Bernie Sanders Defends College Protesters Accused Of Being Pro-Hamas: They Are ‘Out There For the Right Reasons’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said that many of the pro-Palestine demonstrating on college campuses are doing so “for the right reasons.”

The Vermont lawmaker joined CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour where the pair discussed President Joe Biden’s recent condemnation of the pro-Palestine protests over the use of pro-Hamas chants and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Sanders said the president was correct in calling out hate and violence at pro-Gaza protests, but said it is important to draw a distinction for those protesting against the Israeli government.

Recently, pro-Palestine protests have broken out across dozens of college campuses, leading to the arrest of hundreds of demonstrators.

AMANPOUR: Do you believe President Biden got it just right? Or what would you say in his first comments about these protests?

SANDERS: Well, he’s exactly right is that we don’t want protests that are violent. And we absolutely will not tolerate anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia or any form of bigotry. Of course, he’s right on that. But I think, Christiane, it is important to understand, why these protesters are out there and they are out there not because they are pro Hamas. They are out there because they are outraged by what the Israeli government is now doing in Gaza, which is bringing unbelievable, not just to the terrorist organization of Hamas, but to the entire Palestinian people.

And that’s why these anti-war demonstrators are out there. They do not want to see a situation continue where 110,000 Palestinians out of, you know, 5% of the population have been killed or wounded, where children now face starvation, hundreds of thousands of children face starvation because Israel is refusing to allow humanitarian aid to get to where it has to go. Where two thirds of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged with the entire civilian infrastructure. Water. Electricity has been annihilated where educational systems. Every university in Gaza has been bombed. So I think it’s important understand why these young people are out there and they are out there for the right reasons to protest U.S. continued military aid and money to a right wing extremist Netanyahu government, which is in a destructive war against the Palestinian people.

Watch the full clip above via CNN.