Bernie Sanders: Vote Harris because Gaza is ‘not the only issue’

The message reflects growing concern that voters disaffected by the war will block Harris from the White House

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent from Vermont, speaks on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2024. Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

By Louis Keene October 28, 2024

Bernie Sanders urged voters critical of the Biden administration’s record on Gaza to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in a video that included some of the senator’s most scathing remarks on the Israel-Hamas war to date.

Sanders, 83, the Jewish unaffiliated Vermont senator and stalwart of the left, said that as he has traveled the country campaigning for Harris, many have asked him how they could vote for her when they disagree with her on Gaza.

He said that while he shared their sentiments about the war, a second Trump presidency would only make matters worse — both in the Middle East and domestically.

And progressive Democrats, he continued, could pressure the White House to change course if Harris won.

“Even on this issue, Donald Trump and his right-wing friends are worse,” Sanders said in the six-minute video, which he posted to X. He noted that Republicans have fought to block humanitarian aid to Gaza and that Trump — who has praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — has suggested Gaza would be a great site for beachfront development.

I’ve been all over the country in the last month.

And I get asked the same question, over and over again:

“I disagree with Kamala’s position on the war in Gaza. How can I vote for her?”

Here is my answer: pic.twitter.com/r4fzWz8yXF
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 28, 2024

The message from Sanders reflects Democratic party concern that low turnout from voters disaffected by the Biden administration stance on the war in a tight race will block Harris from the Oval Office.

The consequences would be catastrophic for Palestinians — but for Americans too, Sanders said.

“As important as Gaza is, and as strongly as many of us feel about this issue, it is not the only issue at stake in this election,” said Sanders, mentioning climate change, abortion rights and the economy.

‘We cannot sit this election out’

Sanders, who in March called on Biden to condition U.S. aid to Israel, said that while Israel had a right to defend itself following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, it “did not have a right to wage an all-out war against the Palestinian people.”

“It did not have the right to kill 42,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were children, women and the elderly, or injured over 100,000 people in Gaza,” Sanders continued. “It did not have the right to destroy Gaza’s infrastructure, housing, or healthcare system. It did not have the right to bomb every one of Gaza’s 12 universities. It did not have the right to block humanitarian aid, causing a massive malnutrition in children and, in fact, starvation.”

He added that he was working tirelessly to stop arms sales to Netanyahu’s “extremist” government. He would continue the fight if Harris wins, he said.

Sanders also addressed Trump’s rally Sunday at New York’s Madison Square Garden, noting speakers’ militant and vulgar rhetoric targeting minorities. He characterized their attacks against Harris as sexist and racist.

“We have tried to fight against bigotry, but that is exactly what we saw on display in that unbelievable Trump rally,” Sanders said. “Is that really the kind of America we can allow?”

“Many of you have differences of opinion with Kamala Harris over Gaza. So do I,” Sanders concluded. “But we cannot sit this election out. Trump has got to be defeated.”

Louis Keene is a reporter for the Forward. His work has also been published in The New York Times, New York magazine and Vice. He is based in Los Angeles.

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