Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders thinks Israel is over-reacting to terrorism. Really.
The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) said during an interview Sunday that Hillary Clinton has ignored the pain of the Palestinian people and called Israel’s response to rockets and terrorism from Hamas targeting its citizens “disproportionate.” Sanders spoke with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, who played a clip of the Vermont Senator at Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate arguing that, while Israel has a right to defend itself, the United States should play an “evenhanded” role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to bring peace to the Middle East.
…Sanders reaffirmed his belief that Israel has a right to exist and live in peace, but added that “you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people. And longterm, the only way we bring peace to that region – ”
“Do you think Secretary Clinton has ignored the suffering of the Palestinian people?” Stephanopoulos interjected. “Well, I think if you listen to her speech, that was the major speech, she had one line on the Palestinian people,” Sanders said. “I think that Israel has every right in the world to respond to terrorism, but I think in the Gaza it was a disproportionate response.”
Bernie Sanders is simply perpetuating the dangerous narrative that Israel is part of the problem. Israel has every right to defend itself from terrorism and radical Islamic extremism, and the U.S. should be supporting our ally every step of the way.
You can watch the exchange below: