Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The comment marks the first time he has used the term to describe the nearly two-year war.
In an op-ed published Wednesday, Sanders wrote: “The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.”
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He said Israel has waged “an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people.” He said the country has gone beyond its right to defend against Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages.
What’s in his argument
Sanders referenced assessments from genocide scholars, Israeli watchdog groups and major international human rights organizations, all of which have determined that Israel’s actions meet the genocide definition. He noted Gaza’s Health Ministry’s reported toll of more than 65,000 dead and 164,000 injured, with additional victims still missing under collapsed buildings.
He also pointed to famine, widespread destruction of homes and hospitals, and public remarks from Israeli leaders that, in his view, demonstrated genocidal intent.
“Whether you call it genocide or ethnic cleansing or mass atrocities or war crimes, the path forward is clear,” he wrote. He called for an immediate ceasefire, a surge of aid, and U.S. restrictions on arms sales to Israel.
UN findings and Israel’s response
On Tuesday, a U.N. commission said there were reasonable grounds that Israeli authorities and security forces have committed and are continuing to commit acts of genocide in Gaza.
Commission Chair Navi Pillay said, “The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a moral outrage and a legal emergency.” The panel cited acts including killing civilians, inflicting serious harm, and creating conditions of life “calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected the findings as “fake,” saying the report relied on “Hamas falsehoods.”
US political fallout
Sanders joins a growing list of lawmakers using the term genocide. These include Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.. Balint, the first Jewish member of Congress to use the term, wrote that her Holocaust family history made the decision difficult but necessary.
On Thursday, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., plans to introduce the Senate’s first resolution calling for U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state. A similar effort is expected in the House. The resolution calls for a demilitarized state under the Palestinian Authority based on pre-1967 borders.
The measures reflect growing fractures within the Democratic Party. It also reflects the intensifying debate across the U.S. over Israel’s conduct and America’s military support.
