Is Israel on the radar for Bernie Sanders?

Is Israel on the radar for Bernie Sanders?
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Quote:

...Sanders had a bar mitzvah and was raised in a "large Jewish community full of striving middle class Jews who wanted to get up through the education system," said Alan Abbey, currently director of Internet and media for the Jerusalem-based Shalom Hartman Institute but formerly a political reporter for the Burlington Free Press in the early 1980s, when Sanders was first elected mayor of Vermont's largest city. Abbey described Sanders as a "frumpy" politician who was "really able to connect with people and capture their imaginations." ...Sanders also spent time on an Israeli kibbutz following his graduation from the University of Chicago in the 1960s. Yet in Congress, Israel has been far from the forefront of his agenda, taking a backseat to issues like income inequality, challenging Wall Street, and raising the minimum wage. In the process, Sanders has become someone many consider the darling of the American political left. "Sanders has been relatively quiet as a senator on Israel issues," Tevi Troy, who served as the White House liaison to the Jewish community under president George W. Bush, told JNS.org. "Compared to Hillary Clinton, Sanders has been consistent in his role as a backbencher on Israel, while Hillary has gone back and forth a bit." ...But during a town hall meeting last August in Cabot, Vt., when Sanders was verbally attacked by pro-Palestinian activists who yelled expletives at him for condemning Hamas for firing rockets at Israeli civilians, Sanders responded to the hecklers with pro-Israel comments. "You have a situation where Hamas is sending missiles into Israel... and you know where some of those missiles are coming from? They're coming from populated areas," Sanders said. "Hamas is very clear. Their view is that Israel should not have a right to exist." After the activists replied to him, "********, **** Israel," Sanders went on to explain that there are more pressing issues in the Middle East, such as the Islamic State terror group, which he condemned for attempting to turn parts of Iraq and Syria into a "7th Century caliphate" that is suppressing women's rights. During the same meeting, however, Sanders described Israel's Operation Protective Edge in Gaza as an "overreaction." "His statement blaming Israel for 'overreacting' to Hamas missiles, incitement, and terror tunnels is worrisome," Troy told JNS.org. Sanders has also been outspoken in his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the recent NPR interview with Rehm, he said he is "not a great fan of Netanyahu." He was also the first senator to announce that he would boycott Netanyahu's much-debated speech to Congress in March. Sanders called the speech "opportunistic" and said he thought Netanyahu was using it as part of his campaign for re-election in Israel. ...Abbey believes that Sanders would continue many of the same policies as President Barack Obama on Israel and the Middle East. Obama and Netanyahu have had a rocky relationship, particularly regarding their disagreements on how to deal with Iran's nuclear program. Nevertheless, Abbey feels that due to his Jewish upbringing and the time he spent in Israel, Sanders as president would bring a unique understanding about the Jewish state. "I think there would be a piece of Bernie that would understand Israel and get the Israeli mentality more than Obama has and even Hillary Clinton would, despite her close contacts with Israel and American Jews over the last few decades," Abbey said. "Bibi (Netanyahu) and Bernie would certainly disagree on many issues, but they would do it from a place of deep understanding and respect," he said.

sorry for the length, I took out a lot of the article but It would have been difficult to take out more and still maintain the substance of the piece.

My own position on Israel is complicated, perhaps not as complicated as Bernie's but I can definitely relate.

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