Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Clash Over Israel in Brooklyn’s Democratic Debate

In one of the most heated arguments of the night, candidates get contentious over Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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Israel took center stage during the second hour of Thursday’s Democratic debate in Brooklyn, New York, home to heavily Orthodox Jewish communities.

Asked about his recent comments where he said that Israel’s response in the 2014 Gaza war was “disproportionate,” Bernie Sanders said he was “100 percent pro-Israel,” adding that the point of his controversial comments was to ensure that Palestinian people must be treated with respect and dignity.

“That does not make me anti-Israel,” Sanders said.

Clinton disagreed, saying Israel was under constant threat.

“I don’t know how you run a country when you are under constant threat. Terrorist attacks, rockets coming at you — you have a right to defend yourself,” she said.

Sanders then quipped that Clinton failed to answer the question, adding that she “barely mentioned the Palestinians” during her speech to pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

“We cannot continue to be one-sided,” he said.

Clinton shot back that Sanders likes to point out problems without having solutions to fix them.

“Describing a problem is a lot easier than trying to solve it,” she said.

Sanders’ criticism of Israel is a risky move. Although some in the audience cheered, national polls show that more Americans sympathize with Israel than the Palestinians.

Sanders is no doubt trying to appeal to the hard-left wing of the Democrat party who tend to be more sympathetic to Palestinians.

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