Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Bernie Sanders Calls For More ‘Balanced’ Approach, Palestinians Should

[Uncle Joe]

Be Treated With ‘Dignity And Respect’

Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win U.S. primaries and convention delegates, Sunday called for a more “balanced” approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the needs of the Palestinian people must be addressed.

Both the Vermont senator and rival former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defended Israel’s right to exist without fear of terror attacks in separate interviews on CNN’s “State of the Union,” but Sanders said Israel’s response to Palestinian rocket attacks was disproportionate.

(snip)

“This is the way I see it, whether you’re Jewish or not Jewish. I would hope every person … wants to see the misery of conflict end in the Middle East. … All I’m saying is that as somebody pro-Israeli … who supports Israel’s right to exist in peace and in security, I think the only way we succeed is if the United States is if the United States plays a role. But you cannot ignore the needs of the Palestinian people. …

“You can’t just be concerned only about Israel’s needs. You have to be concerned about the needs of all the people in the region.”

(snip)

http://www.ibtimes.com/israeli-palestinian-conflict-bernie-sanders-calls-more-balanced-approach-palestinians-2351313

Bernie Sanders Calls Israel’s Response To 2014 Gaza War ‘Disproportionate’

Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke out on Sunday against Israel’s military response during the 2014 war with Gaza, calling the country’s actions “disproportionate.”

Sanders, who is the first Jewish candidate in U.S. history to win a major presidential primary, discussed the seven-week armed conflict between Israeli and Gazan forces during a taped interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union."

"Was Israel's response disproportionate? I think it was," Sanders said. The 2014 conflict, which was sparked after Hamas forces in Gaza launched rockets into southern Israel, resulted in the deaths of more than 2,130 Palestinians — 70 percent of whom were civilians, according to the United Nations. Israel, which lost 65 soldiers and 3 civilians in the fighting, claims only 50 percent of Palestinians killed were civilians.

(snip)

Tapper also noted that Sanders was the only presidential candidate who declined to speak at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, D.C. last month, where White House hopefuls Donald Trump, Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Ted Cruz, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the crowd. Sanders said he refused because he needed “to campaign on the West Coast,” but released a speech the same day calling for Israel to end “what amounts to the occupation of Palestinian territory, establishing mutually agreed upon borders, and pulling back settlements in the West Bank.”

Of the collective speeches delivered that day, Sanders was the only one to refer to Israel’s presence in the West Bank and Gaza as an “occupation” — the same position held by the United Nations and the U.S. government.

http://thinkprogress.org/world/2016/04/10/3768054/sanders-israel-gaza-disproportionate/

[Bad Dog]

1. Presidential Candidates have been saying nice things about the Palestinians since Carter.

For all the good it's done.

[Uncle Joe]

3. So you wish to condemn an entire people that have been ghettoized for

over half a century?



There will never be peace until the U.S. does take a more balanced approach to the Middle East.

[Bad Dog]

9. You read a lot of stuff into what someone writes.

Where have I condemned the Palestinians? I was talking about the empty words of American politicians on this issue. There's no reason to think President Sanders won't be every bit as supine towards Israel as his predecessors.

[Uncle Joe]

15. Every thing that Bernie has spoken of whether in regards to domestic or foreign policy

strongly suggests otherwise.

[Bad Dog]

25. Talk is cheap.

He's an American presidential candidate. Look at what America did to its own indigenous people. It was excused as manifest destiny. Israel receives a ton of military aid from America. That supports the American arms industry and allows American weaponry to be field tested.

Anyone who thinks Sanders will stop the military aid, or the building of illegal settlements hasn't really studied America's history in the region.

[Ken Burch]

5. They have never made any serious calls for Israel to stop expanding the West Bank settlements

And they pretty much always veto any Security Council resolutions on what Israel does to Palestinians.

[Bad Dog]

10. And they never will.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Ignore the smears: Bernie Sanders is right about Israel’s heinous atrocities in Gaza — he just

got the numbers wrong

When trying to recall the number of Palestinian civilians who were killed by Israel in the 51-day war, Sanders said, “Anybody help me out here, because I don’t remember the figures, but my recollection is over 10,000 innocent people were killed in Gaza. Does that sound right?”

