Hours After Bernie Defends Palestinians, Palestinians Shoot Rocket into Israeli Playground
A Palestinian rocket attack missed a Jewish school in the Israeli city of Sderot on Monday afternoon but damaged its adjacent playground in a scenario all too common in that region.
The school is located near the Gaza Strip, where violence against Israelis is ongoing.
A rocket fired from #Gaza just hit a children’s playground in the Israeli city of Sderot.
Children should never be targets. pic.twitter.com/2NU2Gvx6H2
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 24, 2020
This attack came just hours after Democratic presidential frontrunner and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders cited “bigotry” as the reason he would not attend the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s conference next week.
AIPAC’s stated mission is “to strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”
Sanders said Sunday on Twitter, “The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security. So do the Palestinian people. I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights. For that reason I will not attend their conference.
“As president, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and do everything possible to bring peace and security to the region.”
As president, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and do everything possible to bring peace and security to the region. 2/2
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 23, 2020
Falsely equating Israel’s desire for security with bigotry is nothing new for the Sanders campaign or its surrogates.
The senator’s campaign also had to fire a campaign staffer when his anti-Semitic comments on Twitter surfaced last year.
Sanders is one of many Democrats who are almost as quick as the Palestinians to blame Israel whenever violence erupts. Anything done in self-defense is treated as aggression by Israel, while Palestinian aggression is routinely excused or ignored.
Unfortunately for Sanders, his timing in speaking out against AIPAC couldn’t be worse. The attack Monday clearly demonstrates the need for such organizations to exist.
In contrast, President Donald Trump has been dubbed the “most pro-Israel president ever” and has been very supportive of the Jewish state. In a bold move, he relocated the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, which signified America’s acceptance of Israeli sovereignty over the city.
With Sanders’ support in the Jewish community faltering, he has attempted to garner its support by pointing to his Jewish upbringing as a main influence in his life.
Last week, his campaign released an ad and accompanying tweet in which Sanders said he was “proud to be Jewish,” according to The Times of Israel and several other news outlets.
Curiously, the ad and the tweet have since vanished.
Meanwhile in Israel, the Sderot school’s dean, Rabbi Dovid Fendel, oversees cleanup of the playground following the rocket attack.
Footage of police clearing the debris from the impact at the playground in Sderot. pic.twitter.com/5ZLUNR6WBR
— ~Legacy~ נפתלי בן מתתיהו (@Immort4l_Legacy) February 24, 2020
“We build playgrounds and they destroy them — but it won’t stop us,” Fendel told Israel National News.
As Sanders and other Democrats use their rhetoric against the state of Israel, the emboldened Palestinians will continue to lob explosives at their neighbor.
Let’s see if any of Sanders’ supporters will begin to notice whose side he’s on.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
