Political Quotes

On the recordJuly 30, 2025
let me begin by stating what the debate we are going to have this evening is about and what it is not about. It is not about whether anyone in this Senate disagrees that Hamas is a terrorist organization which began this war with a brutal terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 innocent Israelis and took 250 hostages. Everyone agrees with that. The International Criminal Court was right to indict the leaders of Hamas as war criminals for those atrocities, and I think most of us agree with that. There is also, I believe, no disagreement as to whether or not Israel, like any other country similarly attacked, had a right to defend itself. Clearly, it did. And in a certain sense, this debate is not really about Israel; it is about the United States of America and whether we will abide by U.S. and international law or whether we will continue to contribute billions of dollars to an extremist government in Israel which has caused an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in Gaza. This debate is whether or not the United States of America will have any moral credibility on the international scene, whether or not we will be able, with a straight face, to condemn other countries who commit barbaric acts if we don't stand up tonight. That is what we are debating. The vast majority of the American people and the world community understand that the Netanyahu government in Israel has gone well beyond defending itself from Hamas.
Said by
Bernie Sanders
Independent · Vermont

Editor's note · Context

Addressing the U.S. response to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

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