u/Private_HughMan

Is Bernie better than most Dems? No question. But (and I hate saying this) he's not very good. I'm not sure I'd even call him a socialist. The man is critical of "Netanyahu's Israel" but hesitates to call out Israel overall. He keeps framing criticisms of the state as criticisms of Netanyahu. We all know that the rot in Israel goes far deeper. This is like living in the 30s/40s criticizing Hitler but not Germany, and pretending that removing Hitler would solve the problems in German society. To be frank, I think it's more than fair to call Bernie Sanders a zionist. I'll lay out some quick points defending my stance here.

First (and weakest) is this embarassing moment where Ezra Klein asked him if he was a zionist, and Bernie played dumb and acted like he - a 70-year-old Jewish man - didn't know what a zionist was. And then he goes on to say he supports Israel's right to exist and doesn't deny he's a zionist.

Here's an interview he gave to Al Jazeera 9 years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piWbS2bAvTY

>Interviewer: With respect and dignity and does our best to bring them to the table, it's increasingly evident that hopes for a two-state solution are almost dead. At the same time, polls among Palestinians in the occupied West and Gaza are showing that they're increasingly in favor of a one-state solution with equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians alike and equal citizenship. Is that something you believe could happen or is that something you support? > > Bernie: I don't - I mean, I think if that happens then that would be the end of the state of Israel, and I support Israel's right to exist.

When presented with the possibility for a shared state where Jews and Palestinians have equal rights, Bernie shoots that option down because it would essentially end Israel. He said that ending apartheid would end Israel, and says he supports Israel existing. That's... horrible. I want to defend him because I loved him for years, but that's a horrible stance.

But that was 9 years ago. Perhaps he's changed? Well, here's a clip from an interview he did just 9 months ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dllagHInX4

>Interviewer: You have been critical of Benjamin Natanyahu for a very long time, but I want to ask you just about something that sometimes gets lost, especially right now when this debate is so emotional and so raw. Especially on the left, which is take Netanyahu out of this. Do you believe in the notion of Israel as a Jewish state? > >Bernie: Yeah, I do for a lot of reasons. But right now what Netanyahu has done, what the Israeli government has done is become almost a pariah state. And I fear very much that Israel now is looked in very very unfavorable light by people all over the world. all over the world.

He was told to take Netanyahu out of the equation. He does that for exactly ONE SENTENCE - a sentence where he says point-blank that he supports Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state - and then goes right back to blaming Netanyahu. Not only that, but he doesn't take this moment to blame Netanyahu for the pain of Palestinians, but for making Israel unpopular. The reputation of Israel was his first concern.

This is not a good thing. At all.

And he (and AOC) wants to end military aid to Israel. On it's face, that sounds good. Except for one thing; Netnyahu agrees with them. This should give everyone pause. Netanyahu wouldn't intentionally tie a hand behind his back. So why are he and Bernie and AOC on the same page here? What does Bibi have to gain? Well, that's outlined in the article: asking for aid is annoying and needs to be renewed every single year. They ask for handouts, and they can only buy from the US. On top of limiting their options, it makes them vulnerable to the sways of American politics. With Israel being the least popular it has ever been, there's no guarantee aid will keep coming. Instead, the new strategy is to tightly integrate their military industrial complexes with each other where they each use the other's parts and more US weapons are made in Israel, and vice-versa. Instead of asking for stacks of cash from the bank every year, Israel will be in the vault. The plan is to integrate themselves so deeply into the US's arms manufacturing and dealing that the two countries can't be separated.

Sanders and AOC seem to lag behind their supporters in policy. By the time they get around to promoting the ideas we call for, the enemy is already prepared for them and plans to neutralize their effectiveness. I don't know if they do it on purpose or negligence, but they move too slowly. If we want to actually promote democratic socialism, we need to move beyond these people. They're still Democrats (Bernie says he isn't but that's only by technicality) and they are beholden to their party.

Mamdani is better on these things, but still has major failings. I won't get into them here but that's not the point I want to make. What I want to say is that even though Mamdani has fallen short in some areas (but has come through in others), a key takeaway is his message resonated with people. What we need to do is find ways to break away from groups like the Liberals and the Democrats. Even the NDP here in Canada are a mixed bag. Lewis seems good but Alberta and Saskatchewan's NDP are going to be limiters. If teh DSA in the US can break off from the Democrats, I think a lot of good can be done. They can run candidates in smaller races in key locations. Locations that are safe blues where Dems often run with little to no opposition. Leftists will likely have a lot of support and can make a decent dent in those races. Maybe even win. Democrats will see this and will have to make 1 of 3 main choices:

1. move to the left to recapture the lost voters,
2. lose the race and give up some power to newcomers, or
3. spend more time and resources on previously safe positions fighting against their own left flank

We can't grow in the shadows of people like Bernie Sanders. The good he did it immense and I am grateful, but we shouldn't be afraid to step out from him. He is on the path but he is not the destination.