Bernie calls for halt to Israel funding in SCATHING letter - "Passive observer of war crimes"

[onandup]

Some excerpts

“The people of Gaza have been trapped in an open-air prison for years, and the United States is complicit. The bombs that fall on schools, hospitals, and homes are being paid for by U.S. taxpayers. This cannot continue.”

“Under the 1952 Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement, Israel is bound to use our military aid for defense. What we are seeing in Gaza is not defense—it is oppression.”

“We regularly condition military aid to countries around the world, but when it comes to Israel, we look the other way. This is not about picking sides—it’s about demanding basic human decency.”

“The blockade of Gaza has created a humanitarian catastrophe. Over two million people are living without access to clean water, food, or medical care, and the U.S. is helping to sustain this nightmare. Enough is enough.”

“The U.S. must not be a passive observer of war crimes. We have the power to stop the killing, to stop the suffering, and to bring pressure on Israel to change its course. Failing to do so makes us complicit in the bloodshed.”

“It’s long past time we end our unconditional support for the Israeli government. This is not about abandoning an ally—it’s about standing up for justice, for international law, and for the millions of Palestinians who have been denied their basic rights for far too long.”

“Lives are being destroyed, and the U.S. has the power to stop it. If we are to be a true leader for peace, we must act now—without delay, without hesitation, and without excuses.”

[Oopsie Daisy]

1. I live in the real world, so I know that's not going to happen.

[al bupp]

38. Actually, a majority of Americans support Bernie's position

But I suppose they're all or most just misinformed or Hamas sympathizers.

[Oopsie Daisy]

39. Doubtful.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

41. Actually that's not true.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/29/politics/israel-gaza-americans-poll-chicago/index.html

Majority of Americans favor US military aid to Israel until hostages are returned, new polling says

Nearly 11 months into Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, 60% of Americans want the United States to keep up its military support for Israel until the hostages held by Hamas are freed, according to new polling from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that was exclusively provided to CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet have “defined the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities” as one of their key aims in Gaza, though the notion was rejected by Israeli Defense Forces Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in June, when he called promises to “make Hamas vanish” outlandish and tantamount to “throwing sand in the eyes of the public.”

But that number falls to 49% when the more ambitious goal of dismantling Hamas, the terror group that carried out the October 7 attacks inside Israel, is described as the endgame.

The results of the 2024 Chicago Council Survey, carried out in late June into July, and another poll from Council-IPSOS, conducted in mid-August, described the US as closely divided over the American government’s role in Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza, with a narrow majority, 53%, now saying the US should condition that military aid to Israel not be used toward military operations against Palestinians

[Oopsie Daisy]

45. Thank you for sharing the truth.

[Richard D]

49. Thank you . . .

. . . it's almost like there's a concerted effort to misinform people and make them hate Israel and Jews.

I wonder who could be doing that!

[MarineCombatEngineer]

52. ....

[Richard D]

55. The only possible explanation!

[al bupp]

53. I think CNN didn't read past the headline of the poll it's quoting

Under "Key Findings", there's this:

Americans are also concerned about Palestinians, and especially civilians. A narrow majority (53%) think the United States should restrict its military aid to Israel so it cannot use the aid in military operations against Palestinians. (Emphasis mine)

https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/americans-see-united-states-playing-positive-role-middle-east

Back July Gallop says a majority disapprove of Israel's action in Gaza, as well:

Americans continue to be more likely to oppose than support Israel’s military action in Gaza, but public backing has increased slightly since Gallup’s prior reading in March. The 42% of U.S. adults who currently approve of the military campaign is up six percentage points, while the 48% who now disapprove is down seven points.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/646955/disapproval-israeli-action-gaza-eases-slightly.aspx

[MarineCombatEngineer]

54. You said most Americans, which is patently untrue. nt

[al bupp]

57. Poll results likely depend on how the question's phrased

In any event, I think it's reasonable to say that it is certainly not patently untrue given the evidence I've seen and offered.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

59. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Have a great forthcoming week.
I'm out.

[Jack Valentino]

78. "Most Americans" don't know their ass from a hole in the ground...

(just sayin')

[MarineCombatEngineer]

80. Not true, just some Americans, but nice insult to the American population.

[Jack Valentino]

82. I know that we agree that the killing needs to stop.

On all sides, of course.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

83. Oh, but of course,

here's to hoping and praying that cooler heads prevail before someone cries havoc and let slip the dogs of war.
Thought I'd throw in a little Shakespeare before I head off to bed.
Have a great week.

[Jack Valentino]

85. You also. Drive carefully! :)

[Cha]

74. TY for this Reality Check, MCE.. And Then Hamas Executes 6 Hostages....

So they Couldn't be Rescued and Go Home to Israel.



Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23
Eden Yerushalmi, 24
Ori Danino, 25
Alex Lubnov, 32
Carmel Gat, 40
Almog Sarusi, 27

Hostage killings and new demands cast doubt in White House that Hamas wants a deal

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219426836

[Beringia]

90. You mean you live in a safe part of the world

[MarineCombatEngineer]

2. When did Bernie join Fantasy Island?

VP Harris has made it crystal clear that isn't happening and I support VP Harris over Sen. Sanders wholeheartedly.

[Richard D]

3. Jumped the shark.

[Mossfern]

36. Yup.

Especially with the use of the term "Open air prison."

[Cha]

76. Yeah, I wonder where he

came up with that?

Certainly not the history of what all went down over the decades.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19492396

[tritsofme]

4. Blah blah blah, hope he has a good fundraising drive.

[Oopsie Daisy]

13. Exactly.

[betsuni]

60. Yup.

[Cha]

7. Who you calling "Ghouls"? Certainly NOT DU Members, demmiblue!!

GD Fucking HAMAS Committed War Crimes Almost a year Ago..

Fuck Them.. They're the GD "Ghouls".

[betsuni]

58. Always with the personal insults for DUers. Can't make it about facts, personal attacks!

[Cha]

62. So True... Exactly.

Thank You!

[Nixie]

70. Exactly, and so much for the ignore list they post about.

One Duer hasn't posted for a couple years but the obsession continues.

[Nixie]

68. Thanks Cha! You nailed it with that one.

[Cha]

72. Alona Nixie...

Mahalo

[Nixie]

81. Aloha, Cha!

[Cha]

84. Good to see you aboard!💙

[Nixie]

89. Thx Cha! I've been spending so much time on the freeways

lately that I'm kinda bummed I can't absorb everything about this election cycle. But Thank goodness for podcasts and this site.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

9. The usuals.

[Cha]

10. GD FUCKING Hamas are the Fucking "Ghouls"!

[Nixie]

67. Is this irony?

Always with the irony.

[betsuni]

77. The usual suspects meaning supporters of the Democratic Party on a forum for electing Democrats.

The reality-based community that doesn't fall for propaganda demonizing Democrats as corrupt-immoral-evil enemies who must be replaced by revolution, all the childish buzzwords and insults and endless lies we still have keep debunking. We won.

[Nixie]

88. Amen! So perfectly stated. It's okay to be a full-time Democrat

who debunks lies about our party.

[malaise]

6. Rec

For truth

[TommyT139]

8. Friends don't let friends commit war crimes.

[orthoclad]

11. Go Bernie!

We must not be complicit in genocide.

[Oopsie Daisy]

40. Genocide? Oh please. 🙄 💤😴

But... Bingo! I got a bingo! That didn't take long at all.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

42. Genocide, you keep using that word but I don't think you know what it means.

[betsuni]

43. "Genocide" apparently meaning when the population actually increases every year.

Are they saying Israel is really really bad at genociding, or what?

[womanofthehills]

98. I think it means over 730 dead Gaza babies under one yr old

14 pages of names of under one yr old dead babies - not including many under rubble. Not including the tens of thousands of injured kids - close to 4,000 with missing limbs. CNN reported today that about 10 Gaza kids lose a limb or limbs each day.

[orthoclad]

51. Replying in general,

The UNHR report, released in mid-May, concludes: “Israel has committed genocidal acts, namely killing, seriously harming, and inflicting conditions of life calculated, and intended to, bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza,” says Susan Akram, a LAW clinical professor of law and director of LAW’s International Human Rights Clinic, who contributed to the report.

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/is-israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza/

Systematically bombing an entire country into rubble seems to count. We can throw in the West Bank, as well.

[sheshe2]

65. Hoyer Op-Ed: The United Nations' Historic Anti-Israel Bias Emboldened Hamas

The United Nations' Historic Anti-Israel Bias Emboldened Hamas
By Congressman Steny H. Hoyer and Richard P. Schifter
February 16, 2024


Just a few days ago, a Hamas tunnel network – complete with a data center, living quarters, industrial battery power banks, and other vital operational infrastructure – was found beneath United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East’s (UNRWA) Gaza Headquarters. The news came out not long after reports that twelve UNRWA employees likely participated in Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack. These revelations are appalling but unsurprising, particularly given estimates that around 1,200, or one tenth, of UNRWA’s employees in Gaza have ties to Hamas and its affiliates. The UN must not only investigate this grave oversight but also reckon with the anti-Israel bias that has long plagued its institutions.

