Editor,
It has unfortunately become par for the course nowadays in U.S. politics for Zionists to conflate criticism of the state of Israel with antisemitism.
Antisemitism is an ugly phenomenon which has negatively affected Jewish people throughout the ages, and all decent people should condemn it. With all that being said, I must give a tip of the hat to Sen. Bernie Sanders for using his Twitter account to criticize the state of Israel for murdering 17 Palestinians who were carrying out a peaceful protest in Gaza. The lack of human rights for Palestinians has been ignored for far too long by U.S. politicians, because they fear losing the financial support of pro-Israeli lobbies like AIPAC.
Speaking about the shooting of peaceful Palestinian protesters this past Friday, Sanders said, “The killing of Palestinian demonstrators by Israeli forces in Gaza is tragic. It is the right of all people to protest for a better future without a violent response.” It is common knowledge to the majority of the world that the U.S. has been instrumental in aiding and abetting Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people over the years. The majority of world opinion is in favor of creating a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of the new Palestinian state. In some respects, Sen. Sanders is merely taking a stance which the majority of humanity already supports.
Sanders added on his Twitter, “Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza remains a humanitarian disaster. The U.S. must play a more positive role in ending the Gaza blockade and helping Palestinians and Israelis build a future that works for all.” Many human rights organizations have cited the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip as being responsible for the creation of “the world’s largest open air prison.” The American people should heed these timely statements of Sen. Sanders, because the reality is that the state of Israel can never expect to enjoy peace and security so long as it treats the lives of Palestinians with such racist contempt.
Muhajir Romero
