BASH: Senator, Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib released a video on Friday. I want you to watch part of it.
U.S. REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): Mr. President, the American people are not with you on this one. We will remember in 2024.
PROTESTERS: FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA! FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA!
TLAIB: We will remember in 2024.
BASH: That last screen said Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people. I know you know the definition of genocide. It is defined as a crime committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious or group. Do you think that is what Israel is doing here?
SANDERS: Look- what's going on right now is a horror show. We don’t have to quibble about words. Thousands of men, women, and children are being killed. It has got to end right now. And one of the things that concerns me Dana is, there’s not been enough talk about what right-wing Republicans are doing -- they don't want any aid to go to the Palestinians. Somebody should be talking about that. Somebody should be talking about how Trump wants to expel Palestinians from this country. So it's, you know, you can disagree with Joe Biden, but on his worst day, he'll be 100 times better than trump and the right-wing Republicans are coming from.
BASH: So you think Rashida Tlaib should save her ire for Trump and the right wing and not a fellow Democrat?
SANDERS: Well, Rashida Tlaib- Rashida is a friend of mine, her family comes from Palestine, I think she has been shaken as all of us are about what goes on- is going on right there, right now.
BASH: Yeah, -
SANDERS: We have to address the humanitarian crisis. But if anyone thinks that Trump is going to be better than Biden on this issue or any other issue, for that matter, I think they are sorely mistaken.
BASH: And I understand that. I also understand and I know you know that words matter. And I want to ask about what she said --
SANDERS: I don’t- Look. Words matter, but what matters more, Dana is you have a horrible humanitarian disaster that has to be dealt with right now. You call it whatever you want to call it. It has to be dealt with. Women and children cannot be bombed with 2,000-pound bombs. And we need the entire world community to stop that.
BASH: So when she says, “from the river to the sea”- when she says “from the river to the sea”, which the ADL says is anti-semitic, she says, it's aspirational, but the ADL says it is anti-semitic, do you want her to stop using terms like that? And others?
SANDERS: Well, I think that what--her, her-- Dana, you know, it's not what I want or anything else. This is what you've got. President Obama just said the other day, I think quite correctly, and we've all gotta deal with it. This is an enormously complex issue, and slogans like “the river to the sea”, if that means the destruction of Israel, that's not going to work. People who are saying, “Israel, right or wrong, we are for you all the way”, that's not going to work. This is a horrendously complex situ-- you have a right-wing government in Israel which is racist and the people- by the way, the good news is, last poll I saw, only 18% of the people of Israel want Netanyahu to stay in office. I hope they get rid of him. I hope they put in a government which understands the severity of the crisis and can help us move towards a two-tier state.
BASH: Senator-
SANDERS: On the other hand, in terms of Hamas, you’ve got a terrorist organization that cannot be trusted for a minute. This is, as President Obama said, a very complex issue.