Bernie Sanders slams US support of war crimes by Netanyahu's government

He avoids the term "war crimes" but he is clear about what is going on

Bernie Sanders speaks out on the US support of Netanyahu’s war against the civilians of Gaza, in which it is clear that Hamas is (at most) a secondary target for the moment. And, critically, he is opposing the Biden Administration’s proposal for supplementary military aid to facilitate Netanyahu’s war which not only flouts any semblance of a “rules-based international order” but directly damages America’s foreign policy interests, as well.

Sanders made the important point that the number of civilians killed by the Israeli military since October 7 already exceeds in absolute numbers the civilians killed in the Russia-Ukraine War since Russia’s 2022 invasion. “Israel’s indiscriminate approach is deeply offensive to most Americans, is in violation of U.S. and international law, and undermines the prospects for lasting peace and security.”

For whatever reason, the speech as delivered and show in the video has notable differences to the prepared text, which also is highly critical of the Biden Administration support for Netanyahu’s war. This portion begins in the video at 7:50; the changes in the spoken speech are shown in brackets:

M[adame] President, the Biden administration has, appropriately, [and I applaud them for this,] been trying to get the Israelis to be more targeted in their approach, but there is little evidence that [they have] succeeded. Just today, [just today,] airstrikes[, Israeli airstrikes,] hit two UN schools housing displaced people. [Today. Two UN schools housing displaced Palestinians.] More than 900 [Palestinians] have been killed since Friday. Israeli evacuation orders are delivered with little notice to people with no electricity and limited communications service[s], most of whom have already been displaced[, have already been traumatized,] and [already] lack basic necessities. And [then,] even then, [the bombing continues].

[So Madame President, even as we proceed on this supplementary bill which has some very, very important issues, count me in 100% for the humantiarian support that we need not only in Gaza, but all over this world. Count me in for that. Count me in for serious discussions on how we improve water security. Count me in to help the people of Ukraine withstand Putin’s terrible invasion. But do not count me in to give another $10 billion to a rightwing extremist government in Israel - by the way, whose rightwing Prime Minister, I guess their their trial for corruption is continuing - don’t count me in to support that $10 billion.

As seen in the video, he ended his floor speech there without including this final paragraph from the prepared text on his website:

Israel sometimes bombs areas people have been told are safe. How, then, does giving Netanyahu another $10 billion with no strings attached help advance the critical policy goal of the United States to protect civilians and allow for a lasting peace? The U.S. must use its substantial leverage to accomplish this, and any additional military aid to Israel must have conditions attached to secure the necessary changes in policy. We cannot be complicit in the current Israeli approach.¹ [my emphasis]

It’s notable that he rendered the following portion of the text in a more emphatic way than the prepared remarks. Floor speech version is in brackets:

At a time when 1.8 million people have been displaced from their homes and are struggling every day to get the food, water, medical supplies, and fuel they need to survive.

[At a time when 1.8 million people, Palestinians, have been displaced from their homes and are struggling every day - they’ve been thrown out of their homes, they don’t know where they are going, they’re struggling to get the food, and water, and medical supplies, and fuel: Just. To. Survive.

And I want you to think about what’s going on with the children, a lot of children in that country {sic}, what is going on psychically, looking up into the sky, is a bomb gonna fall? Where am I spending the night? How do I get food. That’s what’s going on there right now.]

After nearly two months of this since October 7, we know what Netanyahu’s partisans have to say about this: Israel has no responsibility for any of this, it’s all the fault of Hamas, human shields, yadda, yadda. Just listen to any one of the serving Israeli military officials that American (and German) news shows interview at length.

Katie Couric interviews New York Times reporters Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman who wrote the recent story, "Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than A Year Ago."² The incompetence, arrogance and irresponsibility of Bibi Netanyahu and his government are a key part of the still-unfolding horror:

The Times of Israel is reporting today:

The top commanders of the Israel Defense Forces were aware, in the hours, days and months that preceded the Hamas-led devastating October 7 onslaught in southern Israel, that the Palestinian terror group was drilling intensively for a planned large-scale invasion, and the Hamas leader even said publicly that this was his plan — but the military still didn’t act and even diverted forces away from the Gaza front, believing that this was empty boasting and that the terror group wasn’t interested in war, according to Hebrew media reports Monday.

In the latest evidence of information and assessments that should have enabled the Israeli military leadership to prevent the mass invasion, Channel 12 reported Monday evening that the intelligence officer of the Gaza Division prepared a presentation in July 2022 setting out “The Mass Invasion Plan of Hamas.”

