Sanders Changes Course, Says Israel Is Committing Genocide
On Wednesday, Bernie Sanders, the independent senator of Vermont, declared that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza, using the term for the first time in reference to the ongoing war there.
In a statement, Sanders began by saying that Israel had the right to defend itself in the wake of the attack on October 7, 2023, by the terrorist organization Hamas that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of hundreds of hostages. But the senator said that over the course of the past two years, Israel has “waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people,” resulting in actions that many international legal experts have categorized as a genocide. Israel is now undertaking an invasion of Gaza City, which has been condemned by many governments — though not the U.S. More than 64,000 Palestinians have died since the war began, the Associated Press reports.
An independent United Nations commission found that Israel was committing a genocide against Palestinians in a report released Tuesday, and Sanders wrote that he agrees with their findings.
“The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” he said.
This marks a significant shift for Sanders, who initially refrained from using the term even as he criticized actions taken by the Israeli government and advocated for blocking the sale of arms and weaponry to the country. In an interview with CNN in July, Sanders was asked if he would call the conflict in Gaza a genocide, as some of his congressional colleagues already had. He demurred, noting that it’s a “legal term.”
In his statement, Sanders reiterated his call for the United States to stop arms sales to Israel. “I recognize that many people may disagree with this conclusion. The truth is, whether you call it genocide or ethnic cleansing or mass atrocities or war crimes, the path forward is clear. We, as Americans, must end our complicity in the slaughter of the Palestinian people,” he said.
Sanders was not the only Vermont politician to announce a shift in their thinking on Wednesday. Representative Becca Balint issued her own op-ed, which also argued that Israel is committing a genocide. In the article, Balint invoked her family history, writing that her grandfather was murdered on a death march from Mauthausen prior to the end of World War II and that she holds an “emotional connection” to Israel.
“The trauma of the Holocaust serves as a reminder of the power of speaking out. I feel compelled to speak out because I know there are so many others like me who are horrified by what they see,” she said.