Sanders pushing for changes in platform regarding I/P

[cali]

Why pro-Israel Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton could have a fight about Israel


The only Jewish candidate in the 2016 presidential race, who calls himself "100 percent pro-Israel," and one of Israel's strongest U.S. defenders are nearing a fight over what being a pro-Israel Democrat means.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont plans to push for revisions in the Democratic Party position about relations with Israel, with a focus on elevating Palestinian rights as a U.S. priority. People involved in discussions over potential changes to the Democratic Party's platform said Sanders would demand revisions in wording about U.S. relations with Israel and commitment to seeking peace between the U.S. ally and the Palestinians.

<snip>

Speaking last month during a contentious debate with Clinton, Sanders said Israel’s 2014 military assault on the Gaza Strip was “disproportionate” to the threat posed by Hamas rockets launched from the Palestinian territory into Israel.

While declaring himself “100 percent pro-Israel,” Sanders said that if the region is ever to achieve peace, “we are going to have to treat the Palestinian people with respect and dignity.”

<snip>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/20/why-pro-israel-democrats-bernie-sanders-and-hillary-clinton-could-have-a-fight-about-israel/

[6chars]

1. Why won't Obama treat Palestinians with respect and dignity?

You tell 'em Bernie!

[King_David]

5. Definitely a way to split and divide the Democratic Party

[bemildred]

2. Yes, I saw that too.

Bernie Sanders Will Push Democrats to Pledge More ‘Evenhanded’ Approach to Israel-Palestine Conflict

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/05/bernie-sanderss-surprising-platform-priority.html

[cali]

3. I cross posted this in GD-P. It was met with outrage

[bemildred]

4. Outrage is the norm. So gratifying to vent. nt

[oberliner]

7. A third of the replies to that post are from you yourself

The other two-thirds come from a half dozen posters, most of whom are I/P regulars.

Not exactly a whole lot of outrage about this. I think the majority of DU is either disinterested in the topic or in agreement with Bernie.

My own take is that it would probably be good to add a sentence to the party platform expressing the sentiments that Bernie is suggesting, but I have a feeling that won't happen.

I also don't think this is an issue of particular importance to Bernie as he rarely even mentions it in his speeches (with a few notable exceptions).

It is my belief that he has some people in his campaign who do feel strongly about this issue (on the BDS side) and are pushing Sanders to at least take something of a stand in that direction (a stance, I think, he is certainly amenable to taking).

[cali]

8. Actually, slightly less than a quarter of the posts are mine.

And he mentions it frequently.

[oberliner]

9. Neither of those statements is true

As of now 11 out of 37 replies are yours, which is 30 percent (more than a quarter).

And Bernie almost never mentions the topic.

Here is a link to his Super Tuesday speech:

http://time.com/4244244/bernie-sanders-super-tuesday-speech-transcript-full-text/

Here is a link to his speech on Feb 10 after winning New Hampshire:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/10/the-transcript-of-bernie-sanderss-victory-speech/

And here is his speech when he announced he was running for president:

http://irregulartimes.com/2015/04/30/transcript-of-the-bernard-sanders-2016-presidential-announcement-speech/

No mention of the topic in any of those three major speeches.

There was his foreign policy speech in Utah and his comparison of Baltimore to Gaza. Those were the notable exceptions I mentioned.

Generally speaking it does not come up in his speeches.

[King_David]

6. That's definitely a way of putting Hillary on the spot nt

[ericson00]

10. its like Bernie wants to elect Trump;

send a loyal Dem constituency running from the party, and help the GOP make Dems soft on terror.

This idiocy needs to be stopped. Real Democrats and Real Americans stand with Israel.

[Little Tich]

11. It seems as if a change would reflect the views of democratic voters more correctly.

Among liberal Democrats, the support for the Palestinians is 40% while the support for Israel is 33%. It's only natural that that the Democratic Party platform would reflect this.

Growing share of liberal Democrats sympathize more with the Palestinians than with Israel

Source: http://www.people-press.org/2016/05/05/5-views-of-israel-and-palestinians/

"Senator Sanders has always and will always support Israel’s independence and right to live in peace and security. He also believes that lasting peace in the region will not occur without fair and respectful treatment of the Palestinian people," Briggs said. "We believe that most Democrats agree with that position and that a strong consensus will be achieved at the Democratic National Convention without a 'fight.'"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/20/why-pro-israel-democrats-bernie-sanders-and-hillary-clinton-could-have-a-fight-about-israel/

There's also a poll posted further upthread (post #10) that shows that Democratic supporters in general are somewhat sympathetic towards the Palestinians - 23% support the Palestinians, while 53% support the Israelis.

A more balanced platform would be able to encompass the views of almost all Democrats on this issue.