By Kenneth Bandler
NEW YORK — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) criticized Senator Bernie Sanders for comparing socio-economic conditions in Baltimore to Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
“What do the serious issues Baltimore’s leadership and population are confronting have to do with daily Palestinian life in the West Bank?” stated AJC CEO David Harris.
“Inserting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into unrelated American political discourse serves only one purpose, to encourage those who are narrowly focused on assailing Israel for any shortcomings, failings by the Palestinian Authority,” Harris said.
“Furthermore, according to CIA statistics, infant mortality in the West Bank, at 13.08 deaths per 1,000 live births, actually compares favorably to most of the developing world,” said Harris. “Turkey’s rate is 18.87, Brazil’s is 18.60, and Iran’s is 38.04. The U.S. infant mortality rate, at 5.87, is far from where it should be, behind the United Kingdom, at 4.38, Australia at 4.37, France at 3.28, and Israel at 3.55.”
Sanders made his remarks during an address in Maryland ahead of Tuesday’s primary election. “People don’t know this. If you are born in Baltimore’s poorest neighborhoods, your life expectancy is almost twenty years shorter than if you are born in a wealthier neighborhood,” said Sanders, adding that “two [neighborhoods] have a higher infant mortality rate than the West Bank in Palestine.”
In addition, Harris continued, “life expectancy in the West Bank, according to the CIA World Factbook, exceeds that of Egypt and Jordan, not to mention many other countries.”
AJC is a 501(c)(3) organization that neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office.
*
Bandler is director of media relations for the American Jewish Committee