Sanders aide apologizes for questioning American Jews' 'dual allegiance' to Israel

A spokeswoman for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign apologized Tuesday after questioning whether the “American Jewish community has a dual allegiance to the state of Israel” — a comment condemned by Jewish leaders across the political spectrum as having anti-Semitic overtones.

"In a conversation on Facebook, I used some language that I see now was insensitive. Issues of allegiance and loyalty to one's country come with painful history,” Belén Sisa, Sanders’ national deputy press secretary, told POLITICO. "At a time when so many communities in our country feel under attack by the president and his allies, I absolutely recognize that we need to address these issues with greater care and sensitivity to their historical resonance, and I'm committed to doing that in the future"

Sisa posed the question Sunday during a discussion in a Facebook thread in which she said that, like Sanders, she stood with Rep. Ilhan Omar. She deleted the post after POLITICO began asking about it.