAC, one of the most extensive pro-Israel lobbying groups in the United States, as demonstrated by the following tweets:
The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security. So do the Palestinian people. I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights. For that reason I will not attend their conference. 1/2
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 23, 2020
As president, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and do everything possible to bring peace and security to the region. 2/2
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 23, 2020
In the tweets posted last Sunday, he declined to attend the most important Jewish conference in America because AIPAC is also guilty of alleged bigotry and racism.
The 57-year-old organization responded to the smears by reminding the American people that, whereas Sanders’ campaign caters to antisemites, illegal aliens and other reprobates, AIPAC’s annual conference has always featured speakers and participants from “widely diverse backgrounds — Democrats, Republicans, Jews, Christians, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, progressives, Veterans, students, members of the LGBTQ+ community,” etc.
“By engaging in such an odious attack on this mainstream, bipartisan American political event, Senator Sanders is insulting his very own colleagues and the millions of Americans who stand with Israel. Truly shameful,” the group wrote in a statement Monday.
Senator Sanders has never attended our conference and that is evident from his outrageous comment.
Full statement: https://t.co/XDcNKhYXSq pic.twitter.com/aJGJiv2wv8
— AIPAC (@AIPAC) February 24, 2020
A day later, Sanders doubled down by attacking Netanyahu, thus again demonstrating that for a self-proclaimed Jew, he appears to have little love for Israel and its people. But as Danon’s comments make clear, the feeling is mutual.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Vivek@bizpacreview.com
V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
- Biden snubs Netanyahu thus far after big election win, but call expected ‘soon’ - November 6, 2022
- RNC chair flips CNN ‘election denier’ narrative: Dems are ‘inflation deniers… crime deniers’ - November 6, 2022
- Tudor Dixon goes scorched earth on Stephen Colbert after ‘apology’ for doubting Muslim parent is real - November 6, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
