2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumIsraeli-Palestinian Conflict: Bernie Sanders Calls For More ‘Balanced’ Approach, Palestinians Should
Be Treated With Dignity And RespectDemocratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win U.S. primaries and convention delegates, Sunday called for a more balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the needs of the Palestinian people must be addressed.
Both the Vermont senator and rival former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defended Israels right to exist without fear of terror attacks in separate interviews on CNNs State of the Union, but Sanders said Israels response to Palestinian rocket attacks was disproportionate.
(snip)
This is the way I see it, whether youre Jewish or not Jewish. I would hope every person wants to see the misery of conflict end in the Middle East. All Im saying is that as somebody pro-Israeli who supports Israels right to exist in peace and in security, I think the only way we succeed is if the United States is if the United States plays a role. But you cannot ignore the needs of the Palestinian people.
You cant just be concerned only about Israels needs. You have to be concerned about the needs of all the people in the region.
(snip)
http://www.ibtimes.com/israeli-palestinian-conflict-bernie-sanders-calls-more-balanced-approach-palestinians-2351313
Bernie Sanders Calls Israels Response To 2014 Gaza War Disproportionate
Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke out on Sunday against Israels military response during the 2014 war with Gaza, calling the countrys actions disproportionate.
Sanders, who is the first Jewish candidate in U.S. history to win a major presidential primary, discussed the seven-week armed conflict between Israeli and Gazan forces during a taped interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union."
"Was Israel's response disproportionate? I think it was," Sanders said. The 2014 conflict, which was sparked after Hamas forces in Gaza launched rockets into southern Israel, resulted in the deaths of more than 2,130 Palestinians 70 percent of whom were civilians, according to the United Nations. Israel, which lost 65 soldiers and 3 civilians in the fighting, claims only 50 percent of Palestinians killed were civilians.
(snip)
Tapper also noted that Sanders was the only presidential candidate who declined to speak at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, D.C. last month, where White House hopefuls Donald Trump, Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Ted Cruz, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the crowd. Sanders said he refused because he needed to campaign on the West Coast, but released a speech the same day calling for Israel to end what amounts to the occupation of Palestinian territory, establishing mutually agreed upon borders, and pulling back settlements in the West Bank.
Of the collective speeches delivered that day, Sanders was the only one to refer to Israels presence in the West Bank and Gaza as an occupation the same position held by the United Nations and the U.S. government.
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2016/04/10/3768054/sanders-israel-gaza-disproportionate/
Bad Dog
(2,025 posts)For all the good it's done.
Uncle Joe
(58,365 posts)over half a century?
There will never be peace until the U.S. does take a more balanced approach to the Middle East.
Bad Dog
(2,025 posts)Where have I condemned the Palestinians? I was talking about the empty words of American politicians on this issue. There's no reason to think President Sanders won't be every bit as supine towards Israel as his predecessors.
Uncle Joe
(58,365 posts)strongly suggests otherwise.
Bad Dog
(2,025 posts)He's an American presidential candidate. Look at what America did to its own indigenous people. It was excused as manifest destiny. Israel receives a ton of military aid from America. That supports the American arms industry and allows American weaponry to be field tested.
Anyone who thinks Sanders will stop the military aid, or the building of illegal settlements hasn't really studied America's history in the region.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)And they pretty much always veto any Security Council resolutions on what Israel does to Palestinians.
Bad Dog
(2,025 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,365 posts)When trying to recall the number of Palestinian civilians who were killed by Israel in the 51-day war, Sanders said, Anybody help me out here, because I dont remember the figures, but my recollection is over 10,000 innocent people were killed in Gaza. Does that sound right?
The Daily News did not even know the answer. I think its probably high, but we can look at that, the editorial board said.
I think its over 10,000, Sanders continued. My understanding is that a whole lot of apartment houses were leveled. Hospitals, I think, were bombed.
He added, So yeah, I do believe and I dont think Im alone in believing that Israels force was more indiscriminate than it should have been.
The media and political establishments exploded in response to this brief moment in the almost 10,000-word interview.
Sanders did misspeak. Israel actually killed more than 2,250 Palestinians in the 51-day summer 2014 war, known as Operation Protective Edge. According to the U.N., two-thirds of those killed were civilians almost 1,500 people, including more than 550 children.
Another more than 11,200 Palestinians were injured in the conflict, including more than 3,400 children, the U.N. calculated. Roughly one-third of these children were permanently disabled.
While Sanders misstated the number of Palestinians killed, however, this mistake is not as surprising as it may seem, for the United Nations frequently uses the term casualties in its reports to refer to both injuries and deaths in conflicts, not just deaths.
There were approximately 13,500 Palestinian casualties in the war then, according to the U.N. definition.
This did not stop journalists and politicians from relentlessly barraging Sanders for the misstep, nonetheless.
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/09/ignore_the_smears_bernie_sanders_is_right_about_israels_heinous_atrocities_in_gaza_he_just_got_the_numbers_wrong/
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)The truth won't stop the lies and smears but at least it's out there.
tritsofme
(17,379 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,365 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Clinton is not going to prison, the fantasies of her haters on the extreme right and extreme left notwithstanding.
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)I've never been a member of Free Republic.
I win.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)up talking and thinking just like the Freepers when she's the subject.
the Indictment Fairy is not going to ride to your rescue.
The Indictment Fairy is not real.
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)you do.
But I do know, with certainty, that the possibility of being indicted for a felony for mishandling classified information is weighing heavily on her mind. She'd be a complete idiot if it wasn't.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)forwards of news stories about drone strikes and wikileaks.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,365 posts)with the American People.
Bernie doesn't want the White House based on false pretenses and that has pretty much been the pattern throughout his career.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)If he loses we can hold our heads up because he didn't try to win at any cost.
That's why we're with him and he's with us.
Uncle Joe
(58,365 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)I went from nursery rhymes to Nazareth pretty quickly.
Behind the Aegis
(53,959 posts)But does it really matter?
There are those (Clinton side) who will lambast him for not being "really" supportive of Israel and claim he will lose the Jews, as if Israel is our only issue, and those (Sanders supporters) who will whine "it isn't enough" and "talk is cheap".
The only "winners" in situations like this are the anti-Semites (and other haters) who can spew their filth and be supported by their own kind depending on how they do it.