As always, Bernie panders to his historically-challenged, victimology-obsessed, ever-shrinking constituency rather than demonstrate even the most minimal support for an indispensable American ally.
I didn’t think Bernie Sanders could possibly top his previous histrionic anti-Israel screeds but I obviously underestimated him. At last week’s annual conference of J Street (talk about knowing his audience), Bernie came up with this gem:
“My solution is to say to Israel, if you want military aid, you’re going to have to fundamentally change your relationship to the people of Gaza. I would say that some of that $3.8 billion should go … to humanitarian aid in Gaza.”
So Bernie is clearly suggesting that America use the aid it offers to Israel as leverage to influence Israel’s domestic policy. Given that the Democratic Party is currently attempting to impeach President Trump because of his alleged quid pro quo offer to Ukraine, one could ask if the Democrats would also support impeaching a sitting congressman for attempting to use aid money to influence the recipient’s policy choices. I’d say that is sufficient grounds for impeachment by Democratic Party standards, or at the very least, warrants strong, unequivocal censure from Party officials. I won’t hold my breath waiting for either to happen.
The fact is that I have no problem with Bernie suggesting aid money be used to leverage a desired foreign policy outcome. That’s what countries normally do when they dangle sacks of cash in front of potential recipients. Do Democrats seriously believe that billions of American aid dollars have been dispensed in the past without any conditions or required favours? Democratic presidents certainly had no hesitation in imposing rigorous conditions on aid packages to Israel.
No, my problem with Bernie’s proposal is that he manages in two short sentences to completely ignore the Gazans’ penchant for squandering aid money on suicide vests, weapons and tunnels, forgets that the money Israel receives from America finds its way back into the U.S. economy, blithely dismisses Israel’s legitimate security concerns, and most despicably, implies that it is Israel who is at fault for the stalemate in the moribund peace process.
As always, Bernie panders to his historically-challenged, victimology-obsessed, ever-shrinking constituency rather than demonstrate even the most minimal support for an indispensable American ally.
I think Bernie has not only earned his place in the Misguided Jews Hall of Fame; he may need his own wing to display all his anti-Israel and anti-Jewish babblings. And maybe we’ll open another room at the Hall of Fame for Democrats who actually buy the gibberish that Bernie is peddling.
