At a Bernie Sanders rally in Boston on Saturday, October 3, members of our group, Boston Students for Justice in Palestine, were threatened with arrest after the campaign staff had requested the removal of a banner that read "Will Ya #FeelTheBern 4 Palestine??!"
The video of the incident was posted online and immediately began attracting media attention. Within 48 hours, and after thousands of video views, Sanders's campaign manager reached out to our group and apologized for the mistreatment. He also acknowledged that the sign was "appropriate" and "in the spirit of many other signs [at the rally]."
The incident begs a question that many progressives have been grappling with: when is the time to talk about justice in Palestine? The issue of Palestinian human rights is rarely at the forefront of U.S. politics. Ironically, since its creation in 1948, Israel has become the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid at a whopping $121 billion (and counting) in U.S. taxpayer dollars, most of which contribute to military assistance. And how is this military aid put to use? Last week, 13-year-old Abdel Rahman Abdullah was shot in the heart by an Israeli soldier. Since 2000, Defense for Children International Palestine has documented 1,952 Palestinian child fatalities in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. These tragedies would not be possible without the United States' direct and overwhelming diplomatic and military support to Israel.
Human rights advocates often attempt to expose these alarming figures; however, their efforts are routinely silenced by Israel's fiercest defenders, as documented by a Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal report released last week. This censorship prevents a real debate about Israel and Palestine from taking place in this country. As the event that transpired at Sanders' Boston rally demonstrates, even the most progressive politicians and campaign staff are influenced by the chilling effect of silencing tactics such as false accusations of terrorism support and anti-Semitism.
Sanders has spoken boldly on many other social justice issues, including the overwhelming gap between the rich and poor, gender inequality, rising school tuition, corporate greed, and climate change. As a group that fights against all forms of oppression, we applaud his determination to work toward solutions combating systemic racism in the U.S., following his recent acknowledgement and support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
What we seek now is moral clarity and leadership from Sanders on a critical foreign policy issue, Israel and Palestine. In particular, we are concerned about the false symmetry he presents between Israelis and Palestinians, as if they are equally to blame for the status quo when Palestinians have been living under military occupation for nearly half a century as their land is stolen from them on a daily basis. In his endorsement of Sanders, Dr. Cornel West, a scholar and activist who often highlights the connection between injustices at home and abroad, shared this sentiment, "...we have a vicious Israeli occupation that needs to be highlighted, because occupations are wrong. I don't hear my dear brother Bernie hitting that, and I'm not gonna sell my precious Palestinian brothers and sisters down the river only because of U.S. politics."
Sanders has occasionally voiced criticisms of the excessive violence of the Israeli military. Yet, his endorsement of Israel's right to "defend" itself last summer, when over 1,462 Palestinian civilians were killed, is quite alarming to his liberal and progressive base, which includes many young voters as well as Black and Latino Americans. A July 2014 Gallup poll found that "18 to 29-year olds said by a two-to-one margin (51-25) that Israel's actions in Gaza were unjustified." The same Gallup poll also found that Black and Latino respondents blamed Israel more than the Palestinians for the violence that occurred during the summer of 2014. Additionally, 47% of Democratic "elites" polled by Frank Luntz this summer said that they believe Israel is "racist" in its policies. Concerns about Israel have become even more pronounced in the Democratic party after nearly 60 members of Congress boycotted a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that was organized by Speaker John Boehner without the consent of the White House.
Young voters, who believe in Sanders' potential to ignite a 'political revolution,' expect to see him stand behind his progressive base, as they stand behind him. To move forward, it must be clear whether or not the ideals of Palestinian freedom and equality have a place in his campaign.
And as we anticipate the first Democratic debate on Tuesday, we hope to get an answer to the question we have been asking: Isn't it time to talk about justice in Palestine?