I think Bernie is dealing with something the rest of those mentioned are not. At 82 years old, he is older than Israel itself. He is old enough that he probably has some small memories of the day it was formed. He's old enough to have lived with the trauma of Holocaust survivors, and certainly old enough that he recognizes how …
I think Bernie is dealing with something the rest of those mentioned are not. At 82 years old, he is older than Israel itself. He is old enough that he probably has some small memories of the day it was formed. He's old enough to have lived with the trauma of Holocaust survivors, and certainly old enough that he recognizes how bad the massacre Hamas perpetrated is to his community. We can lay blame in a lot of places for what happened on Oct. 7, but it's going to hit differently for him because of his age.
I would also add that, because he helped sell Biden to his base, and got unprecedented access in return, he's worried that he would be jeopardizing the gains his pet issues, like labor, have made in this administration, and he wants Biden to get re-elected so he can continue racking up W's while he's still around to do it. This has put him in a tough position, I imagine. I think every fiber of his being wants to cry out against this, but there's very real considerations he's thinking about, so if he breaks too sharply, and others get hurt, he'd blame himself.
Speaking out right now is hard. I grew up in a heavily Jewish community, and it's been extremely difficult to express how I feel. Friends and family have been so quick to jump on me for criticizing and wanting an end to this horrific bombing campaign, even when I use cautious language to do so. I cannot imagine the pressure he's facing.
It's fear.
I think Bernie is dealing with something the rest of those mentioned are not. At 82 years old, he is older than Israel itself. He is old enough that he probably has some small memories of the day it was formed. He's old enough to have lived with the trauma of Holocaust survivors, and certainly old enough that he recognizes how bad the massacre Hamas perpetrated is to his community. We can lay blame in a lot of places for what happened on Oct. 7, but it's going to hit differently for him because of his age.
I would also add that, because he helped sell Biden to his base, and got unprecedented access in return, he's worried that he would be jeopardizing the gains his pet issues, like labor, have made in this administration, and he wants Biden to get re-elected so he can continue racking up W's while he's still around to do it. This has put him in a tough position, I imagine. I think every fiber of his being wants to cry out against this, but there's very real considerations he's thinking about, so if he breaks too sharply, and others get hurt, he'd blame himself.
Speaking out right now is hard. I grew up in a heavily Jewish community, and it's been extremely difficult to express how I feel. Friends and family have been so quick to jump on me for criticizing and wanting an end to this horrific bombing campaign, even when I use cautious language to do so. I cannot imagine the pressure he's facing.