ADL Calls on Sanders to Retract Gaza Casualty Claims

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Wednesday called on Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to retract his statements regarding Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza in the summer of 2014.

In an interview with the editorial board of the New York Daily News last week, Sanders suggested Israel killed “over 10,000″ Palestinian civilians in Gaza. “Anybody help me out here, because I don’t remember the figures, but my recollection is over 10,000 innocent people were killed in Gaza. Does that sound right?” he said.

Sanders also called Israel’s military actions “disproportionate” and “indiscriminate.”

”I think most international observers would say that the attacks against Gaza were indiscriminate and that a lot of innocent people were killed who should not have been killed,” he asserted. “My understanding is that a whole lot of apartment houses were leveled. Hospitals, I think, were bombed. So yeah, I do believe and I don’t think I’m alone in believing that Israel’s force was more indiscriminate than it should have been.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday, ADL’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said, “Even the highest number of casualties claimed by Palestinian sources that include Hamas members engaged in attacking Israel is five times less than the number cited by Bernie Sanders.”

“As Mr. Sanders publicly discusses his approach to key U.S. foreign policy priorities, including Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, accuracy and accountability are essential for the voting public, but also for U.S. credibility in the international community. We urge Senator Sanders to correct his misstatements,” Greenblatt added.