Haaretz: Bernie Sanders Is -- Finally -- Willing to Talk About Being Jewish

[ehrnst]

His avoidance of mentioning his historic first and his description of his father as being simply “Polish,” with no reference of fleeing anti-Semitism as the reason he sought haven in the United States in the 1920s, raised eyebrows in the Jewish community and among pundits — present company included — in the Jewish and Israeli media.
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“I don’t think this campaign is going to change him,” added Sugarman, who has known Sanders for over 40 years. He was right, the 2016 campaign didn’t change Sanders. When he reemerged into public view in 2017, Jews balked when, while condemning President Donald Trump’s divisiveness, the senator recited a laundry list of groups “who are undergoing oppression and suffering” in the Trump era — but left Jews off the list and made no reference to anti-Semitism.

The omission in his speech in a Manhattan church was particularly noticeable since it was occurring only weeks after the tragic events of Charlottesville, when anti-Semitic chants like “Jews will not replace us!” were shouted on the streets and Nazi memes abounded on Twitter — so much so that Jewish celebrities started wearing yellow stars to publicly identify as an embattled minority.

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For longtime Bernie-watchers in the Jewish community, hearing him describe himself as a “proud Jewish person” seemed to mark a new direction. At first, it was possible that it could be a one-time fluke. But then came Linda Sarsour’s ringing endorsement of Sanders at a campaign rally this weekend. “At a time of a startling rise in white nationalism and anti-Semitism, I would be so proud to win, but also to make history and elect the first Jewish American president this country has ever seen and for his name to be Bernard Sanders,” Sarsour said in the video.

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-bernie-sanders-is-finally-willing-to-talk-about-being-jewish-1.7829380

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