Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumDissent On Israel Not Permitted At Bernie Sanders Event
In 2004, while President George W. Bush was running for re-election, he developed a sinister reputation for aggressively banishing political dissent from his events. Bush “rewrote the playbook for organizing campaign rallies,” USA Today declared, ejecting from them people who scrawled anti-war messages on signs and shirts. The ACLU sued and successfully settled with the federal government over one couple’s thwarted attempts to wear anti-Bush t-shirts to a 2004 rally. One political science professor even compared Bush to Richard Nixon over the suppressive behavior at these events.
Fast forward to 2015, this past Saturday, when Bernie Sanders, an increasingly viable contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, held one of his biggest campaign rallies to date, drawing more than 20,000 people to an event at the Boston convention center. Among those visitors were a number of young activists from Boston Students for Justice in Palestine, who were curious about Sanders’ position on the occupied territories. They had a sign with them; in a playful nod to one of Sanders’ campaign slogans, it simply asked, “Will Ya Feel The Bern For Palestine?” The activists say they were well-received by other Sanders supporters in the crowd.
But staffers working for a candidate widely viewed as one of the most progressive members of the Senate were apparently not happy. Security was made aware of a threat: Some students who support Sanders were holding a sign with a question on it. A tactic right out of the Bush campaign “playbook” went into action.
“They told us to either put the sign away or leave,” said Sana Hashmani, one of the student activists. “We asked why, and they said that Bernie’s campaign staff had said the sign had to go.”
https://theintercept.com/2015/10/05/dissent-on-israel-not-permitted-at-bernie-sanders-event/
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Little Tich
(6,171 posts)I for one would love to know.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)For some reason you seem to have missed all the times he has been asked these questions and has given answers.
Little Tich
(6,171 posts)For example, most if not all EU countries consider the settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be illegal and want them removed, does he support that? Then there's BDS - if Bernie wants two states, wouldn't that mean that he's pro-BDS like the EU? Will he recognize the State of Palestine? What about military support? What about equal rights for all Israeli citizens? Does he support taking Israel to the ICC? What about the Gaza blockade? Return of the Palestinian refugees?
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)would only LOSE Bernie votes with Americans. Not with you, but with the VAST majority of Americans. Your contention that one who supports two states MUST support BDS is nothing but complete fantastical bullshit.
King_David
(14,851 posts)Expect the Republicans to try that.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)trying to tie whoever the Democratic candidate is to bds - we need to be sure that doesn't happen.
Little Tich
(6,171 posts)But frankly, any specific information on what Bernie Sanders' position on the I/P is scarce. If he would say "I oppose BDS of the settlements" it would be in itself a strong and definite policy statement that everyone, even me would understand.
As it is now, I can only surmise that his honesty and farsighted policies on other matters will translate to a moral policy on Israel, and that he won't do what the pro-Israel lobby tells him. We probably differ on what that moral policy would be, but for me it's not so important exactly what it is as long as there's a moral justification.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Excerpt:
But Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told Boston.com Monday night that the incident ”100 percent” should not have happened and that the staffer never should have asked the students to take the sign down.
Weaver said the individual, whom he described as a “low-level volunteer,” will no longer be working campaign events.
“We’ve communicated to our staff to make sure nothing like this happens again,” he said.
Weaver also said he reached out to the three individuals asked to leave to let them know the incident should not have happened and to apologize on behalf on the campaign.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/10/05/bernie-sanders-campaign-says-pro-palestine-activists-should-never-have-been-kicked-out-boston-rally/QbqJeTYKFi4shsKlgk9fPK/story.html?s_campaign=bcom%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)R. Daneel Olivaw
(12,606 posts)
King_David
(14,851 posts)At all times ,the views of half this group on Israel would never be seen by any volunteer on such campaigns.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)King_David
(14,851 posts)
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)King_David
(14,851 posts)Not volunteers or part of his campaign.
Mondoweiss and Blumenthal and similar mindsets disagree with you that Bernie Sanders is what you desperately want him to be. 
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)
bemildred
(90,061 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)perhaps this is some sort of feeble attempt to put pressure on Bernie not to be too pro-Israeli or something, and then the pro-Israeli people picked it up too as an example of "bias" for the opposite reason.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)I think he should've waited to get a statement from the Sanders campaign before running with the story.
I do believe that SJP and other groups are going to try to make their presence known at future Sanders events, as the BLM group has done and continues to do.
Perhaps there will be a coming together and an understanding reached on these issues between the campaign and the activists.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)
I expect it to continue noisy, incoherent, and futile, as in the past.
R. Daneel Olivaw
(12,606 posts)before running with the story.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)The only article I saw was the one I posted from Glenn Greenwald's site.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)'We want him to speak up on Palestine’: Boston SJP statement on being kicked out of Bernie Sanders rally
http://mondoweiss.net/2015/10/palestine-statement-sanders
Philip Weiss himself left this comment on the article:
Philip Weiss October 6, 2015, 10:23 am
This is an important incident. Please continue to stand up for Palestine inside the Democratic Party. We will win this battle, but it will take bravery and fortitude. And the hypocrisy of Bernie Sanders (and other lobby supporters) must be called out.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Even though new information has indicated that the Sanders campaign staff did not approve of the action, Max Blumenthal just sent out a link to this article with this tweet:
Max Blumenthal ?@MaxBlumenthal 3h3 hours ago
Sanders campaign ejects student activists for politely holding a sign demanding Palestinian rights https://theintercept.com/2015/10/05/dissent-on-israel-not-permitted-at-bernie-sanders-event/ … v @MazMHussain
