Speaker at Sanders Rally Once Said ISIS Acts As Arm of ‘Zionists,’ Bernie is Honorable ‘Even Though He is a Jew’
Imam Sayed Hassan al-Qazwini, who spoke at a Bernie Sanders rally this week, has said that ISIS is “somehow connected to Israel” and acts as an “arm” of “Zionists,” and on another occasion described Bernie as an “honorable man, even though he is a Jew.”
Qazwini spoke at a Dearborn, Michigan rally on Saturday, one of several speakers to precede Sanders. He decried President Donald Trump’s promotion of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and praised Sanders in colorful terms.
“You have heard the expression that says politicians are like human sperm,” Qazwini said, then for those unfamiliar with that old saw, added “One out of each one[million] human sperm becomes a human being. One out of each one million politicians become a human being.”
“But Bernie Sanders is not a politician, I attest to that, he is a man of honor, he is a man of principle, and he proved that,” Qazwini added.
The imam made a similar remark in 2016, albeit with a notable addendum. During a September 15 sermon, he praised Sanders for defying pro-Israel lobbying groups by saying “I truly consider him an honorable man, even though he is a Jew.”
Qazwini quickly added “But you know, we have no problem with Jewish people. We have a problem with the Zionists, not with the Jewish people, like Bernie Sanders.”
“When other candidates were competing among themselves to show more loyalty toward Israel, and to show more willingness, I would say, to sell America for the interest of Israel, this man refused to do so, even though he is a Jew himself,” he continued, and added “But then he was made to pay the price. He lost.”
And in another sermon, from November 20, 2015 (which was flagged by The Washington Post‘s Josh Rogin) Qazwini said that ISIS “somehow is connected to Israel” and “is playing the role of the arm of the Zionist in the Muslim world.”
Watch the clip above via the Bernie Sanders campaign.
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