I find it despicable that some Democrats think Israel should not have responded to the thousands of rockets and bombs the Palestinians sent into Israel. In his opinion piece over the past weekend, Bernie Sanders said. "The U.S. Must Stop Being an Apologist for the Netanyahu Government." In the article, Sanders said, "Over more than a decade of his right-wing rule in Israel, Mr. Netanyahu has cultivated an increasingly intolerant and authoritarian type of racist nationalism." (1)
Sanders is one of many American politicians who regularly uses the word racist against people who do not agree with their position on an issue.
It appears that the left is the expert in using the word racist in America. Now they want to spread that vitriol around the world. Is it possible that any government in the world that does something that Bernie Sanders and the squad doesn't like will also be called racist?
Another Socialist Democrat who is against President Biden's support for Israel's right to defend itself is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (2) She, along with 63 other House members, made similar warnings to the State Department in 2020, with an urgent request to "press the Israeli government to prevent more families from being forcibly transferred and having their homes destroyed," along with a more recent request in March to investigate the destruction of Palestinian homes. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez also criticized President Joe Biden's brief remarks on Wednesday in which he said Israel has a right to defend itself.
"My expectation and hope is that this will be closing down (this conflict) sooner rather than later," the president told reporters on Wednesday after his conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (3)
The Biden administration was applauded by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, after it offered $230 million in funding for so-called Palestinian refugees, sidestepping a 2018 law that prevents U.S. taxpayer dollars from supporting the Palestinian Authority because, at the time, it was considered to be a terrorist nation. It seems to me if we are giving $230 million to the Palestinian authority; we should have some type of ability to monitor what they do with the money. If a portion of the money is used to pay for the missiles used against Israel, then it seems to me the funding should stop.
I find it hard to understand that the Democrats place blame for the attacks on the Israeli government. John Dickerson, the host this past week on Face the Nation, interviewed the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and asked him if the attacks were his fault and whether the attacks were enabling him to keep his position as Prime Minister.
Over the years, there have been many stories that aid like the $230-million sent this year was being used to build tunnels and buy rockets and missiles to attack Israel. The money was earmarked economic relief for the people of Gaza. If the Palestinians have used the money in their war effort, it means that the people of Gaza continue to live in wrenching poverty. Was the money used to buy cement to build housing or was it used to build underground tunnels to attack Israel?
How is it possible that American politicians can say out of one side of their mouths that they believe that Israel has the right to defend itself, and then on the other side, that we should penalize Israel for defending itself? These politicians are not condemning the Palestinians for sending over 3,000 rockets and missiles into Jerusalem and other cities in Israel.
Twenty-five Democratic senators believe "Israel has the right to defend itself from Hamas' rocket attacks, in a manner proportionate with the threat its citizens are facing." (4) Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who has been a senator for less than 3 months, is trying to tell the president that Israel should have responded in a manner proportionate to the attack. Does the senator know what the proper response is for over 3,000 rockets raining down on any country? How does he make the decision that Israel's response wasn't measured?
Instead of the world criticizing Israel, it should take some time to condemn the actions of Palestine and Hamas over decades in their attacks against Israel. How do these people ignore statements made many times over by the Palestinian leadership that their country is dedicated to destroying Israel?
NOTES:
1. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/opinion/bernie-sanders-israel-palestine-gaza.html
2. https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/alexandria-ocasio-cortez
3. https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/benjamin-netanyahu
4. https://www.weny.com/story/43898674/more-than-25-democratic-senators-call-for-immediate-ceasefire-in-middle-east
