AIPAC issues public rebuke to Bernie Sanders for 'outrageous comment'
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, also known as AIPAC, has never taken sides politically. Its entire being is dedicated to promoting Israel generally, without regard to party affiliations. That worked well for the first 55 years of AIPAC's existence, from 1963 until around 2018. Then the system began to break down as Democrat Party politicians became increasingly hostile to Israel.
The election of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to the House brought open anti-Semitism into the heart of Congress. Both women have implicitly and explicitly demonized Israel. When Omar's comments became so outrageous that Nancy Pelosi could no longer ignore them, she was eventually able to bully the House into passing a resolution that, while it was originally intended to condemn anti-Semitism, was watered down to condemn just about every "ism." In other words, the pro-Israel, pro-Jewish feeling that once animated both parties in America was gone.
This brings us to Bernie Sanders.
Despite being genetically Jewish, Bernie Sanders is now and always has been hostile to Israel and, by extension, to Jews. As a dedicated leftist, his anti-Semitism has its roots with Karl Marx, a self-loathing and vehemently anti-Semitic Jew. Hitler's Holocaust was a miserable fusion of Marxist anti-Semitism and traditional German anti-Semitism.
Within Bernie's lifetime, the left's hostility to Israel is a Cold War remnant, for Israel was America's ally. In addition, Stalin was deeply paranoid about Jews, which resulted in decades of Soviet policies executing Jews, sending them to gulags, and denying them even the most miserable liberties the Soviet Union meted out to its citizens. Bernie may technically be Jewish, but he's first, last, and always a Marxist.
It's unsurprising then, that Bernie has surrounded himself with people who hate Israel. There's Amer Zahr, an open and proud anti-Semite, who worked for Rashida Tlaib. As just one example of his views, in 2015, he tweeted out, "Describing defenders of Israel as 'scumbags,' 'pigs,' and 'bastards' is not necessary. 'Zionist' is sufficiently insulting. #Palestine."
There's also Linda Sarsour, who warned against "humanizing" Israelis. She's palled around with Rasmea Odeh, a terrorist who murdered two Israelis before illegally coming to America, with the two of them haranguing an audience that they must stop "Zionists" from their "land grab."
Aside from those two high-profile ones, Bernie has generally been a magnet for anti-Semites:
On Sunday, either Bernie or one of the Israel- and Jew-haters in his campaign sent out a two-part tweet on Bernie's Twitter account (a tweet that still exists and that Bernie has not disavowed):
As president, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and do everything possible to bring peace and security to the region. 2/2
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 23, 2020
The tweet’s content is so vile that AIPAC broke its long-standing rule of nonpartisanship and put out a scathing rebuttal:
Senator Sanders has never attended our conference and that is evident from his outrageous comment.
— AIPAC (@AIPAC) February 24, 2020
Full statement: https://t.co/XDcNKhYXSq pic.twitter.com/aJGJiv2wv8
Senator Sanders has never attended our conference and that is evidence from his outrageous comment. In fact, many of his own House and Senate Democratic colleagues and leaders speak from our platform to the over 18,000 Americans from widely diverse backgrounds — Democrats, Republicans, Jews, Christians, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, progressives, Veterans, students, members of the LGBTQ community — who participate in the conference to proclaim their support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.
By engaging in such an odious attack on this mainstream, bipartisan American political event, Senator Sanders is insulting his very own colleagues and the millions of Americans who stand with Israel. Truly shameful.
Of course, Bernie's not the only one. Warren is also trying to grab the "hate Israel and Jews" Marxist vote, so she too is eschewing AIPAC's conference this year. Today's Democrat Party is a haven for people determined to resurrect one of mankind's oldest hatreds. AIPAC is right: shame on them.