As I discussed earlier, the secret of Bernie Sanders' stay in an Israeli Kibbutz was that it was a Marxist Kibbutz that was part of a movement enthusiastic about Stalin and considered the USSR its homeland.
Bernie Sanders has a complicated history with Israel. Back in the 70s, he called for denying weapons to Israel before the Yom Kippur War. His voting record on Israel in the Senate was spotty at best. He called for "aggressive normalization" with the terror state of Iran at the Democratic debate.
In 1963, Sanders had told Yossi Melman that he had been at Kibbutz Sha'ar Ha'amakim as a guest of the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement.Israel had all sorts of Kibbutzim affiliated with various political movements. Hashomer Hatzair was about as bad as it got.
Kibbutz Sha'ar Ha'amakim had been co-founded by Aharon Cohen, the Arabist, who was a regular critic of Israel and opponent of its policy. He was arrested for spying for the USSR in the 50s.
Its founder, Ya'akov Hazan, described the USSR as a second homeland and eulogized Stalin, writing how shocked he and his comrades were, "to hear of the terrible tragedy that has befallen the nations of the Soviet Union, the world proletariat and all of progressive mankind, upon the death of the great leader and extolled commander, Josef Vissarionovich Stalin. We lower our flag in grief in memory of the great revolutionary fighter, architect of socialist construction, and leader of the world's peace movement. His huge historical achievements will guide generations in their march towards the reign of socialism and communism the world over."
Al Hamishmar, the movement's paper, had a headline which read, "The Progressive World Mourns the Death of J.V. Stalin"
While the Bernie Sanders campaign had not wanted to discuss where Bernie Sanders had spent his time, he had told a reporter the truth back in 1990 when he was running for Congress. The article was titled, "The First Socialist".
Sanders, who was critical of the Reagan and first Bush administrations' policies in Central America, also said: “As a Jew, I am embarrassed by Israeli involvement on the continent [of South America]. It is embarrassing that Israel sells weapons to the worst of the Central and South American regimes. Why do you need to be the American government’s mercenaries?”
The candidate also said that he “would like to see the US put more pressure on Israel to compromise on the Palestinian matter.”
Bernie Sanders appeared more upset that Israeli arms sales were hurting some of his favorite Marxist Latin American terror groups and regimes. And his call for pressuring Israel was not new.
"The policy that Israelis shoot people is unacceptable. It is wrong that the United States provides arms to Israel," he declared, according to a local newspaper account at the time.
During one March 1988 news conference when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont, Sanders called brutal Israeli treatment of Palestinian protesters “an absolute disgrace.”
A decade later, he was the only Jewish member of Congress not to back a House resolution condemning the Palestinians and expressing solidarity with Israel after two Palestinian suicide attacks killed dozens. Sanders voted present, and the measure passed, 384-11.
In July 2014, during the Gaza war, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution supporting Israel "as it defends itself against unprovoked rocket attacks" by Hamas; Sanders was one of 21 senators who did not co-sponsor the measure.
Bernie Sanders, like Hillary Clinton, is not friendly to Israel. Unlike Hillary, he spends less time hiding his views.