Why Does Diane Rehm Think Bernie Sanders Is Israeli?

Josh Nathan-Kazis June 10, 2015

No, Bernie Sanders does not hold Israeli citizenship.

That much was apparent to all but a few internet oddballs. Or so we all thought till this morning, when nationally syndicated NPR host Diane Rehm quizzed the Jewish Democratic presidential candidate about the topic.

In an interview on The Diane Rehm Show today, Rehm stated, wrongly, that Sanders was Israeli.

“Senator, you have dual citizenship with Israel,” Rehm said.

“No, I do not have dual citizenship with Israel … I don’t know where that questioning came from,” Sanders said, taken aback. “No, I’m an American citizen, period.”

Rehm went on to attribute the question to “a list we have gotten.”

“That’s some of the nonsense that goes on in the internet, but that’s absolutely not true,” Sanders said.

“Interesting,” Rehm responded.

Interesting, indeed.

Sanders, who is Jewish, has enjoyed an early surge since he declared his presidential candidacy in May, drawing large crowds to campaign events in Iowa. Polls still have him running a distant second to frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

UPDATE: In a statement posted to Facebook, Rehm apologized for the misstatement of fact.

Rehm noted that she had apologized to Sanders on the air. “I want to apologize as well to all our listeners for having made an erroneous statement,” she wrote. “I am sorry for the mistake. However, I am glad to play a role in putting this rumor to rest.”

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO