Bernie Sanders Gets It Wrong Once Again

In the continuing criticism of Israel seemingly emerging from every voice of Democratic and Independent legislators in the U.S., the Jewish kid from Brooklyn now living in Vermont, at 96.58% the whitest state in America, has posted yet another anti-Israel screed om his Twitter feed.

Earlier this week after viewing a report about Iran’s remaining offensive military capabilities, he wrote: “Surprise, surprise: After months of Trump claiming Iran’s military was “decimated,” U.S. intelligence now says Iran still has 70% of its missile stockpile and most of its launch capability.  Maybe we shouldn’t let Netanyahu, a liar and a war criminal, dictate U.S. foreign policy.”

Every time Sanders blurts forth with one of his negative comments about the 78-year-old success story called Israel, where just about half of the world’s Jews reside, I wonder where this animosity come from?

When Sanders was growing up in Brooklyn, pretty much at the same time I was growing up in the Bronx, there were 900,000 Jews in the borough, representing 25% of the total population. (FYI we had 600,000 Jews in the Bronx at that time, which was 37% of the total population there).  Effectively, the New York “street” at that time was Jewish where even the owners of the Chinese hand laundry (that’s how it was called) and the local Italian shoe repair shop (they all seemed to be Italian) would close their shops on major Jewish holy days.

Sure, his parents were avowed socialists, as were many Jewish immigrants to the U.S. who hailed from Eastern Europe.  They may not have been traditionally observant, but Jewish people living in New York at that time were surrounded by a Jewish gestalt that permeated the entire city.

How did Sanders go from that milieu to being rabidly anti-Israel, to lead the charge over the last few years to cut off military aid to Israel, and to throw his support to other anti-Israel politicians like Zohan Mamdani, whom he provided a clear endorsement early in the campaign for Mayor of New York City?

I actually don’t have the answer at all. Perhaps it was a natural evolution from his anti-establishment stance, which was rampant in the 60s when he was in his post-college years and then simply continued to develop when he moved north as well.

Whatever the reason, the last thing we need right now is yet another good Jewish boy from Brooklyn postulating in the U.S. Senate about how bad Israel is for the world and how our leadership is made up of liars and war criminals who he believes, incorrectly, are now defining U.S. foreign policy.

There is probably little we can do about this, given the depth of anti-Israel and antisemitic activity that has developed in America since October 7^th. Yet, given our history, we know where all of this leads and the end of the story is generally not very pretty.

Nevertheless, one thing we can say to Bernie Sanders: When and if the enemies of the Jewish people come for you, you will always be able to take refuge here, in God’s miracle on the Mediterranean, and know that we will leave a light on for you. You may have forsaken your people, but your people will not forsake you.