Bernie Sanders is ‘radical’ on economic policy but a pussycat for Israel

[oberliner]

Yesterday on CSPAN I watched Bernie Sanders give a rousing speech in New Hampshire where he endorsed a “political revolution.” He called for “radical” changes to take on the corporations and the billionaires, including the government moving in to dismantle big Wall Street financial institutions. Sanders has long supported such action.

But if Bernie Sanders is a radical on economic changes in the United States, he is a pussycat when it comes to changes in Israel and Palestine. Five days ago, he gave an interview to Little Village, an alternative publication in Iowa, and endorsed continuing U.S. military aid to Israel and more economic aid to Palestinians. He did not condemn the Israeli occupation, but blamed actors on both sides of the conflict; and while rejecting Benjamin Netanyahu declined to endorse any of the leftwing programs re Israel, notably BDS, boycott, divestment and sanctions.

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/09/sanders-economic-pussycat

[99th_Monkey]

1. Bernie Sanders Slams Ben Carson For Anti-Muslim Comments

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-ben-carson-muslim-president_55ff3a2ae4b0fde8b0ceba63?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013&section=politics

[hedda_foil]

2. Oh goodie! Let's kick the tires on this new meme and see if they're still flat.

The technical term for the OP is a streeeeeeeeeetch. Don't hold it too long or you might hurt your back.

[oberliner]

7. The Green Party explicitly supports the BDS movement

I think that those for whom BDS is a major issue in this campaign ought to be aware of where the candidates stand on the subject.

[leftynyc]

15. It's doubtful the person who

posted the OP is a fan of mondoweiss as it's very anti-Zionist and frankly, a piece of shit site. But many on here support BDS and poster felt they may want to know they don't have a fan of BDS with Bernie Sanders. Do you not think that is important? I like Bernie and loathe the BDS movement so it makes me happy.

[Scootaloo]

3. Yup, can't really avoid it in American politics

I think a better angle would be to wonder exactly why that is.

[oberliner]

8. The Green Party does

Support for BDS is part of their official platform.

[Scootaloo]

19. And the republican party pays the Green Party's bills

Sorry Oberliner, when I talk about American politics, it comes with the realization that we are, and always have been, a two-party nation. The parties might change now and then, but the way our democratic system works guarantees that there will only ever be a "Dominant" party and an "opposition" party.

if The Greens ever look like they're going to pull an 1864 Republican trick and knock off another political party, I'll think about what they're doing.

[oberliner]

23. I understand where you are coming from

I am just saying that if you vote on principle and support for BDS is something you are looking for in a candidate, there is someone running for President named Jill Stein who fits the bill.

If you are cool with Bernie Sanders's stance on Israel, that's great. So am I. I will be happy to cast my vote for him for President if he is the Democratic nominee secure in the knowledge that we are on the same page on this topic.

[Scootaloo]

24. Bernie could be better, but I know better than to write-in Mickey Mouse, basically

For what it's worth? I think his stance on I/P IS better than the other two in double digits. By a slender margin, but it's there.

[oberliner]

25. Understandable

Not everyone approaches elections that way, but your approach certainly makes sense.

[Divernan]

4. You quote gross distortions in OP link; not Bernie's even-handed comments.

Here's what Bernie actually said:

I think what the United States needs is to have an evenhanded policy toward Israel and toward the Palestinians. What we need to guarantee and make certain is that Irael can exist in peace and security and that the Palestinians have their own independent state and an economy to allow their people to have a decent standard of living.

[Sanders notes that he boycotted Netanyahu’s speech last March to Congress because it was “a campaign ploy” and because he disagreed with “many of the policies he’s advocating.”]

What you need for that region, and god knows this conflict has been a horrendous conflict, it has gone on decade after decade after decade. I don’t know that anyone has any magical answer, but I think the role that the United States can play is to bring people together and develop a fair and evenhanded proposal toward both sides.

[Q. How do you approach the policy?]

Well look, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I have a magical solution that has eluded every president. This is tough stuff. And you have forces on both sides in terms of the Israel-Palestinian conflict who have been counterproductive, no question about it. I think that the best that we can do over a period of time is to try to bring the sides together.

Our goal should be to see more economic assistance to the people in that region rather than just military assistance. Right now the United States provides substantial amounts of military aid to both Israel and Egypt. I would hope that in years to come the amount of military aid could be reduced and in fact could be substituted with economic aide. There is a lot of economic misery within the Palestinian community. The recent war in Gaza made a terrible situation even worse. They need help and I would hope that we could move in that direction.
- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/09/sanders-economic-pussycat#sthash.6USPQJCJ.dpuf

[oberliner]

6. It's the first two paragraphs

Anyway, there is a candidate who supports BDS and her name is Jill Stein.

[King_David]

38. Interesting

[azurnoir]

27. sometimes I wonder if there isn't an over dependence on folks not actually reading the article

being made by some folks here

[King_David]

35. Agreed

[Little Tich]

5. The US has invested a lot on Israel. That sunk cost will always count for something in the US,

regardless of who becomes the next president, even if it doesn't count for anything in Israel.

Interesting talkbacks to the article - I personally don't think that Bernie Sanders is a racist or an apologist for Israel.

