Tagged Bernie Sanders

As Joe Biden welcomes J Street endorsement, a sign of the liberal pro-Israel lobby’s increasing influence

Then-Vice President Joe Biden addresses the 4th National J Street Conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30, 2013. (Ron Sachs/Pool/Getty Images)
April 18, 2020 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Joe Biden welcomed the endorsement of J Street, the liberal pro-Israel lobby, on Friday. While it might seem like a small news item today, the moment represents something much larger: a consolidation of the group’s influence among mainstream Democrats. “I’m honored to have earned J Street’s first-ever… Read more »

In Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of Joe Biden, foreign policy — and Israel — go unmentioned

Bernie Sanders, right, endorses Joe Biden, left, in an online webcast on April 13, 2020. (Screenshot)
April 14, 2020 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders joined his old friend Joe Biden in a live webcast to endorse him on Monday, and the two candidates left standing in the Democratic primaries emphasized that they agree on more than what they disagree on. “Today I am asking all Americans, I am… Read more »

So Bernie Sanders won’t be the first Jewish president. Here are 10 people who could be.

Mark Cuban speaks at a 2019 event in Phoenix. (Gage Skidmore)
April 9, 2020 / Philissa Cramer, Gabe Friedman, Ron Kampeas, JTA

(JTA) — When Bernie Sanders announced on Wednesday that he was suspending his presidential campaign, he closed the door on the last sliver of possibility that America would elect its first Jewish president in 2020. That leaves Jewish White House history to be made. Here are 10 people who… Read more »

JHM vandalism symptom of rising anti-Semitism
March 20, 2020 / Bryan Davis, Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center
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These are troubling times. Anti-Semitic threats and messages are escalating all around us. Three weeks ago, the words “Hail Hitler” (sic) were found scrawled on an exhibit inside our Holocaust History Center. March 5, a man brazenly unfurled a Nazi flag as Senator Bernie Sanders took the stage at… Read more »

Elizabeth Warren, who drew progressive Jewish support, quits presidential race
March 5, 2020 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who drew strong support from Jewish progressives, has dropped her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Multiple media outlets reported Warren’s decision on Thursday in the wake of a disappointing primary campaign in which she failed to win a single state, including… Read more »

Mike Bloomberg suspends his campaign and endorses Joe Biden
March 4, 2020 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Mike Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who ran a self-funded campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, dropped out of the race the day after disappointing Super Tuesday results. “I’ve always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot… Read more »

Bernie Sanders releases new ‘proud to be Jewish’ video
February 17, 2020 / Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has released a new campaign video in which he says he is “very proud to be Jewish” and that he looks forward to “becoming the first Jewish president in the history of this country.” The two minute and 40 second video also… Read more »

Is 2020 really the year for America’s first Jewish president? As Sanders and Bloomberg surge, here are their paths to victory.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and wife Jane walk together after greeting his campaigners outside a polling station in Manchester, N.H., Feb. 11, 2020. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
February 12, 2020 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg have much in common besides running for the Democratic nomination for president: They’re in their upper 70s, had hardscrabble upbringings and have had contentious relations with the party whose endorsement they now seek. And both are seeking the chance to make… Read more »

How Bernie Sanders became a favorite among Muslim Americans

Muslim women attend a Bernie Sanders campaign rally at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, Calif., May 24, 2016. (David McNew/AFP/Getty Images)
October 24, 2019 / Josefin Dolsten, JTA

(JTA) — Bernie Sanders was one of only two Democratic presidential candidates to address the Islamic Society of North America Convention in August, the largest annual gathering of Muslim Americans in the country. Organizers invited the 10 highest-polling contenders at the time to the Houston event, but the Vermont… Read more »

Bernie Sanders pushed the Democrats on Israel in 2016. Has he become the party’s mainstream?

