[rad-green] Sanders Will Not Attend AIPAC Conference Over Concern for 'Basic Palestinian Rights'

*https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/24/political-courage-sanders-will-not-attend-aipac-conference-over-concern-basic
<https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/24/political-courage-sanders-will-not-attend-aipac-conference-over-concern-basic>Common
Dreams          February 24, 2020'Political Courage': Sanders Will Not
Attend AIPAC Conference Over Concern for 'Basic Palestinian Rights'"You can
support the Palestinian and Israeli people without supporting leaders or
organizations that oppose the freedom and liberation of the Palestinian
people."by Eoin Higgins, staff writer*

[image: Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate,
speaks during the 2019 J Street National Conference at the Walter E.
Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. on October 28, 2019.]

*Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, speaks
during the 2019 J Street National Conference at the Walter E. Washington
Convention Center in Washington, D.C. on October 28, 2019. (Photo: Mandel
Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)*

Democratic 2020 presidential primary frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders earned
the praise of progressives after announcing on Sunday he would not attend
the annual AIPAC conference due to his concerns over the group's
willingness to endorse the views of bigots and its dismissal of the human
rights of Palestinians.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), also a candidate for president, announced
<https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/press> on February 6 she would not go to
the AIPAC conference.

"The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security," Sanders
said Sunday. "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."

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. 1/2

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 23, 2020
<https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1231709010430189570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

"As president, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians
and do everything possible to bring peace and security to the region,"
Sanders added <https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1231709011688480768>
.

The group hit back, issuing a statement attacking
<https://twitter.com/AIPAC/status/1231753656044806144?s=20> the Vermont
senator and accusing him of ignorance about the organization's purpose.

"Sen. Sanders has never attended our conference and that is evident from
his outrageous comment," the group said, adding, "By engaging in such an
odious attack on this mainstream, bipartisan American political event, Sen.
Sanders is insulting his very own colleagues and the millions of Americans
who stand with Israel."

*Axios* reporter Jonathan Swan noted
<https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/1231755371292897280> that the
comments were "the strongest statement AIPAC has ever made against a top
presidential candidate."

AIPAC has made no bones over the years of its distaste for Sanders, who
declined to attend the conference in person in 2016 over similar concerns
about the group's treatment of the Palestinians and its connections to hate
groups.

A group loosely affiliated with AIPAC, the Democratic Majority for Israel,
ran attack ads against the senator in Iowa and Nevada in January and
February.

"The wall of fear protecting AIPAC is cracking and crumbling due to the
grass growing down below," said
<https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah/status/1231802693473140737> *Electronic
Intifada* co-founder Ali Abunimah.

Abunimah's remarks were echoed by *Intercept* journalist Glenn Greenwald,
who pointed out that both Warren and Sanders rejecting the conference spoke
to a broader problem of legitimacy for the organization.

"That Sanders has the political courage to reject an organization devoted
to an apartheid state is yet another positive," said Greenwald.
"But AIPAC doesn't mention that Sen. Warren also refused to attend because
AIPAC, like Israel, is becoming a far-right rogue outcast.

That Sanders has the political courage to reject an organization devoted to
an apartheid state is yet another positive.

But @AIPAC <https://twitter.com/AIPAC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> doesn't mention
that Sen. Warren also refused to attend because AIPAC, like Israel, is
becoming a far-right rogue outcast https://t.co/3HYgvcziHH
https://t.co/SV8LqDHQZP

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 24, 2020
<https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1231910963978424320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

"You can support the Palestinian and Israeli people without supporting
leaders or organizations that oppose the freedom and liberation of the
Palestinian people," said
<https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/1231717008686931970> activist and
Sanders supporter Linda Sarsour.

Progressive Jewish advocacy group IfNotNow called on the rest of the
Democratic field to follow Sanders and Warren's example.

"Bernie's progressive agenda, which is strongly motivated by the Jewish
tradition of social justice, has no room in it for the unholy alliance of
Islamophobes, antisemites, and white nationalists that AIPAC has worked
with in recent years," said IfNotNow co-founder Dani Moscovitch. "We renew
our call on every single Democratic candidate to follow the lead of Bernie
and Elizabeth Warren and Skip AIPAC and embrace the movement fighting for
freedom and dignity."

Bernie Sanders’ commitment to #SkipAIPAC
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkipAIPAC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> shows
growing momentum in the campaign to ensure that the Democratic Party
rejects the bigotry that we will see on AIPAC’s stage next week.

Our full statement celebrating @BernieSanders
<https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> committing to
#SkipAIPAC
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkipAIPAC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>:
https://t.co/lXfIQtAv5X pic.twitter.com/2w0vXnrQnw <https://t.co/2w0vXnrQnw>

— IfNotNow (@IfNotNowOrg) February 23, 2020
<https://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg/status/1231720095099031552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

The Vermont senator's remarks were welcomed
<https://twitter.com/MairavZ/status/1231771860284530689> by writer Mairav
Zonszein.

"For me and many other Israeli and American Jews on the left, Sanders is
literally a hero for saying fuck you to AIPAC," said Zonsein.

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