Sanders Calls on U.S. to Stop Funding 'Netanyahu's Gov't' as Gaza Children Begin Dying of Starvation
Vermont Independent has been criticized by progressives for his stance on the genocide.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who faced criticism early in the conflict for refusing to call for a ceasefire, called for the U.S. to end all funding for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Hundreds of thousands of children are facing starvation. Stop this war right now – no more money for Netanyahu’s government,” Sanders posted on X.
His post came after the food convoy massacre, where starving Palestinians rushing to get flour were allegedly gunned down by U.S.-backed IDF militants.
The UN said the entire population of Gaza – 2.2 million people – face “crisis” levels of food insecurity. About 1.17 million face "emergency" levels of food insecurity, and 500,000 face "catastrophic" levels of food insecurity.
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Christian Lindmeier, UN health agency spokesperson, said the massacre at the food convoy showed how desperate Gazans were for food, fresh water, and other essentials after nearly five months of the war.
“This is the real drama; this is the real catastrophe here, that food and supplies are so scarce that we see these situations coming up, and the food supplies have been cut off deliberately,” he said.
Sanders posted on X Friday: The United States, which has helped fund the Israeli military for years, cannot sit back and allow hundreds of thousands of innocent children in Gaza to starve to death.
Christian Lindmeier, a UN health agency spokesperson, said Friday that a tenth child officially “registered in a hospital as having starved to death.”
“A very sad threshold…(but) the unofficial numbers can unfortunately be expected to be higher,” she said.
Sanders irritated supporters earlier in the conflict when he spoke out strongly against a Gaza ceasefire.
Sanders was asked about his opinion on a ceasefire during an interview with CNN on 5 November and said he can’t imagine how you could even have one with a group like Hamas, which “is dedicated to turmoil and chaos and destroying the state of Israel.”
The Times of Israel reported that within an hour of his comments, AIPAC posted that it was thankful for the senator’s “clear and principled opposition” to any ceasefire. Herbie Ziskind, the White House deputy communications director, also quickly praised Sanders for sticking to his guns.
Briahna Joy Gray, the top spokeswoman for Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, posted: “Biggest political disappointment of our generation.”
Berry Grey, the U.S. national editor of WSWS, excoriated Sanders on the website and said Sanders is nothing more than a “pro-Zionist, pro-imperialist political imposter.”
TRENDPOST: Norman Finkelstein, the Palestinian scholar, said the remarks made him furious.
“The senator from Vermont says Israel must destroy Hamas because Hamas wants to destroy Israel,” Finkelstein said. “Yes, Bernie, you’re so right. You are so right, Bernie. Until Oct. 7, Israel didn’t want to destroy Gaza, it just wanted to mow the lawn.”
He continued, “Here’s a point for you, Bernie—I barely could say that name anymore without being filled with contempt and disgust.”
Grey wrote that Sanders, like the good boy that he is, also embraced Israel’s propaganda after the attack, and tried to present it as a stunning turn of events.