One diagram from the presentation showed some 20 elite Nukhba Hamas terror squads invading southern Israel from Gaza. The presentation said the terror squads would be accompanied by engineering teams to breach the border fence and defenses in multiple places. The document reportedly included the sentence: “This invasion constitutes the gravest threat that IDF forces are facing in the defense [of Israel].”³ [my emphasis]

Netanyahu’s government was obviously bad when it came to protecting Israel from attack, the very thing they constantly emphasize with the saying, “Israel has the right to defend itself,” which of course is a standard element of international law.

But they are masters of distraction. They just rolled out a new theme, which is basically denouncing Western feminists for supposedly not being concerned enough about rape occurring during Hamas operations. Of course, in the real world, the use of rape in war has been a major concern of feminists for decades, e.g., the “rape camps” during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s.⁴

The conservative Jerusalem Post presents a column with the title “The anti-Zionist sex: Feminist organizations side with Hamas,” with the additional (sleazy and more-than-vaguely threatening) sub-head, “The October 7 massacre brought feminist organizations and jihadist rapists into one bed.”⁵ This, of course, is a combination of rightwing woman-hating and standard wartime atrocity-propaganda. Since there is never a shortage of atrocities in actuals wars, there is no need to make them up or exaggerate them, but it’s a standard feature of war propaganda to do so anyway.

At least Netanyahu’s government hasn’t forgotten how to do war propaganda. Although pissing off women’s-rights in every one of the (relatively few) countries that overtly support Israel’s current war on the civilians of Gaza might also not be an ideal propaganda approach, either. Feminists=Muslim rapists? “Feminist organizations side with Hamas”? Seriously, that’s what they’re going with?

When the truth is gruesome enough to persuade anyone persuadable, gilding the propaganda lily with exaggerations can be counter-productive. Although the “counter” element is often not enough to diminish the initial psychological effect of the claims. As Nir Hasson and Liza Rozovsky recently wrote:

Politicians, army officers, search-and-rescue volunteers and social-media activists have all provided testimonies about Hamas' atrocities on October 7. Most are supported by extensive evidence, but a few have been proved untrue, providing ammunition to deniers of the historic massacre. ...

A variety of evidence is available on Hamas' cruelty, which includes the murder of parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents. There were sexual assaults, rapes and mutilations, while some victims were bound and some of the dead were desecrated. Some homes were burned with the people still inside.

None of this is in dispute. But some people have disseminated unverified information on the events that day.⁶

1. Sanders, Bernie (2023): PREPARED REMARKS: Sanders Expresses Concerns About Foreign Aid Supplemental Bill December 4, 2023. Bernie Sanders Senate website 12/04/2023. <https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/prepared-remarks-sanders-expresses-concerns-about-foreign-aid-supplemental-bill/> (Accessed: 2023-05-12).

2. Could Israel have prevented Hamas’ October 7th attack? Katie Couric YouTube channel 12/04/2023. (Accessed: 2023-04-12).

Bergman, Ronen & Goldman, Adam (2023): Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than A Year Ago. New York Times 11/30/2023. <https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html> (Accessed: 2023-04-12).

Madarang, Charisma (2023): Israel Knew Hamas’ Attack Plan a Year Before Oct. 7: Report. Rolling Stone 11/30/2023. <https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/israel-hamas-attack-knew-over-year-1234906803/> (Accessed: 2023-04-12).

3. More details unveiled of IDF intel on Oct. 7 plans, consults hours before Hamas attack. Times of Israel 12/05/2023. <https://www.timesofisrael.com/more-details-unveiled-of-idf-intel-on-oct-7-plans-consults-hours-before-hamas-attack/> (Accessed: 2023-04-12).

4. Salzmann, Todd (1998): Rape Camps as a Means of Ethnic Cleansing: Religious, Cultural, and Ethical Responses to Rape Victims in the Former Yugoslavia. Human Rights Quarterly 20: 2, 348-378. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/762769> (Accessed: 2023-04-12).

5. Asa-El, Amotz (2023): The anti-Zionist sex: Feminist organizations side with Hamas. The October 7 massacre brought feminist organizations and jihadist rapists into one bed. Jerusalem Post 12/01/2023. <https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-775995> (Accessed: 2023-04-12).

6. Hasson, Nir & Rozovsky, Liza (2023): Hamas Committed Documented Atrocities. But a Few False Stories Feed the Deniers. Haaretz 12/04/2023. <https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-04/ty-article-magazine/.premium/hamas-committed-documented-atrocities-but-a-few-false-stories-feed-the-deniers/0000018c-34f3-da74-afce-b5fbe24f0000> (Accessed: 2023-04-12).