In the heat of contentious debates over campus protests and Israeli policies, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders issued a stern rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, emphasizing that holding Israeli leadership accountable for their actions in Gaza is not antisemitic. His statement follows Netanyahu’s claims that student protests at American universities were antisemitic and his comparison of them to events in 1930s Germany.
Sanders, a Jewish lawmaker, denounced Netanyahu’s attempt to label the campus actions as driven by antisemitism, countering that criticism of Israel’s military actions is a legitimate form of political expression. “No, Mr. Netanyahu. It is not antisemitic or pro-Hamas to point out that in a little over six months, your extremist government has killed 34,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 77,000—70% of whom are women and children,” Sanders declared. He also highlighted the destruction of over 221,000 housing units in Gaza, which has left more than one million people homeless.
The senator’s remarks came in response to Netanyahu’s characterization of the student protests against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza as “antisemitic mobs” and his false assertion that Jewish students were being attacked during these demonstrations. College campuses across the nation, including Columbia, Princeton, and the University of Texas at Austin, have seen demonstrations demanding divestment from companies benefiting from Israel’s actions in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire.
These campus protests have sometimes been met with heavy-handed police responses. At the University of Texas at Austin, police with horses and riot gear arrested dozens and were reported to have assaulted some protesters. Historian Jeremi Suri from UT Austin stated that the protests were not antisemitic, contradicting claims by Republican figures such as Governor Greg Abbott.
Sanders vehemently opposed the conflation of antisemitism with criticism of the Israeli government’s policies, reminding people that “antisemitism is a vile and disgusting form of bigotry that has done unspeakable harm to many millions of people.” He argued that addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the military actions that have harmed civilians and infrastructure is not only right but necessary.
The ongoing confrontations on university campuses and the ensuing political backlash have become a flashpoint in U.S. politics. Sanders’ public stance represents a pushback against attempts to silence or discredit protest movements that call for an examination and reevaluation of U.S. foreign policy, especially in relation to Israel and Palestine.
Relevant articles:
– Bernie Sanders to Netanyahu: ‘It Is Not Antisemitic to Hold You Accountable’, commondreams.org, 04/27/2024
– Bernie Sanders rebuts Netanyahu over US student protests, The New Arab, Fri, 26 Apr 2024 16:16:40 GMT
– Bernie Sanders issues scathing statement directed at Netanyahu over campus protests, Yahoo News Canada, Fri, 26 Apr 2024 05:07:00 GMT
– Sanders: Protests against Netanyahu government’s massacres in Gaza not anti-Semitic, وكالة سبأ, Fri, 26 Apr 2024 17:45:40 GMT
– Sanders to Netanyahu: ‘Don’t insult American people’s intelligence’, Press TV, Fri, 26 Apr 2024 13:43:08 GMT