Moments before stepping on the debate stage in Brooklyn, Bernie Sanders suspended his recently hired Jewish outreach coordinator, Simone Zimmerman after multiple reports on her harsh criticism of Israel and its political leadership.
Zimmerman, who is just three years out of college, was hired to represent Sanders to the American Jewish community, especially the nearly 2 million Jewish voters in New York, but her past is as an anti-Israeli activist and support for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against the Jewish state.
Within minutes of her hiring reports discovered social media posts in which Zimmerman referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an “arrogant, deceptive, cynical, manipulative a—hole.” Another post told Democrats who support Hillary Clinton’s “hawkish” policies to “wake the f—-up.” Zimmerman’s resume shows a history of advocating for groups that support the BDS movement and protesting outside the offices of American Jewish organizations that support Israel.
“She has been suspended while we investigate the matter,” Michael Briggs, a spokesman for Senator Bernie Sanders,” told the New York Times Thursday night.
Earlier in the day Thursday, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, called on Sanders to fire Zimmerman, saying her criticism of Israel would hurt the Vermont senator’s presidential campaign.
“We are known by the company we keep, and those whose advice we seek,” he wrote in a statement. “Bernie Sanders’ hiring of Simone Zimmerman as his chief adviser on Jewish issues is cause for profound concern.”
“I call on Senator Sanders to clarify his own positions and whether this hire reflects his views on Israel,” he added. “Does he support the positions Ms. Zimmerman espouses? If not, he should make that clear by terminating her immediately as one of his closest advisers. If Senator Sanders maintains her as his adviser, it will confirm that his views on Israel match hers.”
