Sen. Bernie Sanders went on CBS’ “Face the Nation” yesterday, and triggered another feeding frenzy on peace-activist Twitter by refusing, once again, to call for a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza conflict.
Which is not to say he sided with the Israeli government, not at all. He was sharply critical of its aggressive tactics and its seeming acceptance of high civilian casualties and widespread destruction. He even supports a temporary cease-fire. He opposed the United State’s veto of a United Nations resolution calling for a temporary suspension of hostilities. But he’s not on board with a permanent one. Because how can you achieve peace when faced with an enemy bent on your destruction?
In terms of a permanent cease-fire, I don’t know how you could have a permanent cease-fire with Hamas, who have said before October 7 and after October 7 that they want to destroy Israel, they want a permanent war. I don’t know how you have a permanent cease-fire with an attitude like that.
Sanders also deserves credit for sticking to his principles. He has no direct say in the matter, so it’d be easy for him to change his position as Sen. Peter Welch and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint have done. But he hasn’t, and I’d be very surprised if he does.
In fact, while he has refused to call for a cease-fire, he went a substantial step farther than Welch or any Senate Democrat in holding Israel to account. Sanders is the only non-Republican to oppose an aid package for Ukraine and Israel because he couldn’t support unconditional aid to Israel’s war in Gaza. (Republicans were opposed because they want to include additional security measures on the U.S./Mexico border.) He explained his stance to VTDigger:
“My view is that the most effective way to change Israeli military policy is to make it clear to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, we are not going to give him money with no strings attached.”
Sanders wants to see permanent peace, including a two-state solution that gives the Palestinians a country of their own. He’s willing to hold Netanyahu’s feet to the fire in a way that Welch, for instance, is not.
But a cease-fire would only allow Hamas to rebuild its terror infrastructure in a way that threatens Israel’s existence and puts the Palestinian people at risk. Sanders isn’t willing to settle for a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Not when Hamas is doing all it can to rip away the Band-Aid.
I’m not sure which planet the antiwar activists are living on. At the December 2 peace protest in Montpelier, organizer Ashley Smith called for “a secular democratic Palestine.” Really? Do you think Hamas is fighting for “a secular democratic Palestine”?
There are no simple solutions here. There may be no solutions at all. A cease-fire would end the immediate carnage, but would only set the stage for more destruction the next time Hamas sees the merest sliver of opportunity.
Bernie wants peace as much as anybody. He wants it to be lasting, and he wants it to enable the security of all in Israel and Palestine. He doesn’t believe a cease-fire gets us any closer to that goal. He’s right.
The Vermont Political Observer. 
No. Bernie’s wrong on this one. Just like he is on many issues of war and peace.
I tried to post a reply on WordPress, and even though I am logged in it isn’t showing up. Are you able to see it?
Thx Patricia Ward
I saw this one, but I didn’t see an earlier one.
weird. I just reposted it and this time it went through. Am more than willing to have further dialogue about this conflict, if you are interested. In my view the United States has taken a catastrophic position in allying with Netanyahu’s response. A lot of people in the US pay no attention, but the impact is profound and will reverberate for years. A ceasefire is absolutely necessary right now, or the coming death toll will shock even the most jaded. I didn’t bring this up in the comment, but people are not only being killed and maimed by bombing every hour, but now they are dying from exposure, hunger, thirst, and disease. This is by design. I would like to think that if more people understood that, or were able to face the rotten truth of it instead of turning away, then maybe the US admin could be shifted from its staggeringly amoral stance.
Thanks Patricia
“He doesn’t believe a cease-fire gets us any closer to that goal. He’s right.”
As much as so few see it, I believe Bernie is right as well and admire his guts for sticking to his guns. Having lived in that part of the world before, I agree with this analogy of a cease-fire as “a Band-Aid on a gaping wound” until Hamas is no longer a factor to do anyone — Israeli, Palestinian, and whoever else — any harm.
I’m going to rephrase a sentence for you that will help with your conclusion: There are no simple solutions here. There may be no solutions at all. A cease-fire would end the immediate carnage, but would only set the stage for more destruction the next time Hamas or Israel see the merest sliver of opportunity.
When I look at Hamas and Israel, all I see are two very slightly differing reflections from the same side of the same coin; and the people paying the worst price are the Palestinians.
I’m disappointed by this take. I am half Lebanese and grew up in Beirut, so have a particular interest in what is happening. Your dismissive tone re those who are advocating for a ceasefire and your ref to Israel’s “seeming acceptance of high civilian casualties” suggests you are not aware of what is actually happening on the ground in Gaza, nor of Israel’s longstanding goals and how they are being advanced in this particular war. Israel should negotiate again with Hamas, just as Hamas/Palestinians must negotiate again with Israel, which has committed grave crimes against civilians, including children, for years, continuing to this day. In other words, why should Israel reserve the right not to negotiate with its enemy, when the settling of any conflict requires it? Why should Israel reserve the right to respond to war crimes with bigger war crimes? It is myopic to cling to the notion that Israel must persist in mass murder and destruction in order to destroy Hamas, firstly because it is universally understood that this objective is militarily not feasible, and secondly because the stated actual objective (explicitly broadcast many times in the last few months) is, in a nutshell, to get rid of as many Palestinians as possible. Those of us who are dismayed by Bernie Sanders’ position are not coming from some ‘feeding frenzy’ place, but from the principled position that mass murder of civilians is never the answer. It is not for nothing that most of the world, and humanitarian and human rights organizations, and lawyers, and genocide scholars, and just regular people with eyes and hearts are begging for a ceasefire. Bernie Sanders is trying to thread a needle when the circumstance requires clarity and conviction. That is why we protest his position.
The Bible has plenty to say about this region of the world. Most secular Vermonters have NO IDEA what because they don’t read the Bible. That is true for plenty of other people in other states and nations as well. If people don’t read the Bible, then they could not possibly be making it come true on purpose. So the question is, why are events surrounding Israel playing out exactly like the Bible prophesied? Watch the area carefully. Prophecies (written over 3,000 years ago) say the existence of the nation of Israel will cause the whole world to unite against her. Why? Because of Jew hatred. And ALL means that at some point America will join that unholy herd. Bernie is right to take the stand that he did, but he should delve deeper into the Bible. He is Jewish. He ought to know what the Old Testament says about Israel. It says there will never be a permanent peace in that region. And any all-encompassing multi-nation peace treaty signed there will not last more than seven years. (Not true of a treaty signed with an individual nation.) There are about 50 Muslim/Muslim majority nations out of approx. 200 nations on the planet. But only one Jewish nation. Yet the Jews are continually badgered and forced to give up “land for peace”. The rest of the nations are Gentile nations and the Bible says we Gentiles will never solve the problem. That must be up to the state of Israel and its neighbors. America and other Gentile nations trying to shame Israel and force a solution will not be able to solve the unrest in the Middle East, according to Scripture. So pray for Israel because they need prayer above all things. And the violent, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel stance taken by many in America is wrong, wrong, wrong. They are fighting spiritual forces they cannot remotely begin to understand concerning the very existence of the Jewish people and their nation. That land belongs to the Jews.