CBS’ Margaret Brennan interviewed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Face the Nation Sunday. The following is a transcript of the interview. MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about some issues on foreign policy. CIA Director Bill Burns recently said that the uptick in violence in Israel and Palestinian territories reminds him of the last Intifada – that there could be an explosion of violence. Israel now has the most right wing government it’s had in years. Do you think that democracy is in peril in Israel right now? SEN. SANDERS: I do. I am very worried about what Netanyahu is doing and some of his allies in government and what may happen to the Palestinian people. And let me tell you something, I mean, I haven’t said this publicly. But I think the United States gives billions of dollars in aid to Israel. And I think we’ve got to put some strings attached to that and say you cannot run a racist government. You cannot turn your back on a two-state solution. You cannot demean the Palestinian people there. You just can’t do it and then come to America and ask for money. MARGARET BRENNAN: Has the administration, have you talked to the administration about it? SEN. SANDERS: No. MARGARET BRENNAN: They’ve been very careful in criticism of the Netanyahu government. SEN. SANDERS: Well, I am not careful about it. I’m embarrassed that- that in Israel, you have a government of that nature right now. MARGARET BRENNAN: And are you going to introduce something? SEN. SANDERS: We may well, yes. MARGARET BRENNAN: To try to attach strings to U.S. aid to Israel? SEN. SANDERS: You cannot give- if you have a, you know, whether it’s Saudi Arabia or other authoritarian societies, if a government is acting in a racist way, and they want billions of dollars from the taxpayers of the United States, I think you say, “Sorry, but it’s not acceptable. You want our money? Fine. This is what you got to do to get it.” MARGARET BRENNAN: The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC used to be bipartisan, but these days, it’s got a super PAC that has spent very heavily in Democratic primaries. You said- SEN. SANDERS: Against progressives. MARGARET BRENNAN: You said they’re doing everything they can to destroy the Progressive movement in this country. Do you think the politics around this issue are constraining the White House going into 2024? SEN. SANDERS: The way I look at AIPAC now, in terms of their political activities – this is not even just a pro-Israel group. This is a corporate PAC, sometimes getting money from Republicans, sometimes supporting extreme right-wing Republicans. So what really upset me very much is that in many of these primaries, we had great candidates, young people, often people of color, and yet AIPAC and other super PACs spending millions of dollars trying to defeat them. And as you may know, I tried to get the Democratic Party to pass a resolution that in Democratic primaries, super PAC money should not be allowed to be used. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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