Sanders: Israeli government has 'overt racists' Posted on Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Sunday said that the Israeli government has “overt racists” and once again said that the US administration should change its approach towards Israel. Speaking to CBS’ “Face the Nation”, Sanders was asked about an op-ed he wrote for The New York Times in which he said the US must stop being an apologist for the Netanyahu government. The interviewer, John Dickerson, asked Sanders whether he thinks the administration is being an apologist for the Netanyahu government. “I think the United States has got to develop an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.