WOW! CNN - BERNIE TAKING A SLEDGEHAMMER TO THE POLITICAL STATUS QUO ON ISRAEL TAKES COURAGE!

[snagglepuss]

Van Jones, a former Obama political aide said "I haven't seen anyone at this level of the game -- say, 'Look, let's have a more balanced approach,...That takes a level of courage and a level of integrity. You can disagree with it, you can feel badly about it, you can be proud of it -- but something happened tonight."


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snip

Sanders refused to back down Thursday night from his claim that Israel in 2014 used "disproportionate" force to respond to Hamas rocket fire from Gaza while calling for the United States to stop being "one-sided" in the conflict there. In doing so, he upended a long-standing tenet of American politics: that unflinching support for Israel is non-negotiable.

snip

CNN political commentator Van Jones, a former Obama political aide, said Thursday night that Sanders' focus on Palestinian rights during the debate was "extraordinary."


"It's not just that it was interesting politics in New York. It's that I've never seen a Democratic candidate trying to be president -- I haven't seen a Republican, I haven't seen anyone at this level of the game -- say, 'Look, let's have a more balanced approach," Jones said. "That takes a level of courage and a level of integrity. You can disagree with it, you can feel badly about it, you can be proud of it -- but something happened tonight."

However, it is far from clear what political costs, if any, Sanders will face from his outspokenness, which also included him stating that "we are going to have to treat the Palestinian people with respect and dignity" and "we are going to have to say that Netanyahu is not right all of the time."


Read more at



http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/16/politics/bernie-sanders-israel-democratic-politics/













Go Bernie Go!

[silvershadow]

1. Win, lose, or draw, he has made a lasting impact. (He will win, by the way). nt

[monmouth4]

10. Absolutely and Netanyahu must be worried too. Go Bernie!

[itsrobert]

2. Jerusalem bus bombing injures 21

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36075442

[Dragonfli]

5. Of course a balanced response would be to bomb a UN populated school in Gaza.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-presses-attack-16-killed-at-un-school/2014/07/30/4a643588-17a5-11e4-85b6-c1451e622637_story.html

Israeli officials said they were trying to determine who was responsible for the bloodshed. In past incidents, the Israeli military blamed errant rocket or mortar fire by Gaza militants for explosions at U.N. schools — or said the blasts were under investigation.

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which operated the school-turned-shelter in the Jabalya refugee camp, said it had gathered evidence, analyzed bomb fragments and examined craters after the attack. Its initial assessment was that three Israeli artillery shells hit the school where 3,300 people had sought refuge.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms this serious violation of international law by Israeli forces,” said Pierre Krähenbühl, the UNRWA commissioner-general. “This is an affront to all of us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands disgraced.”

[RoccoR5955]

6. I suppose you are okay with

Israelis killing 10 Palestinians for every Israeli that is killed.
So it's okay for them to do that, but it's not okay for the other side to fight back?

I guess it's okay if you are arming one side of the conflict.

How about we stop all of this crap and just kill everyone there?
No that will not work, then how about we find a 2 state solution?
Oh, that wouldn't work either, you wouldn't be able to sell arms to your side.

[TheBlackAdder]

7. Do you really want to get in a tit for tat on body counts? We all know who leads that!

[msongs]

3. stupid remark. obama's policy towards I/P calls for a balanced view nt

[pdsimdars]

4. He says things that every right thinking person knows to be true, but NO ONE else has the

courage or integrity to say it.
God, I hope our country is worthy of having him as our president.

[felix_numinous]

8. Taking on the hardest issues head-on

Palestine, the Saudis, corruption, breaking up the banks-- he is on the right side of history, and represents the direction this country needs to move toward!

[snagglepuss]

11. Exactly. nt

[oldandhappy]

9. integrity and ethics

I have been saying much the same for the last two years. Israel is a rich country. They do not need so much welfare from us. Peace requires and effort on both sides. Netanyahu is not a peace-maker. He likes control and war and such. Palestine has to have a chance. Just thinking about it all makes me want to throw rocks!!!