Sanders Addresses Omar’s Controversial Remarks on Jewish Students at Columbia and Denounces Antisemitism

Rewritten Article: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) avoided commenting on Representative Ilhan Omar’s suggestion that some Jewish students at Columbia University are “pro-genocide” during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. Instead, he criticized protesters across the country who use antisemitic rhetoric in their support for Palestine. While Sanders labelled certain comments as “disgusting and stupid,” his response to Omar’s remarks was more measured.
During her visit to Columbia University, Omar made a statement that all Jewish students should be kept safe from both antisemitism and bigotry regardless of their stance on genocide. Host Dana Bash played this clip for Sanders during the interview but didn’t directly ask if he agreed with it or not; instead, she posed an ambiguous question about his level of comfort regarding Omar’s sentiments.
Sanders responded by stating that Ilhan made a crucial point: antisemitism should have no place in America. He also clarified that the term “genocide” is being determined by the International Court of Justice, and while he believes Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions are ethnic cleansing—which includes displacing 80% of Gazan population- –it isn’t exactly an undeniable sign that something meriting that term as currently legally understood really actually fits any definition.
It should be noted here that Sanders himself is Jewish, and his ancestors were killed during the Holocaust; furthermore, in the same interview where he commented on Omar’s comments to Dana Bash of State Of The Union – Bernie did explicitly denounce both antisemitism & Islamophobia.
At Columbia University recently captured videos, Ilhan Omar was seen walking and shaking hands with protesters during an “anti-war encampment” organised in the school’s premises by her supporters’ organisation – Movimiento Cosecha NYC (MCNYC). Her daughter Isra Hirsi too had been arrested for participating in these protests, which subsequently led to a suspension from Barnard College – Columbia University’s women-only liberal arts college affiliate.