The Daily News did not even know the answer. “I think it’s probably high, but we can look at that,” the editorial board said.

“I think it’s over 10,000,” Sanders continued. “My understanding is that a whole lot of apartment houses were leveled. Hospitals, I think, were bombed.”

He added, “So yeah, I do believe and I don’t think I’m alone in believing that Israel’s force was more indiscriminate than it should have been.”

The media and political establishments exploded in response to this brief moment in the almost 10,000-word interview.

Sanders did misspeak. Israel actually killed more than 2,250 Palestinians in the 51-day summer 2014 war, known as Operation Protective Edge. According to the U.N., two-thirds of those killed were civilians — almost 1,500 people, including more than 550 children.

Another more than 11,200 Palestinians were injured in the conflict, including more than 3,400 children, the U.N. calculated. Roughly one-third of these children were permanently disabled.

While Sanders misstated the number of Palestinians killed, however, this mistake is not as surprising as it may seem, for the United Nations frequently uses the term “casualties” in its reports to refer to both injuries and deaths in conflicts, not just deaths.

There were approximately 13,500 Palestinian casualties in the war then, according to the U.N. definition.

This did not stop journalists and politicians from relentlessly barraging Sanders for the misstep, nonetheless.


http://www.salon.com/2016/04/09/ignore_the_smears_bernie_sanders_is_right_about_israels_heinous_atrocities_in_gaza_he_just_got_the_numbers_wrong/

[beam me up scottie]

4. Kicked and recommended, thanks Uncle Joe.

The truth won't stop the lies and smears but at least it's out there.

[tritsofme]

6. Ugh, glad Sanders will be gone soon.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Why do you feel that way?

[beam me up scottie]

8. Standing up for both the Palestinians and Israelis gets an "ugh" from you?

[DisgustipatedinCA]

11. And I'm relieved that Hillary will be more worried about her freedom soon than about the Presidency.

[geek tragedy]

12. Another quote for the game: Who said it, DUer or Freeper?

Clinton is not going to prison, the fantasies of her haters on the extreme right and extreme left notwithstanding.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

13. I'll remove all the mystery for you: I said it, and I've been at DU since 2001.

I've never been a member of Free Republic.

I win.

[geek tragedy]

16. yes, some people at DU hate Clinton so much they wind

up talking and thinking just like the Freepers when she's the subject.

the Indictment Fairy is not going to ride to your rescue.

The Indictment Fairy is not real.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

17. Hillary Clinton will either be indicted, or she won't. Neither of us knows, so quit acting as though

you do.

But I do know, with certainty, that the possibility of being indicted for a felony for mishandling classified information is weighing heavily on her mind. She'd be a complete idiot if it wasn't.

[geek tragedy]

22. Unless she knows that the 'classified' emails were

forwards of news stories about drone strikes and wikileaks.

[geek tragedy]

14. he's right on substance but it will hurt him here in NY nt

[Uncle Joe]

18. Whether it hurts him politically or not, Bernie has always placed a premium on leveling

with the American People.

Bernie doesn't want the White House based on false pretenses and that has pretty much been the pattern throughout his career.

[beam me up scottie]

19. ^^^THIS^^^

Bernie doesn't want the White House based on false pretenses and that has pretty much been the pattern throughout his career.

If he loses we can hold our heads up because he didn't try to win at any cost.

That's why we're with him and he's with us.

[Uncle Joe]

20. "Hold your head up"

[beam me up scottie]

21. Ah, some good old Canadian rock! Love it!

[DisgustipatedinCA]

23. You like Argent AND Uriah Heep? I wish I could bestow Cool Awards. You'd get one.

[beam me up scottie]

24. Thanks! I grew up listening to CHOM fm in Montreal.

I went from nursery rhymes to Nazareth pretty quickly.

[Behind the Aegis]

26. Good for him.

But does it really matter?

There are those (Clinton side) who will lambast him for not being "really" supportive of Israel and claim he will lose the Jews, as if Israel is our only issue, and those (Sanders supporters) who will whine "it isn't enough" and "talk is cheap".

The only "winners" in situations like this are the anti-Semites (and other haters) who can spew their filth and be supported by their own kind depending on how they do it.