[oberliner]

9. I think Sanders has exactly the right approach with respect to Israel

I find his comments cited in this article to be quite in line with my own.

The talkback is pretty ugly.

[King_David]

11. +1000

[Little Tich]

14. Bernie Sanders' candidacy was a pleasant surprise, and I hope he becomes sworn in as the 45th POTUS.

He seems to be an honest man who's also a politician, which is a very rare combination.

[leftynyc]

16. Me too and it's

probably in line with the attitude of most Democrats.

[King_David]

36. So strange some people, who are single issue antiZionists

Like one of the posters in this group is, is comfortable within the Democratic Party and or claiming to support Bernie Sanders.

[King_David]

40. Mondoweiss does though

Surprisingly the uber 1 Mondoweiss supporter here , sports a Bernie avatar...

[King_David]

10. Well Bernie is standing for the Democratic Party nomination

And he has supported Israel all his political life , so of course.

What amazes me is the single issue "anti Zionist" Pro -BDS supporters, who claim Israel is an Apartheid state in every post here in this group, have Bernie Sanders Avatars ....

BTW Mondoweiss is considered a hate site by a lot of people and recently was supporting Anne Coulter in the worst kind of antisemetic garbage and therefore probably isn't the best source to use here on DU....

[King_David]

12. Weiss has the Chutzpah to call himself "left"

"Sanders’s wishy-washiness on this issue underlines the importance of the Israel lobby theory. Here is a former radical who because he is a Zionist Jew in his 70s who as a young man moved to Israel before he moved to Vermont supports Israel in powerful arenas. This wildeyed socialist is part of the Israel lobby; and not because he wants to advance the US colonial empire or the military-industrial-complex, the default analysis of our Middle East policy on the left. No; he’s supporting Israel out of an emotional attachment, his belief in the Jewish state and its necessity in the 20th century. The materialist left would surely argue that people like Sanders aren’t important to American foreign policy, because that policy is being driven by corporate interests. But as a leftist with a socio-cultural-religious bent, I say that Sanders and his (and my) cohort, outsider Jews who entered fully into American privilege in the last 40 years, have had a sizable influence over blue state political culture. How do you explain the decision by the Berkeley Human Welfare and Community Action Commission to fire a commissioner who has called for divestment from Israel? We’re talking abut the People’s Republic of Berkeley, not Halliburton or Washington DC. A city that has surely endorsed every leftwing idea of economic and environmental reform. But it’s rightwing on the Israel issue. Why? Because Zionists are inside the leftwing political culture even there. The Israel lobby is embedded on the left because Jews of a certain age who believe in Israel as a place of deliverance for a persecuted people are a critical component of the left."



-------------------


This is especially precious after he supports Anne Coulter and her antisemetic tweets.

[oberliner]

13. If you read the comments, you can get a good sense of what he is about

And what sorts of folks he appeals to.

[Scootaloo]

18. When did he do that?

I gotta admit, haven't been keeping up with the slow sucking drain-circle.

[King_David]

20. Interrupting Yom Kippur dinner to bring you this link:

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/09/republicans-donors-coulters

[Scootaloo]

21. Why on earth are you browsing DU at Yom Kippur dinner? Go do that, dude!

Sheesh.

[King_David]

22. LOL

My mom would agree.

[6chars]

33. DU addict

[6chars]

17. Bernie seems to have a coherent moral position

He's about finding ways to make things better, not about trying to make things worse by choosing one side and demonizing the other.

BDSers less so.

[King_David]

26. Kick

[oberliner]

28. Bernie is the anti-BDS liberal

Check this out:

I have long believed that one of the best antidotes to war and international tension are citizen exchange programs. In many instances, when people of different backgrounds get to know each other on a personal and human level, differences of opinion can be worked out or, at least, a mutual understanding can be established.

To that end, I was proud to sign a letter last year calling for $20 million in funding for the Israeli-Palestinian Peace, Reconciliation and Democracy Fund, which helps support “through Palestinian and Israeli organizations, the promotion of democracy, human rights, freedom of the press, and non-violence among Palestinians, and peaceful coexistence and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.” Included is $10 million for the People-to-People Exchange Program, which among other things, trains hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian teachers in peace education.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/072414

[King_David]

29. I'm not sure how a certain poster

Who is "Anti Zionist " calls the Jewish state Apartheid at every turn and supports the BDS movement ( despite all the evidence of Anti Semitism ) and is the most avid supporter of the bigoted Mondoweiss ( Mondoweiss has a hate on Bernie and praises Ann Coulter)- could possibly sport a Bernie Sanders Avatar.

Bernie Sanders views on IP are identical to my own views on IP.

[oberliner]

30. I am just glad to see so many Bernie avatars and sig lines

Maybe they will come around to realizing that Bernie is right on this topic as well.

[King_David]

31. Agreed

He has exactly the right policies on Israel that's needed in 2016

[6chars]

32. Nice to have someone like him, isn't it?

I'd like to see what he would post if he was on this board. Don't want to see him have enough free time to post on this board, though.

[King_David]

34. Yep

And will be really cool having the 1st Jewish president.

[King_David]

37. Kick

[King_David]

39. Kicked

To expose the hate site called Mondoweiss

Go Bernie Go....

[King_David]

41. Kick

[King_David]

42. kick