The Times of Israel reports: Seeking to sway policy as any realistic chance of winning the presidential nomination further erodes, Bernie Sanders reportedly wants the Democratic Party to make Palestinian rights more of a priority in its platform.
According to the Washington Post, the Vermont senator wants to see changes that would better reflect Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Sanders, the only Jewish candidate to ever have won any major party primaries, has throughout the campaign defended Israel’s right to security, but also has called for an end to settlement expansion and criticized what he has said has been Israel’s disproportionate response to Palestinian attacks. He recently came under criticism for claiming that Israel killed 10,000 Palestinians in the last round of fighting in Gaza, a figure that is five times greater than even the Hamas statistics, and one Sanders later walked back.
The Democratic platform as approved in 2012 refers to aspirations for a “just and lasting” agreement that would result in two states. Much of its 300 or so words are otherwise given over to protections for Israel’s security and a demand that Palestinians “recognize Israel’s right to exist, reject violence, and adhere to existing agreements.”
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