Bernie Sanders, 82, announces run for a fourth Senate term

• Published date: 07 May 2024
• Author: RON KAMPEAS/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Sanders, 82, an independent from Vermont, made history in 2016 as the first Jewish candidate to win a major party's presidential primary, and ran again in 2020. In both primaries, he finished in second to the Democratic nominee. He is considered the de-facto leader of progressives in the Senate

In an eight-minute campaign launch speech posted online Monday, Sanders called to suspend US military aid to Israel during the war. He has been among the most prominent critics of Israel's conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza, although he has also drawn criticism from some on the left for not condemning Israel more harshly.

"On October 7th, 2023, Hamas – a terrorist organization – began the war in Gaza with a horrific attack on Israel that killed 1,200 men, women, and children and took more than 230 hostages, some of whom remain in captivity today," Sanders said in the video. "Israel had the absolute right to defend itself against this terrorist attack, but it did not and does not have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people, which is exactly what it is doing."

Sanders, who spent months in his youth on an Israeli kibbutz, has framed his criticism of Israel around the country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sanders challenges US military aid

"According to humanitarian organizations, famine and starvation are now imminent," Sanders said. "In my view, US tax dollars should not be going to the extremist Netanyahu government to continue its devastating war against the Palestinian people."

Also on Monday, in a separate post, Sanders expressed alarm at Israeli plans to invade Rafah, the last major redoubt of Hamas in Gaza, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge.

"For months, the US has warned against an attack," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Netanyahu ignored the warnings. Now an assault is...