Vermont Senator and 2020 presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders called the current Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "racist" and "oppressive" toward the Palestinians at a CNN town hall event for Democratic candidates.
"What I believe is not radical," Sanders told the crowd. "I just believe that the United States should deal with the Middle East on a level playing field basis. In other words, the goal must be to try to bring people together and not just support one country, which is now run by a right-wing – dare I say – racist government."
The first Jewish candidate to win major support in the 2016 presidential elections, Sanders has been consistently critical of Netanyahu, who was just re-elected to a fifth term as prime minister.
"I'm not a great fan of his, and, frankly, I hope he loses his election," he told NBC News in the run-up to Israel's April 9th elections, denouncing Netanyahu's alignment with the far-right Otzmah Yehudit party and vow to annex settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Senator @BernieSanders: "Israel is run by a right wing - dare I say - racist government". Watch here: https://t.co/jV2xcdezRY
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) April 23, 2019
Sanders had previously condemned Netanyahu's controversial remark, aimed at mobilizing his right-wing voter base during the 2015 elections, that the Arabs were "turning out to vote in droves."
At the start of the year, Sanders slammed the "absurd" introduction of a bill introduced in the midst of a U.S. government shutdown that sought to protect states' rights to penalize boycotters of Israel.
Aiming to clarify his position on U.S.-Israel relations should he be elected, he played up his Jewish roots and Israeli kinship.
"I spent a number of months in Israel. I worked on a kibbutz for a while. I have family in Israel. I am not anti-Israel," Sanders said. "But the fact of the matter is that Netanyahu is a right-wing politician, who I think is treating the Palestinian people extremely unfairly."
He received resounding applause from the New Hampshire audience consisting primarily of college students attending Saint Anselm College in Manchester.
"I am 100% pro-Israel. Israel has every right to exist, and to exist in peace and security and not be subjected to terrorist attacks. But the United States needs to deal with not just Israel, but with the Palestinian people as well," he said.
