The senator disagrees with Kamala Harris on Gaza, as do millions of voters. But he argued that “Trump and his friends on the right are worse.”
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at a labor rally for Harris-Waltz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US on October 27, 2024.
(Nathan Morris/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sen. Bernie Sanders has been an active surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, telling crowds at dozens of stops in battleground states that “we must do everything we can to make sure (former President) Donald Trump is defeated.” But that doesn’t mean independent Vermont lawmakers approve of the way Democratic candidates have handled certain issues, especially when it comes to Israel’s attack on Gaza, which more than 44 thousand died Palestinian men, women and children.
Sanders has been an outspoken critic of US support for Netanyahu and the war in Gaza, which began after a Hamas attack on October 7 but has since sparked international outrage over the overwhelming number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. And regardless of who wins the election, the senator is determined to continue leading the charge to “block US military aid and sell offensive weapons to the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government in Israel.”
Sanders is far from alone in this opinion. Polls show that among American voters there is strong support for reducing arms supplies. Polls also show that there are many Americans who resent the Biden administration’s failure to clearly and effectively stand up to Netanyahu.
Current issue
As the 2024 campaign winds down, Sanders has faced voters across the country who share his frustration with the administration’s stance and the Harris campaign’s approach to the issue. He knows from polling data and personal experience on the campaign trail that Gaza is a top issue for millions of voters across the country, and especially in the battleground states that will decide the election.
Recalling his controversial late October visit to Millersville University in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Sanders said, “I was in a classroom and there were about a hundred students with me. I asked them about their views on Gaza… Ninety-nine out of 100 people in the room were against sending more military support to Netanyahu.”
This impressed him, as did the student’s question who told the senator“You want to end the US financial support for Israel. But Harris’ campaign hasn’t wavered on the subject, at least from what I’ve seen. They continue the rhetoric that supports the Israeli government. And if I’m concerned with this question, why should I vote for Harris?’
Sanders answered the question. But he didn’t want to stop there, so last week he released a six-minute video directly addressing the issue.
Echoing concerns widely expressed by progressives, he explained in a conversation with Nation“What worries me about this campaign is that the Biden-Harris administration’s endorsement of Netanyahu will dilute the vote of young people, Muslim Americans, and many others who would otherwise support Harris. So I thought it was important to make a short video statement and say, “Look, you disagree with them about continuing to support Israel’s all-out war against the Palestinian people, and I agree with you.” But I think about two things. First, we will have a better chance of changing US policy with Harris in the White House than with Trump in the White House. Trump is a close ally of his right-wing extremist friend Benjamin Netanyahu. And secondly, in politics we have to recognize the real truth that there is more than one problem. If you care about women having the right to control their bodies, you should vote for Harris. If you are concerned about the future of the planet and whether we can solve the existential threat of climate change, you should vote for Harris because Trump thinks climate change is a hoax. If you’re concerned about income and wealth inequality and don’t think, like Trump, that we should give big tax breaks to billionaires, you should vote for Harris.”
In addition to addressing his displeasure with the administration’s response to the crisis, Sanders’ video details his concern that the Trump administration will further support Netanyahu’s war in Gaza — which the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesco Albanese, and many other observers and experts long condemned as genocide.
“Donald Trump and his friends on the right are the worst,” Sanders says in the video. “Trump said Netanyahu was doing a good job and said Biden was ‘holding him back.’ He suggested that the Gaza Strip would be a prime beach for development. And it is not surprising that Netanyahu prefers Donald Trump in office.”
This is a fairly common occurrence kind of among political scientists in Israel, where commentators in liberal publications to think that “a Trump-Netanyahu reunion would be a disaster, intensifying both the Republican nominee’s overt, serial anti-Semitism and the corrupt Israeli leader who has plausibly been accused of war crimes.”
A video Sanders made last week went viral, garnering millions of hits on social media platforms –including 4.7 million views on X– in a matter of days. “We’ve heard from people all over the country, including people from the Muslim community,” Sanders said. “That’s the message I think people wanted to hear.”
popular
“Swipe to the bottom left to see more authors”Swipe →
The senator from Vermont is not unrealistic. He knows that regardless of which presidential candidate wins, changing US policy toward Israel and Palestine will be a difficult task. He is determined to keep up the pressure, explaining that later this month “I will be proposing a joint resolution not to deny Israel military weapons made in the United States.” This is just part of the hard work ahead. If Harris wins Tuesday, Sanders says he and other policy change advocates “will do everything we can together to change US policy toward Netanyahu: an immediate cease-fire, the return of all hostages, a massive influx of humanitarian aid, an end to the attacks settlers to the West Bank and the restoration of Gaza for the Palestinian people. And let me be clear, in my opinion, we will have a much better chance of changing US policy with Kamala than with Trump, who is very close to Netanyahu and sees him as a like-minded ally of the far right. »
We cannot retreat
We now face a second Trump presidency.
There is nothing to lose. We must use our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger to oppose the dangerous policies that Donald Trump is unleashing on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as principled and honest journalists and authors.
Today we are also preparing for the future struggle. It will require a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis and humane resistance. We are faced with the adoption of Project 2025, a far-right Supreme Court, political authoritarianism, rising inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis and conflicts abroad. Nation will expose and propose, develop investigative reporting and act together as a community to preserve hope and opportunity. NationThe work will continue — as it has in good times and bad — to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and in-depth reporting, and to expand solidarity in a divided nation.
Armed with 160 years of courageous independent journalism, our mandate remains the same today as it was when the Abolitionists were founded Nation— to defend the principles of democracy and freedom, to serve as a beacon in the darkest days of resistance, and to see and fight for a bright future.
The day is dark, the forces are building tenaciously, but it’s too late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is just the time when artists go to work. No time for despair, no room for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we make language. This is how civilizations heal.”
I encourage you to support Nation and donate today.
next,
Katrina Vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, Nation
More from Nation
Voters in seven states restored, protected or expanded abortion rights in their state. Many of them also voted for the man who ended Roe v. Wade.
Artists union president Jimmy Williams Jr. says “working people deserve a party that … puts their issues first.”
Trump’s world claims the Republican has an overwhelming popular mandate to carry out his agenda. Not so fast!
Voters in California, Colorado and Hawaii approved 2024 ballot proposals to protect same-sex marriage rights amid fears the Supreme Court could overturn Obergefell v. Hod…
