In Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of Joe Biden, foreign policy — and Israel — go unmentioned
Bernie Sanders, right, endorses Joe Biden, left, in an online webcast on April 13, 2020. Image by Screenshot
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders joined his old friend Joe Biden in a live webcast to endorse him on Monday, and the two candidates left standing in the Democratic primaries emphasized that they agree on more than what they disagree on.
“Today I am asking all Americans, I am asking every Democrat, I am asking every independent, I’m asking a lot of Republicans to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy which I endorse to make certain that we defeat somebody who I believe, and I’m speaking just for myself, now is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country,” Sanders said.
Biden audibly sighed with gratitude. “Your endorsement means a great deal, it means a great deal to me,” he said.
Israel and foreign policy weren’t mentioned at all in the 36-minute exchange, despite the fact that Sanders was the first Jewish candidate to be the front-runner in a major-party nominating contest, and that he has worked to move the Democratic Party’s views on the Jewish state to the left.
Sanders has sharply criticized the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the longtime Israeli leader racist. He has also said that he would leverage aid to Israel to influence the country’s policy, and has aligned with pro-Palestinian figures, including some who have made statements seen as anti-Semitic.
Instead, Biden asked Sanders to talk about the issues Sanders believed to be most urgent. Biden accepted Sanders’ demand for a $15 minimum wage, forgiving student debt and free community colleges, although the candidates seemingly still differed over a key Sanders demand, free universal health care. Biden said he would endeavor to make health care more affordable and available.
They also spoke of their long friendship and joked about playing chess online together.
“We’ll bore everybody for a few hours,” Sanders said.
The post In Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of Joe Biden, foreign policy — and Israel — go unmentioned appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
