Michael Bloomberg said Bernie Sanders is weakening America’s foreign policy by trashing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its annual conference.
During a speech at the event on Monday, the former New York City mayor said Sanders was “dead wrong” for claiming the pro-Israel lobbying group provided a platform for “leaders who express bigotry.”
Bloomberg is running for the Democratic presidential nomination against Sanders, a Vermont senator who has never attended an AIPAC conference.
“Unfortunately, not all of my fellow Democrats in this race have attended an AIPAC conference,” Bloomberg said. “One of them, Sen. Sanders, has spent 30 years boycotting this event. And as you’ve heard by now, he called AIPAC a racist platform.
“We’ll let me tell you, he’s dead wrong,” the former mayor added.
Last week, Sanders said he would not attend this year’s AIPAC conference out of principle.
“The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security. So do the Palestinian people,” Sanders tweeted. “I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights. For that reason I will not attend their conference.”
At last week’s presidential debate, Sanders called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “reactionary racist” and said he would reconsider the decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem if elected president. The remarks drew derision from some Jewish leaders, with hundreds of rabbis signing a letter condemning his “outrageous comment.”
During Monday’s conference Bloomberg, who like Sanders is Jewish, said AIPAC attracts a diverse group of people from all political parties, races, religions, and sexual orientations. He said labeling AIPAC as a platform for racism is damaging to U.S. foreign policy with Israel.
“Calling it a racist platform is an attempt to discredit those voices, intimidate people from coming here, and weaken the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Bloomberg said.
“Israel should never be a football that American politicians kick around in an effort to score points,” he said.
Bloomberg also said he supported President Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem “because that’s where it belongs,” although he said he wished it would have been moved as part of peace negotiations.
“Let me be clear, our commitment to Israel must never sunset,” he said.
