Joel Rubin, who served as Sen. Bernie Sanders' Jewish outreach director during his 2020 presidential campaign, has publicly broken with his former boss, accusing the Vermont independent of promoting candidates whose rhetoric and positions fuel antisemitism.
Speaking to Jewish Insider at the Aspen Security Forum, Rubin said Sanders has endorsed "the most categorically anti-Israel, antisemitic candidates that we've seen in a generation, if ever," arguing that the senator's political endorsements have helped legitimize figures whose views have alienated many Jewish voters.
Rubin, a former State Department official, said he had once believed Sanders could help unite progressive values with support for the Jewish community. Instead, he said, the senator has embraced candidates who have crossed the line from criticism of Israeli government policies into rhetoric that promotes antisemitic tropes and hostility toward Jews. He warned that such endorsements come at a time of rising antisemitism in the United States and around the world.
The remarks mark one of the sharpest public rebukes Sanders has received from a former senior campaign aide closely associated with Jewish outreach. Rubin argued that political leaders have a responsibility to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel and language or movements that demonize Jews or encourage antisemitism.
Sanders, who is Jewish and has long defended his criticism of Israeli government policies as distinct from antisemitism, has repeatedly rejected accusations that opposition to Israel's actions is inherently antisemitic. Rubin's criticism nevertheless underscores growing divisions within the Democratic Party over Israel, antisemitism and the direction of progressive politics as the debate intensifies ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.