Sanders Declines To Pander To Israel Lobby In AIPAC Speech. At the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC) conference, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivered a hawkish, right wing inflammatory speech that was met with raucous applause. On the other hand, her opponent, Bernie Sanders, who was denied the opportunity to address AIPAC remotely, gave a speech in Salt Lake City, Utah, which was pragmatic and sharply contrasted with Clinton’s speech. Unlike Clinton, and all the Republican presidential candidates who spoke at AIPAC, Sanders called attention to Palestinian human rights issues. He said security meant “achieving self- determination, civil rights, and economic wellbeing for the Palestinian people.” Sanders also said peace meant ending the “occupation of Palestinian territory,” and in an interview on MSNBC about his remarks, he added, “If we are going to go forward, it cannot be that the United States just takes the side of Israel.”Sanders called for an end to the economic blockade of Gaza, which is typically third rail in U. S. He also suggested peace “will mean a sustainable and equitable distribution of precious water resources so that Israel and Palestine can both thrive as neighbors.”“Right now, Israel controls 8. Jews, Mel Gibson, and Hacksaw Ridge. September 9, 2016 by David Dubrow Leave a. You’ll shift foreign policy to always put Israel’s interests before America. Lionsgate Films has sent us the official poster for Mel Gibson's upcoming film Hacksaw Ridge (2016), starring Teresa Palmer, Sam Worthington, Vince Vaughn, Andrew. Hacksaw Ridge is rated R for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including. Israel recalls UNESCO ambassador in protest at Jerusalem. Locust swarm hits Israel as a million insects cross border from Egypt. Mel Gibson keeps a lid on Oscar award predictions for his film Hacksaw Ridge Just wants. Israel Field; North American; Northern Asia-Pacific; Southern Africa-Indian Ocean. In Poland, Adventists gear up for release of Mel Gibson’s WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector. Adventist Students Share Water in Mexico and Scarves in Israel. Would Desmond Doss Be Happy With ? West Bank. Inadequate water supply has contributed to the degradation and desertification of Palestinian land. A lasting a peace will have to recognize Palestinians are entitled to control their own lives, and there is nothing human life needs more than water,” Sanders asserted. However, the. Sanders started his speech with statements about. This is a standard position for the international human rights community, however, it is anathema to the political class in Washington. Referring to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in 2. Sanders offered a series of objections to Hamas’ actions. But he also condemned Israel for its collective punishment of Palestinians.“I . I condemned the bombing of hospitals, schools and refugee camps,” Sanders recalled. The international community must come together to help Gaza recover.”There is not a word in Clinton’s speech about the plight of people in Gaza, let alone the plight of Palestinians in general. And, the fact is, whatever Israel’s “right to exist” might mean to right- wing politicians in Israel and pro- Israel politicians like Clinton, it certainly has a different meaning to Sanders. It means the people of Israel should not have to face terrorist attacks from Palestine, but that does not justify Israel’s occupation, its massive bombing campaigns, its blockade of Gaza, and its construction of settlements.“I join much of the international community, including the U. S. State Department and European Union, in voicing my concern that Israel. It is also not acceptable that the Netanyahu government decided to withhold hundreds of millions of Shekels in tax revenue from the Palestinians, which it is supposed to collect on their behalf.”Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the AIPAC Policy Conference, March 2. Let’s go back to the speech by Clinton. As journalist Juan Cole wrote, she “announced a diction and a set of policies toward the Middle East that differ in no particular from those of far right Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.” She would “squander and throw away the diplomatic opening President Obama made with Tehran.”Clinton lambasted “Donald Trump for saying he. Why 'Hacksaw Ridge' Matters to Adventists Adventist Review “Hacksaw Ridge” is the story of Corporal Desmond Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist combat medic who single. I do not think so,” Sanders replied. I think, for example, that the growth of settlements in Palestinian territory is not acceptable to me, and not conducive to the peace process.” He also condemned Israel’s destruction of Gaza. On MSNBC, Sanders sharply condemned Netanyahu and blasted Trump for not understanding “this is a right wing politician. She said, “One of the first things I. She linked the movement to the rise of antisemitism in Europe. Sanders does not support the BDS movement. He unfortunately suggested in an interview with Chris Hayes on MSNBC that there is some “antisemitism” in BDS. Still, he said, “If people want to attack Israel for their policies, I think that is fair game.”In other words, Sanders understands a president cannot commit themselves to dismantling this social movement, especially when people have First Amendment- protected rights to take action against the policies of Israel. Screen shot from Jewish Voice for Peace on Twitter. Let’s be clear. According to Juan Cole, Israel, a country of 8 million, is occupying 4. Palestinians. Highlighting the huge differences between the two Democratic presidential candidates is not to diminish the parts of Sanders’ pragmatic position on Israel and Palestine, which unfairly spread responsibility when Israel is an apartheid state and has virtually all the power to abandon policies of aggression for a path to peace. However, there is a critical point to make about a speech, which openly calls for Palestinian human rights to be respected, that Sanders wanted to deliver remotely to AIPAC. Sanders sent a copy of his prepared remarks. The speech treats Palestinians like human beings. It insists that if Israel has a “right to exist,” certainly Palestinians have a right to exist as well. It does not omit the atrocious acts of Israel against Palestinians to pander to a powerful lobby group. It is not hawkish and boisterous in its tone. It is a sober attempt to grapple with the fact that the U. S. He didn’t use the word Jewish. He referred to his time on a kibbutz in the 1. Israel has a “right to exist.” But as Weiss pointed out, Sanders did not define that “right to exist” nor did he call Israel a Jewish State and “refer to his own Jewishness.”In other words, he avoided a lot of the pandering that typically is a hallmark of speeches directed at Israeli advocacy groups in the U. S. Obviously, AIPAC had to block. Sanders would have called attention to actions, which AIPAC works tirelessly to downplay and coerce U. S. It sees much of what Sanders said as “delegitimizing” Israel just because it forces Israel to defend gross violations of human rights. The biggest issue with what Sanders said is that he could directly challenge Clinton over her embrace of Netanyahu and her hawkish, right wing inflammatory remarks. He could highlight the major differences between her and why his position is a better, fairer, and more pragmatic approach to peace in the Middle East. Clinton cannot even be bothered to say a word about Palestinians and how they have a right to live free of oppression. However, the pressure from AIPAC and other Israel lobby groups is so immensely powerful in Washington that Sanders probably does not want to draw the ire of those groups. He will let this moment pass and stay focused on his domestic economic message. Nevertheless, if the.
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