Bernie Sanders must have flunked math as he spreads falsehoods on Israel - opinion

Bernie Sanders must have flunked math in high school. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for his latest ludicrous claims about Israel and Gaza.

Senator Sanders marked the anniversary of the October 7 slaughter by issuing a statement in which he accused Israel of “waging total war against the Palestinian people.”

That’s right – in a statement concerning the total war that Hamas has waged against the Israeli people, Sanders had the gall to accuse Israel of being the warmonger. 

It’s as if Israel launched an unprovoked invasion of Gaza on October 7, 2023. As if Israel massacred and tortured 1,200 Gazans and committed gang-rapes. As if Israel kidnapped 240 Gazans and held them in cages in underground tunnels.

The population of Gaza is most 2.1 million. So how much of the population do you suppose Sanders thinks has been killed by Israel in this “total war”?

Earlier this year, the Israeli government estimated that about 16,000 civilians in Gaza have died, as a result of Hamas stationing its terrorists, command centers, and weapons depots in residential neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals.

That’s less than 1% of Gaza’s civilian population. In other words, 99% of Gazans have somehow managed to survive the “total war” that Sanders thinks Israel has been waging.

Which means that those Gazans are incredibly resourceful – or the Israelis are really bad at carrying out “total war.”

That’s not all. There was more bad math from Sen. Sanders. In that same grotesque statement that Sanders issued on October 7, he claimed that “thousands” of children in Gaza are victims of “starvation.” 

Yet there has not been a single report of any Gazan dying of starvation. Even Hamas does not seem to have claimed that anybody has died of starvation.

A big stretch when it comes to numbers 

In other words, the number in Sanders’ head is “thousands” but the real number is zero. Amazing.

It’s not surprising to have one or two extremists in the US Senate or House of Representatives. They are large bodies, with 100 and 435 members, respectively. So it’s almost inevitable that there will always be a few radicals.

The problem is when one of the radicals manages to get hold of the steering wheel. Sanders was a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in both 2016 and 2020. In 2016, he won 23 primaries and caucuses.

In 2020, he won 10 and likely would have won more if he had not dropped out early.

As a result, even though Sanders is officially an independent, not a Democrat, he has become one of the most powerful and influential figures in the Democratic Party. 

Fortunately, his demand to stop all US military aid to Israel is not yet the party’s position – but there’s a real danger that he’s helping pull the party in that direction. 

That would be worrisome in any circumstances. It’s even more troubling when one considers what’s behind his outrageous accusations about Israel “waging total war” and Gazan children “starving.”

Sanders is no fool. He knows the facts. He has staff to do all the necessary research. He knows that 99% of Gaza’s population is alive and that nobody in Gaza has starved to death. 

Which means that he is knowingly hurling falsehoods in order to smear Israel.

It’s one thing to disagree with another country’s policies. It’s something very different to knowingly fabricate slurs in order to hurt that country. Bernie Sanders is venturing into very dangerous territory, with Israel in his crosshairs.

The writer is national chairman of Americans For A Safe Israel, a pro-Israel advocacy and education organization.