Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders declared that he would consider reversing President Donald Trump's move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem and return it to Tel Aviv.
At a Democratic debate on Tuesday night in South Carolina, he labeled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "reactionary racist".
In 2018, the Trump administration reversed decades of US foreign policy by siding more blatantly with Israel, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the American Embassy there. Trump also closed Palestinian diplomatic offices in Washington and cut funding to Palestinian aid programs.
Sanders' comments at the debate came after he recently announced he would skip an appearance before the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, which he called a “platform for bigotry.”
He has also called for cutting back American foreign aid to Israel and redirecting it to the Palestinians instead.
Sanders, who if elected would become America's first Jewish president, doubled down Tuesday saying: “What you cannot ignore is the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Sanders prefaced his remarks by saying he was “very proud of being Jewish,” and noted how he had volunteered in the 1960s on a socialist Israeli kibbutz, where he honed his leftist leanings, reported The Associated Press.
But his harsh criticism of modern-day Israeli policies, and embrace of supporters who have called to boycott Israel and been accused on anti-Semitism, has raised great concerns in Tel Aviv about his surging candidacy.
Sanders has firmly established himself in the lead after scoring primary and caucus victories in the first three nominating states: Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
In a daring foray into American domestic politics, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said there was a not a Jew in the world who “hasn't dreamed of Jerusalem” and Sanders words were so severe that he had no choice but to retort.
“We don't intervene in the internal American electoral process, which is splendid,” Katz told Israel's Army Radio, before noting that Sanders had a long history of attacking Israel.
“Naturally, people who support Israel will not support someone who goes against these things,” he added.
Michael Bloomberg, another Jewish candidate seeking the Democratic nomination, said at Tuesday's debate that it was too late to reverse the embassy move and people should instead focus on advancing a two-state solution.
Yair Lapid, a leading opposition figure who aims to replace Katz as foreign minister after next week's Israeli election, said in a recent TV interview that he was “very worried” about Sanders' rise because of his “lack of understanding of our unique situation in the Middle East."
The majority of American Jews vote Democrat and have been very critical of the Trump presidency.
But in Israel, Trump has been warmly embraced by Netanyahu and his allies, which has contributed to undermining the traditional bi-partisan support for Israel in the United States.