The UN’s predisposition against Israel has never been more apparent – or more harmful – than it is today, but it’s nothing new. In 1975, the UN passed Resolution 3379, which falsely equated Zionism with racism and apartheid in South Africa. Critically, the resolution established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) and the Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR). Along with the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (SCIIHRP), these UN institutions pursue an explicitly anti-Israel agenda. Although Resolution 3379 was revoked in 1991, the anti-Israel infrastructure it created remains.
For decades, these entities have churned out anti-Israel propaganda that reinforces the false equivalency between Zionism and racism, which protestors around the world have repeated countless times since October 7.

Their narrative holds that Israelis are colonial, white imperialists. At its most innocent, this claim dismisses the history of the Jewish people, who faced persecution, exile, and violence for millennia. At its worst, this falsehood encourages antisemitic hate. It denies Jews’ absolute right to live safely in their ancestral homeland – which the UN established as a Jewish state more than 75 years ago.

This narrative leads the UN to single out Israel and hold it to a higher standard. Last year, Israel faced 14 censures. The rest of the world, including numerous autocratic regimes, received only seven total. Since the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) establishment in 2006, it has adopted 103 resolutions against Israel, more than all those leveled against North Korea, Iran, and Syria combined.

https://hoyer.house.gov/media/press-releases/hoyer-op-ed-united-nations-historic-anti-israel-bias-emboldened-hamas

[MarineCombatEngineer]

86. Thank you sheshe2.

Seems some here want to leave out those inconvenient truths.

[sheshe2]

12. Say their names, Bernie.

"Passive observer of war crimes"

Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sgt. Ori Danino.

Six hostages, all shot in the back of the head, an execution.

[onandup]

14. 40,000 is greater than 6

nm

[Cha]

15. GD Fucking Hamas. Hizballah, & Iran Started this

and are Continuing this SHIT.

Why doesn't Hamas have Bomb for Palestinians Since they knew what would happen. Why do they decline Ceasefires? Why do they Shoot Palestinians trying to get Aid.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

20. And 6 million is greater than than 40,000. nt

[Just_Vote_Dem]

22. Thanks.

I can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading lately.

[JohnSJ]

29. Any death isn't a good thing, but what never is said is how many of those 40000 are Hamas?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

32. Very telling isn't it.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

64. You know Sanders lost family in the Holocaust, right?

He comes from a place of knowing exactly what that was about.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

75. And your point is????????

[Cuthbert Allgood]

99. As I said, I think he knows the importance and impact of the 6 million

and still feels that what Israel is doing right now is not right. One can hold both those view points. They aren't mutually exclusive.

[soandso]

91. Which the Palestinians have nothing to do with

I make an effort to be very fair about what's going on but to cite the Holocaust as any kind of justification for what's happened to the Palestinians is not right.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

93. I didn't do what you're claiming I did,

that's your interpretation, your assumption, that's on you and your interpretation/assumption is completely wrong, but, go ahead, you do you.

[sheshe2]

23. You know your numbers,

and you are correct 40,000 is greater than 6, bravo.

What you have not addressed is the breakdown of Terrorist Hamas vs innocent Palestinians in your numbers. You also made no mention that the war was started on October 7 with the vicious attack on Israel when innocents were burnt, raped and murdered up close and personal. That wasn't a war until they made it so.

As for the six that died, that was an execution, up front and personal as they were shot in the back of the head.

[onandup]

25. Even Netanyahoo said most Palestinian deaths are civilians

I don't think people have a big preference on how they die.

This conflict has gone on for decades with Israel acting as oppressor.

[sheshe2]

27. Please link to Netanyahoo's statement.

I also would like a link for your OP, I like to read a person's full statement and not just a few clips.

TY in advance.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

30. You make this claim, but I haven't seen anything like that from Netanyahoo,

Got a link for that?

[sheshe2]

37. My guess, crickets.

[onandup]

44. Link

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-death-toll-how-many-palestinians-has-israels-campaign-killed-2024-07-25/

[MarineCombatEngineer]

46. Sorry that I wasn't more specific,

I mean a link from a reliable source other than the HAMAs run Health Ministry.
But, thanks for the link.

[onandup]

47. Did you read it?

In May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 14,000 Hamas fighters and 16,000 Palestinian civilians had been killed in the war.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

48. Yes, I read it.

Again, thanks for the link.

[al bupp]

35. I think the war actually started in 1947 or thereabouts

[Cha]

17. Here are the names of those Executed by Fucking Hamas...

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23
Eden Yerushalmi, 24
Ori Danino, 25
Alex Lubnov, 32
Carmel Gat, 40
Almog Sarusi, 27

Hostage killings and new demands cast doubt in White House that Hamas wants a deal

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219426836

[MarineCombatEngineer]

18. Love your enthusiasm Cha,

keep up the good work on pushing back.

[Cha]

21. It's been almost a year since the Sadistic Butchering Hamas Terrorists Invaded

Israel and I'll Never lose the Horror and Rage I felt last year on October 7. I can only imagine how Strong Israelis are in the Aftermath of Losing their Loved Ones in the Massacre.

