Issues Under Fire: Bernie Sanders and the Pro-Palestinian Activist

Issues Under Fire: Bernie Sanders and the Pro-Palestinian Activist 

After investigating an incident forcing Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign to apologize for threatening pro-Palestinian activists with arrest and ejection from a Boston rally for displaying a sign reading; "Will Ya #FeelThe Bern 4 Palestine??!", the event triggered this observer's imagination. Considering, if elected Bernie Sanders would be the first Jewish president of the United States, it would be essential to fully understand the Senator's positions and preferred policies regarding the middle east and specifically the Israeli-Palestinian issue. 

While Senator Sanders has been a long standing supporter of the so-called "Two State Solution", Bernie Sanders has also been a long standing supporter of Israel's right to defend itself at the expense of the United States. That being the case, the incident with the Palestinian activist begs one to ask some serious questions like; does Bernie Sanders support Israel as a Jewish state, even at the expense of Arab Israelis? What is Senator Sanders' position on continued settlement building and the simmering East Jerusalem issue? How would a Sanders administration have responded to Israel's Operation Protective Edge in 2014? 

Additionally, one should be asking, what if anything would a Sanders administration do differently to cajole, encourage or convince the combating parties to return to the peace process and negtiate in good faith negotiations for a change. Will a Sanders administration use its influence to initiate an enforceable deadline to avoid feet dragging. Or will Bernie Sanders take a noninterventionist stance and let the two parties workout a solution free of external pressures.  

These questions are by no means nitpicking, as the answers are crucial to illuminating the mindset of a man who'd be responsible for U.S. foreign policy in a region lit ablaze with violence driven by the Israeli-Palestinian issue. In fact, the Israeli-Palestinian issues was considered so central to the sustained violence in the middle east, it was cited as the most urgent crisis to address moving forward, save for the Syrian catastrophe playing out next door. 

With the United States appears to be entering the initial stages of an all out proxy war with the Russian Federation and Iran in an effort to force regime change in Syria, while ISIS/ISIL and al-Qaeda is wreaking havoc in the region and beyond, having the first Jewish president at the helm, will present the United States in a decidedly different light. Having a Jewish U.S. president authorizing air strikes against Muslim targets at the behest of Israel, could setoff an unprecedented wave of international violence.  

Bottom line: Electing a Jewish president during these incendiary times, to wage war in the most an incendiary region in the world against the most incendiary ideology on the planet might be an incendiary idea. If Senator Sanders remains a serious contender for the United States presidency, his campaign staff will have to tolerate pro-Palestinian activist and find ways to avoid damaging events in the future. Like President Obama, being the first Black man elected to the office, all eyes will be watching very carefully who Bernie Sanders favors and demanding to know why. Podcast below!