Bernie Sanders, as many people know by now, is Jewish. He is the first Jew to win a presidential primary election, and would be the first Jew elected into the White House if he were to win.

And though Sanders currently trails Hillary Clinton, his historic accomplishments in the election thus far deserve attention. Religion is not an official political issue, but it surfacesIL enough within the civic sphere to seem like oneIL .

Barack Obama has been accused of being Muslim, despite the fact that he is a devout Christian. IL Several other presidential candidates this year have publicly triedIL to prove their worthiness to Christian voters (Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Clinton just to name a few.) Certainly, the religion of a president matters to America.

IronicallyIL, while many focus on Sanders being Jewish, the candidate himself often runs from this title as best he can. Sanders describes himself as, “the son of a Polish immigrant who came to this country speaking no English and having no money.” This is all factual of course, but not necessarily historically accurate.

As Rabbi Paley, a Rabbi in Sanders’ state of Vermont, told the New York Times, “Nobody in Poland would have considered Bernie a Pole.” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/us/politics/bernie-sanders-jewish.html

That is because Jews were not viewed as being part of the European country they resided in during the early 20th century. But Sanders insists on not calling himself the son of a Jewish immigrant because that would too strongly identify him with the religion IL.

OnIL Yom Kippur last year, the Day of Atonement and most holy day of the year within JudaismIL, Sanders was visiting with Pope Francis at the White House. If that doesn’t scream indifference, nothing does.

But as a Jew, I am not heart-broken over Sanders not being the most observant Jew. We all connect to our religion in our own way, so forcing Sanders to be more observant than he would like to be is hypocritical.

Still, I and many other Jews wish Sanders would just give us somethingIL. It is not often a Jew is this prominent on the political stage, and as such, we just want some recognition that our small voice is being heard.

Sanders’ religious indifference is seen most clearly in his foreign policy, especially in regards to Israel. In fact, Sanders is likely the most anti-Israel candidate left in the race.IL He is in favor of the Iranian nuclear deal, a big no-no to most Israelis.

However, the real downer for Sanders’ fellow Jews is his view on the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement, in which he has no stance. The BDS movement aims to cripple the state of Israel over their accused human rights violations. This is a separate, complex issue, but the point is that Sanders has failed to strike down this movement with any fury.

Sanders’ brother, Larry Sanders is, in fact, a stark supporter of the movement. “That Israel end occupation of West Bank, siege of Gaza, Palestinians in Israel equal rights. Netanyahu obstacle to peace. BDS yes,” read a tweet from Larry Sanders last year. http://www.jewishjournal.com/election2016/article/bernie_sanders_brother_is_a_bds_supporter

Even Hillary Clinton, a devout Methodist, is squarely opposed to BDS. “We need to repudiate forceful efforts to malign and undermine Israel and the Jewish people. We need to make countering BDS a priority,” Clinton said.http://www.jewishjournal.com/election2016/article/bernie_sanders_brother_is_a_bds_supporter

Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and even Donald Trump are all more pro-Israel than the lone Jewish candidate.

Sanders doesn’t have to be the most observant Jew, but standing up for Israel as the most prominent Jew in the country at the moment is a big deal to many who share his religion.

With the conflict in Israel escalating to new heights every day, it is essential for our strongest American voices like Sanders to stand up.

Though Sanders won fewer states than Clinton on Super Tuesday, his campaign still has momentum. And it seems like Sanders is missing his opportunity to make a statement on America’s center stage.

Jason is a senior in LAS.

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