Sanders defends refusal to describe Israel's actions as genocide at Dublin event
US senator
Bernie Sanders
again defended his refusal to describe the
Israeli
assault on
Gaza
as a genocide at an event on Saturday at Liberty Hall in Dublin.
His speech largely focused on criticising Donald Trump's presidency, winning him a prolonged standing ovation, but it also highlighted the divisions over his position on how to categorise the situation in the Middle East.
Two people were ejected from the closing session of the trade-union backed Robert Tressell Festival, which was attended by President Michael D Higgins, for heckling Mr Sanders over his continued refusal to describe the killing of more than 50,000
Palestinians
as genocide.
Mr Sanders and his wife Jane, who joined him on stage for a questions and answers session with Second Captains and Irish Times journalist Ken Early, roundly rejected the criticism.
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'What we should be focusing on is ending the destruction and changing policy,' he said. 'Let's be clear, 52,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children. Over 100,000 have been wounded with the entire infrastructure destroyed. That is horrible. That is barbaric. That is the concern we have but some people want to argue about a word which the United Nations is now working to define.'
Mr Sanders went on: 'What's going on right now is horrific. I am doing my best. I'm leading the effort in the Senate, and I think we are getting bogged down arguing about a word.'
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Bernie Sanders: Senator has 'no apologies' for his position on Israel's attack on Gaza
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Mrs Sanders said calling the current events genocide would alienate significant allies in the US, of which, she suggested, there were already too few, and provide opponents with an opportunity to shift the focus of the debate.
'The fact we're spending billions of dollars on weapons for Israel would be just falling on deaf ears,' she said. '[Mr Sanders] wouldn't have gotten 15 votes [for a recent Bill he introduced in the Senate to curtail military support to Israel] if he could be marginalised by a word.
'I think he's very smart not to use the word, because it would make a hell of a little bit of difference and so I would ask the left to not marginalise him for a word to criticize him when he is the leading voice [on the issue in the US].'
Aside from the two audience members ejected for repeatedly interrupting the Vermont senator's speech, the tone was generally respectful from what appeared to be an otherwise highly supportive crowd.
There were occasions during his attempts to directly engage with those present on the issue when it was obvious many others were critical of his position and he appeared to be annoyed by the shift in tone.
The wider event included many contributions on Gaza and Palestine including one from
Omar Barghouti
, via Zoom, from inside Israel.
Mr Barghouti, a prominent activist and proponent of cultural, academic and economic boycotts of Israel, was unable to attend the event due to the refusal of Israeli authorities to renew documentation he needed to travel. He argued in his address that the current conflict is a genocide.
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Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti prevented from travelling to speak at Dublin festival
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Earlier, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald participated in a discussion on the potential for a future left-wing coalition government with Labour's Marie Sherlock, Sinéad Gibney of the Social Democrats and People Before Profit's Ruth Coppinger.
During it, all four broadly backed increased collaboration between the parties and Ms McDonald said hers had not built the 'relationships' it should before the last general election. She said she was 'not going to make that mistake again'.
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