Netanyahu clashes with left-wing US Jews over migrants, Gaza
The latest actions by Israel’s right-wing government are further straining historically bipartisan support in Congress.
Israel’s pending expulsion of thousands of African asylum seekers and violent suppression of Palestinian protesters is further straining ties between the country’s right-wing government and left-wing US Jewish groups, potentially undermining bipartisan support for Israel in Congress.
Leading American Jewish organizations and Democratic lawmakers have expressed dismay at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to go forward with plans to deport thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese migrants. Meanwhile, more liberal groups and a handful of progressive Democrats have accused the Israeli military of overreacting by using live fire against Hamas-inspired protesters at the border with Gaza.
“The killing of Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces in Gaza is tragic,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tweeted over the weekend. “It is the right of all people to protest for a better future without a violent response.”
Sanders, a Jewish lawmaker who was the progressive left’s standard bearer in the 2016 presidential primaries, later added on CNN that “Israel overreacted.”
