The former ambassador from Israel to the US accused Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders of an ancient smear against Jews known as “blood libel.”
Blood libel refers to claims starting in the medieval ages that Jews kidnapped and killed Christians and then used their blood in Jewish holiday celebrations.
A current Israeli lawmaker and the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren told The Times of Israel that Sanders “owes Israel an apology.”
Oren was incensed about Sanders comments to the New York Daily News that Israel has killed over 10,000 civilians in Gaza.
“He accused us of a blood libel. He accused us of bombing hospitals. He accused us of killing 10,000 Palestinian civilians. Don’t you think that merits an apology,” Oren said.
He continued to say, “He doesn’t mention the many thousands of Hamas rockets fired at us. He doesn’t mention the fact that Hamas hides behind civilians. He doesn’t mention the fact that we pulled out of Gaza in order to give the Palestinians a chance to experiment with statehood, and they turned it into an experiment with terror.”
Oren added, “that, to me, is libelous.”