Hamas brought this on the Paslesianian Without Providing Any Bomb Shelters for them. They "looked Forward to the Martyrs. "

Mahalo

[Richard D]

50. For many . . .

. . . the story of the war started on October 8.

[sheshe2]

24. Thank you Cha for posting their ages as well.

Breaks my heart that we are nearly a year in with Hamas showing no effort to stop the war. They have had plenty of chances for a ceasefire and they have refused every single one of them.

[elias7]

16. Open air prison? Check out footage of Gaza before they invited destruction by invading a sovereign country

It could be a beautiful and autonomous land if they’d use the billions of dollars for infrastructure, electricity generation, water purifiers, etc. If Gaza were declared a Palestinian state (as the UN seems to already have done), would they be allowed to walk out in Israel or Egypt? They’d be in their own land. They are only “imprisoned” because they forced Israel to blockade them because of their incessant bombing. This is a prison of their own making. Bernie is not making sense to me.

[Cha]

19. Thank you for the Clarification, elias.

Facts that are left off.

ETA~ Incessant Suicide Bombing.

[iemanja]

69. Hamas bombed Israel

Not “they,” not all Gazans, but Hamas. Are you one of those people who think all Muslims attacked us on 9/11, or is it just Palestinians you can’t distinguish?

Oh, I remember you. No need to answer the question. You’ve already shared your views on Muslims with me.

That you would call an occupied territory with no control over its own borders an “autonomous” land says everything.

[BrianTheEVGuy]

26. Bernie should participate in the upcoming Gaza Pride Parade

There’s a million bucks for him (or his favorite charity) if he launches a pride parade in Gaza.

He’d learn a little bit about “oppression in Gaza”as part of the project as well... though it’s unlikely to go the way he wishes it would.

[JohnSJ]

28. Right before an election. I guess Sanders is implicitly telling those uncommitted votes not to vote for VP Harris.

Last edited Sun Sep 22, 2024, 08:04 PM - Edit history (1)

He did such a good job in 2016 dissuading his supporters not to vote for the Democratic nominee by saying it wasn’t his job to tell people who to vote for.

How to insure trump occupies the WH again, listen to Sanders.

He can’t wait until after the election before he starts saying cut off aid to Israel.

What a jerk. This election is so close right now that anything can upset the balance, and he decides let’s do this now.

He is effectively saying that VP Harris "is a party to war crimes"

[mdbl]

31. The only saving grace might be that I don't know anyone that thinks Dump can do any good there

So Bernie is blowing smoke into space right now. Dump is the most inept person ever at handling world affairs, unless he's bending over for Putin.

[JohnSJ]

33. That may be, but it sure doesn't tell his supporters, or the so called uncommitted to vote for VP Harris, and

that can make the difference between winning and losing this election.

He is telling this administration to stop aid to Israel because they are “committing genocide”

VP Harris made it clear she would not do that, so the only thing his demand is going to do is persuade his supporters not to vote for anyone, because he is saying this administration is committing “genocide”.

What a jackass

[PufPuf23]

34. Israel is now waging a war of aggression not self-defense. nt

[iemanja]

71. Have you seen any recent photos of Gaza?

How is that not aggression?

[PufPuf23]

73. Meant exactly what I posted regardless of Bernie Sanders.

Israel intends to expand the current Middle East War.

That is not good for the Democratic Party nor the USA.

[betsuni]

79. Agree.

[LexVegas]

56. Who? nt

[Ping Tung]

61. "No cause justifies the deaths of innocent people." - Albert Camus

[yagotme]

95. Like the Hamas or Hezbollah cause... nt

[Jk23]

87. When yopu start your letter with an obvious falsehood things are not going to go well.

"The people of Gaza have been trapped in an open-air prison for years, and the United States is complicit. The bombs that fall on schools, hospitals, and homes are being paid for by U.S. taxpayers. This cannot continue"


Once Isreal pulled out of Gaza there was nothing stopping the Palestinians from turning it into a Mid-Eastern Singapore.

[betsuni]

92. Yes.

[Oopsie Daisy]

94. Just because a letter is "sternly written" does not make it the equivalent of being "true and accurate".

So many things are wrong with that letter, but I'm grateful for the fact-checkers here who set the record straight and who put things into perspective. It's unclear to me why anyone would think that it's helpful, this close to the election, to start tarring Biden and Harris as being "war criminals". Honestly, that makes no sense to me. We need to elect Democrats and defeat Republicans. Anyone who thinks that cheap-shots and this kneecapping bullshit is necessary or helpful needs to check themselves.

[sheshe2]

97. Preach. Teach.

[yagotme]

96. An "open air prison" with 2 walls with Israel, and 1 wall with Egypt.

How is this entirely Israel's fault, again?