Israel

Bernie Sanders has criticised  the Israeli government over their treatment of Palestinians, condemning the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. In a foreign policy speech in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday, US Democratic presidential said Israel’s settlement constructions in the West Bank undermine the peace process. Sanders also spoke at length about the need for Israel to end “disproportionate” responses to being attacked.

Both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump spoke at AIPAC’s conference yesterday, and they put on the typical pandering display one expects from candidates that attend the meeting. Trump made a point of saying near the start of his speech that “I didn’t come here tonight to pander to you about Israel,” and then spent the rest of his speech doing exactly that. One will search in vain for significant differences between Cruz and Trump in their obsessive anti-Iranian rhetoric. Clinton also joined in with her own hard-line speech designed to underscore her reputation for hawkishness.

In a speech to the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ), Hillary Clinton said that that American leaders needed to show loyalty to Israel and “anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business being our president.” Her criticism was aimed at Republican rival Donald Trump who is said to have a “neutral” stance on Israel. “America can’t ever be neutral when it comes to Israel’s security or survival,” she said.

US Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders will not be attending the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference, despite being the only Jewish candidate in the presidential race. The Democratic presidential hopeful is the only candidate out of both parties not to attend the well established annual meeting, where American leaders and potential leaders get to lay out their pro-Israel policies for potential support, at the expense of Palestinian people. Christian Today reports: Bernie Sanders announced his decision not to take part in the pro-Israel group’s conference on Friday.

Billionaire philanthropist and media tycoon Haim Saban has said that a United States led by Hillary Clinton would be “great” for Israel. American – Israeli Saban who is also one of Clinton’s top donors, made his remarks during an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post. They write: Saban declined to provide specifics on Clinton’s diplomatic policy for the region but said, “We have yet to see all of Hillary’s detailed positions, and I will not give anything away.