Political Quotes

On the recordOctober 18, 2023
Madam President, I listened carefully to what Senator Scott and others have said about the barbarous acts committed by Hamas against innocent men, women, and children--the mowing down by machine guns of young people who were doing nothing more than attending a dance; the murder of babies. This is a horrific--horrific--act, precipitating a worldwide crisis, and the United States of America--all of us--condemn this act. In my view, the State of Israel has the absolute right to defend itself against Hamas and terrorism in general--no debate on that. But what I ask my colleagues to also consider is that while we fully appreciate the horrific attack by Hamas against innocent people of Israel, I ask you also to understand that right now there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza who have lost their homes. They have been thrown out of their homes. They have no food. They have no water. They have no fuel. And I remind my colleagues that half of those people are children. Half of the people in Gaza are children. So, yes, we are united in doing everything we can to destroy Hamas and their terrorism, but I implore you, do not take Hamas's inhumanity and brutality and terrorism against children who are 3 or 5 years old. I ask you to think for a moment. Think about it. I have a State that I represent, the State of Vermont--630,000 people. A million people-- most of them are poor. They had nothing to begin with.…
Said by
Bernie Sanders
Independent · Vermont

Share & report

More from Bernie Sanders

Sep 17, 2025

It is absurd to have to say this in the year 2025 but vaccines are safe and effective.

cbsnews.com
Oct 14, 2025

I mention Gaza in virtually every speech. And without exception, whether you’re doing it in Viroqua, Wisconsin; Los Angeles, California; Newport, Vermont—wherever you’re doing it—it is almost always a standing response.

thenation.com
Oct 9, 2025

It’s a very important issue. Nobody wants to see anybody in the military, anybody working for the government — people are struggling. Everybody knows that.

cnn.com
Sep 13, 2025

And I think over the years, the Democratic Party has done a lot of good things in terms of women’s rights, the environment, civil rights, gay rights. But in terms of the needs of the working class, I’m sorry to have to say they have not.

nbcnews.com

Other voices in this conversation