At a campaign event today in Berlin, New Hampshire, Senator Sanders was asked about his views on Israel by an IfNotNow staffer, Emma Glazer. IfNotNow then edited Sanders’ response in a deceptive and misleading manner in a video and press release the organization published shortly thereafter. The organization removed Sanders’ expression of “respect” for Israel from its press release and his placing blame for the situation on Palestinian leaders in addition to Israeli officials from both its press and video releases.
In response, Democratic Majority for Israel President and CEO issued the following statement:
“While I disagree with some of Senator Sanders’ remarks today regarding Israel, I’m appalled that IfNotNow, an organization that does not recognize Israel’s right to exist in any borders, deceived the public by selectively editing Sanders’ remarks to conform to their strictly anti-Israel agenda. The group removed Sanders’ accurate assessment that ‘the fault is not all with Israel. You got very poor and corrupt Palestinian leadership’ and omitted Sanders’ statement that ‘we respect Israel’ from a release that was presented as a full accounting of what Sanders said.
“This is the just the latest example of IfNotNow’s effort to mislead the public and forge a false, anti-Israel, narrative. Deceptively editing our political leaders – particularly a potential future president—is a disservice to all Americans. By virtue of their extreme positions, and their dishonesty, IfNotNow has forfeited a place in the conversation. They should immediately correct the record and apologize to the American public for their dishonesty.”
Additional resources:
Full unedited video of Sanders’ event in Berlin, NH
IfNotNow’s press release about Sanders’ event in Berlin, NH
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