Observers say Bernie Sanders has helped make it kosher to criticize Israel within the Democratic Party. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
February 19, 2019 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — This may be hard to remember, but three years ago it was a big deal when Bernie Sanders criticized Israel in public. During a debate in New York City with Hillary Clinton, Sanders generated headlines when he said the United States should care about Palestinian… Read more »

Bernie Sanders staffers allege ‘sexual violence’ during 2016 campaign
December 31, 2018 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Veterans of Bernie Sanders insurgent 2016 campaign for the presidency want the Vermont senator to meet with them to discuss “sexual violence and harassment” on the campaign as he contemplates whether to run in 2020. “In recent weeks there has been an ongoing conversation on social… Read more »

In Democratic race for Illinois governor, the two top candidates are Jewish. The similarity ends there.

Daniel Biss, left, and J.B. Pritzker are running to be the Democratic nominee for governor in Illinois. (Getty Images)
February 26, 2018 / Ben Sales, JTA

(JTA) — The Land of Lincoln’s next governor may well be a Jewish Democrat. It just isn’t clear what kind of Jewish Democrat he will be. Two Jewish candidates are the front-runners in the Illinois Democratic gubernatorial primary in March, and both are favored to defeat the unpopular Republican… Read more »

I tried to speak to Bernie Bernstein — any Bernie Bernstein — and this is what happened

Carl Bernstein speaking at the SVA Theatre in New York City, Oct. 6, 2017. (Brad Barket/Getty Images for The New Yorker)
November 20, 2017 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — Just who is Bernie Bernstein, exactly? Well, first things first: He — or, more accurately, it — is a disembodied voice that has become a supporting character in the brouhaha surrounding Roy Moore, the U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama who has been accused of sexual… Read more »

ANALYSIS Bernie Sanders just defended Israel on Al Jazeera. Here’s why that’s a big deal.

Bernie Sanders at Bronx Community College in New York City, April 9, 2016. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
May 9, 2017 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

  WASHINGTON (JTA) – In an appearance on Al Jazeera, Bernie Sanders defended Israel’s right to exist, rejected BDS as a tactic and assailed the United Nations for singling out the country for condemnation. The Vermont senator’s interview May 3 on the Qatar-based network, known for its often hypercritical coverage… Read more »

Linda Sarsour: Why the Palestinian-American activist has courted controversy

Linda Sarsour speaks during a Women for Syria gathering at Union Square in New York City, April 13, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
May 6, 2017 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — One of the best symbols of the current Jewish political divide is a Muslim woman. To Jews on the left, Linda Sarsour is a courageous and effective activist who builds bridges and breaks stereotypes. To Jews on the right and some in the center, she’s… Read more »

Bernie Sanders tapped for Senate Democratic leadership post
November 17, 2016 /

(JTA) — Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent, has joined the Senate Democratic leadership. Sanders was named chair of outreach for the party on Wednesday, according to reports on the closed-door Senate Democratic caucus meeting. As an Independent, Sanders was an outsider to the Democratic Party until he ran… Read more »

Election 2016: The top Jewish moments of a delirious campaign

Sen. Bernie Sanders waves in Concord on the day of the primary elections in New Hampshire, Feb. 9, 2016. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
November 1, 2016 / Josefin Dolsten

(JTA) — This presidential campaign has made Jewish history, for reasons good and bad. Bernie Sanders became the first Jewish candidate to win a U.S. presidential primary, and the families of both presidential nominees had strong Jewish ties. But the campaign also saw heated debate on Israel and Iran and a troubling rise… Read more »

HIGH HOLIDAYS FEATURE 5776: The year in review

Aly Raisman posing after winning a silver medal in the women's individual all-around competition at the Rio Olympics, Aug. 11, 2016. (Getty Images)
September 12, 2016 / Ben Harris, JTA

(JTA) — A stabbing and car-ramming epidemic in Israel that some called a third intifada was among the most dominant Jewish stories of the past year. But 5776 was also notable for the release of spy Jonathan Pollard after 30 years in prison, the communal fallout from the Iran nuclear deal, a historic… Read more »