The Democratic front runner has made a concerted effort to court the Muslim community—and his outreach is paying off in a big way. But will Muslim support come at the cost of Jewish votes?
At last night's messy Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolina, one of the messiest moments came when Bernie Sanders was asked to address the concerns of American Jews over his Mideast policies. The Vermont senator firmly voiced his commitment to protect the independence and security of Israel.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center on February 25, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina.The strong support for Sanders among Muslim voters was abundantly clear in Iowa, during a caucus otherwise marred by confusion and suspicion about the outcome.
Yet another vote of confidence: Ten days before Super Tuesday, when voters from 14 states will head to the polls—including California and Texas, which have the largest number of voting-age Muslims—Emgage, the nation's biggest Muslim PAC, endorsed Sanders, saying the candidate"has built a historically inclusive and forward-thinking movement."That the majority of Muslim voters would pick a Democrat has become a given in recent years.
But Sanders is the only one of the major 2020 presidential contenders who has visited mosques or appeared publicly with prominent Muslim elected leaders from the Democratic Party such as Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
"You get tarred as somehow a member of a terrorist group, told you are somehow not fully American because your allegiances may not be to the U.S. Constitution, you get all kinds of Islamophobia spewed against you," Shakir says."Then here comes Bernie Sanders who stands up and says, 'I'm going to a Muslim convention' and he speaks authentically about Kashmir, the Israel-Palestinian dispute, the Afghanistan war, the Chinese treatment of the Uyghurs.
"Bernie Sanders offers an authentic message that has stood the test of time," McCaw says."Also, it's not just that he speaks to Muslim issues. He embraces Muslims speaking for his campaign in a way that I have not seen another candidate do."Sanders' appeal goes beyond his outspoken opposition to bigotry against Muslims and U.S. interference in the affairs of Muslim-majority countries.
And far from Sanders avoiding discussion of his faith around Muslim groups, he uses his family's immigrant experience to relate to their experiences as targets of oppression and bigotry. At the Islamic Society of North America convention in July 2019, for instance, he opened by declaring himself the"proud son of Jewish immigrants," a phrase the elicited applause.
Overall, there has been precious little fanfare in the Jewish media over the increasing likelihood that he could be the first Jewish person to become a major political party's presidential candidate or his unprecedented wins in the early voting.
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