Bernie Sanders Unleashes Fiery Comeback To Netanyahu's Antisemitism Remarks

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) let loose a scathing statement this week in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus accusation that protests at United States universities against Israels bombing campaign in Gaza are antisemitic.

Mr. Netanyahu, antisemitism is a vile and disgusting form of bigotry that has done unspeakable harm to many millions of people, Sanders said in a video posted to X on Thursday.

The senator implored the prime minister to not insult the intelligence of the American people in an attempt to distract them from Israels immoral and illegal war policies.

Israels offensive on Gaza, which began after the militant group Hamas Oct. 7 attack left at least 1,200 Israelis dead and about 240 taken hostage, has now left an estimated 34,000 Palestinians dead . UN Women, the United Nations organization for gender equality, reported in February that 70% of Palestinians killed at that time were women and children.

The senator said it is not antisemitic to note that Israels military operation has left more than half the population of Gaza homeless, obliterated the Palestinian territorys water and electric infrastructure and annihilated its health care system.

Sanders, who is Jewish, concluded, It is not antisemitic to hold you accountable for your actions.

The video and an accompanying written statement  came the day after Netanyahu called the recent upswell of antiwar protests at American college campuses horrific, characterizing them as antisemitic mobs.

The student protesters are broadly calling for the U.S. to stop sending military aid to Israel and for educational institutions to divest financially from Israel.

Several instances of anti-Jewish remarks or inflammatory signs have gone viral amid the protests, though multiple student organizations behind the demonstrations have condemned such incidents.

At universities across the nation, our movement is united in valuing every human life, said a statement from one such group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, per ABC News .