Israel’s foreign minister slammed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders after the presidential candidate expressed an openness to moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel out of Jerusalem.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Sanders’s proposal “horrifying” and noted that the socialist has long been critical of Israel and its national security policies, according to the Associated Press.
“Naturally, people who support Israel will not support someone who goes against these things,” Katz told Israel’s Army Radio.
At the South Carolina Democratic debate on Tuesday night, Sanders said he would consider relocating the U.S. Embassy out of Jerusalem if elected president. Sanders, who is Jewish, also labeled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “reactionary racist.”
President Trump moved the embassy from Tel Aviv into Jerusalem in May 2018, signifying that the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The move was well-received in Israel but controversial among Arab states.
Yair Lapid, Katz’s opponent who wants to be the next Israeli foreign minister, has also criticized Sanders for the senator’s “lack of understanding of our unique situation in the Middle East.”
Sanders received fire from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S., earlier this week when he announced he would not speak at the group’s annual conference, claiming that AIPAC is a platform for “bigotry.” The group released a statement condemning Sanders for his “odious attack.”
