Bernie Sanders: Republicans and Democrats took a constitutional oath to represent the American people, not AIPAC.

[u/IntnsRed]

[u/laughinglove29]

"instead he voted in favor of authorizing funds for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Although Sanders has admitted that he is “not a pacifist,” he maintains that war should be a last resort. “I supported the war in Afghanistan, I supported President Clinton’s effort to deal with ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, I support air strikes in Syria,” Sanders said in October 2015. ...

He often echoes the usual calls for a US-led and supported regional coalition, and for Arab allies and “wealthy and powerful Muslim nations” to invest more in the fight against ISIS. However, much like the other candidates, Sanders has no practical plan for getting rival regional powers to work together or how to address the global geopolitical and economic dimensions of this conflict. ....

While Sanders does not favor US military involvement in the Middle East, his alternative policy options are not promising. Sanders’s view of the Middle East is rather isolationist, even elitist. His foreign policy discourse is dismissive of Arab countries and peoples, and is only short of calling the Middle East an explosive mess that should be avoided at all cost. Sanders is not willing to admit (and act on) America’s responsibility in the chaos taking place in the Middle East today. Despite Bernie Sanders’s passionate human rights and social justice rhetoric, a president Sanders is unlikely to take any significant action regarding the Middle East. ...

The curious case of Palestine

Up until recently, Bernie Sanders’s responses have been to questions about Palestine and Israel have been deeply uncomfortable – at best. What has been Sanders’s record regarding Palestine, and how would a president Sanders deal with one the most important and longest-running conflicts in the world today?

To begin with, Sanders’s Jewish background has led him to Israel in his early 20s, where he spent few months on a Kibbutz. ... ( skipping this part to avoid triggering the bots but it was involved in displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians)

However, as his congressional career progressed, Bernie Sanders became increasingly less vocal about Palestine and Israel. In July 2014, Sanders did not oppose a bill endorsing Israeli war crimes in Gaza, which was passed unanimously in the US Senate (79 signed, 0 objected). Although he was among 21 Senators who did not sign the bill, Sanders did justify Israel’s actions by endorsing Israel’s claim of avoiding civilian casualties, despite UN investigation’s reports that confirmed Israel’s unjustified targeting of residential areas. When confronted by constituents at a town hall meeting in August 2014 asking him to oppose Israel’s war against Gaza, Sanders blamed Hamas and Palestinian provocations for the attacks. “You have a situation where Hamas is sending missiles into Israel” Sanders said, “They’re coming from populated areas. That’s a fact.” When asked if the Palestinians have the right to resists and why he did not condemn Israel’s actions, a frustrated Sanders said “Excuse me! Shut up! You don’t have the microphone,” after which he quickly diverted the conversation to talking about ISIS. In another recent occasion in October 2015, activists holding banners that read “Will ya #FeelTheBern 4 Palestine?” were thrown out of his rally in Boston."

Article continues:

https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/the-promise-of-democratic-socialism-bernie-sanders-palestine-and-us-policy-in-the-middle-east/

[u/laughinglove29 → u/laughinglove29]

Also what's with that post? Over 500 upvotes and almost no comments?

[u/Asatmaya]

And where were you when you could have done something about it, Bernie?

[u/Simple-Preference887]

Is giving money to politicians in USA LEGAL What IPAC does in USA is legal ??

[u/gorpie97]

Bernie, AIPAC is bribing or blackmailing them, American citizens aren't.

[u/Longjumping_Law_6807]

Oh man... that state of Netanyahu that we give weapons to is really bad.