Sanders has slammed “lobbying groups like AIPAC [the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee] and Christians United for Israel [CUFI]” for using their considerable financial resources to advance “unquestioning support for Israel’s right-wing government”.
In remarks to a US think tank on Tuesday, Sanders said that AIPAC is expected to spend about $100m in a push to remove progressive candidates who have spoken in favour of Palestinian rights during the upcoming election cycle.
“The message was clear: if you criticize Netanyahu, you will be targeted,” Sanders said, linking the influence of lobbying groups that promote the interests of governments such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the larger issue of the role that money plays in US politics.
The US senator for Vermont has said that Washington is complicit through its financial support of Israel.
“I will be damned if I’m going to give another nickel to the Netanyahu government in order to continue this war against the Palestinian people,” he said in a post on X.
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, forced a vote in January on a resolution seeking to impose conditions on security assistance to Israel.
Senators overwhelmingly voted against the motion. It would have demanded that security aid to Israel be frozen unless the State Department produces a report within 30 days examining whether Israel has committed human rights violations in its campaign in Gaza.
