The following is my post in the SandersForPresident forum on Reddit.

I'm Jewish, and I grew up with a proud Jewish ancestry and family. I'm not very religious, but that doesn't make any less proud to be Jewish. But just because I'm Jewish doesn't mean I shouldn't be critical of Israel's actions towards the Palestinians. President Obama's criticisms of Israel were a start, but I didn't feel it was enough. When I watch debates, I see very little, if not no, criticism of Israel's actions.

A reason why I follow and support Senator Sanders's Presidential campaign is the fact that he's not afraid to say the unpopular opinion if he believed it was the right thing to do. If he was going to win, he was going to win his way. His staunch defense of the LGBT community in the 80s and 90s is one such example. One of the most refreshing stances I've seen in political campaigning is the fact that he was going to treat Palestinians like people and not suck up to the common American political lobby taboo of being discreet when criticizing Israel. He did that when he skipped AIPAC and defended the Palestinians' humanity in Utah and in the tabloids when he called Israel's response to terrorism in 2014 disproportionate.

But the whole segment during the Democratic Debate was, IMO, his most powerful response of the Israel-Palestine feud yet for a few reasons.

1. The platform in which and where he stated it. NYC has a really proud Jewish and Arab population. By declaring that we as a people should stop stereotyping Palestinians and treat them with the respect they deserve in NYC, he makes people aware of the treatment the Palestinians receive.
2. This is virtually the first time anyone spoke for the Palestinians' humanity, and he broke an American taboo on a very grand stage. He really shaped up a possible future of American politics, not just the DC; it won't surprise me that a future Presidential or VP debate will discuss how to treat both sides fairly.
3. Foreign policy was said to be one of his weaker areas of his campaign, if not the weakest. When she dodged Sanders's challenge to admit whether Israel's response was disproportionate or not, she looked really weak in that field, and foreign policy was supposedly one of her biggest strengths. As someone who takes foreign policy seriously, her statement was a huge wake-up call for me.
4. Sanders himself said it. By having Sanders, a Jewish man who went to Israel, state that we need to treat Palestinians with respect in NYC on a national stage will generate a reception, be it positive or negative. It's going to make people wonder about the whole Israel-Palestine conflict, even for a split second. The fact that he mentioned poverty in the Palestinian regions, especially Gaza, is something we don't talk about at all.
   

As a Jewish New Yorker, thank you, Senator Sanders, for having the courage to support our Palestinian family and friends. Palestinians are people, and the fact that we stereotype them is one of our most shameful aspects in American society. Your vocal honesty and support for humanity is hopefully a stinging moment that helps evolve America.

Toda once again.