The Bernie Sanders campaign suspended its Jewish outreach coordinator Simone Zimmerman Thursday after a Free Beacon report revealed the extent of Zimmerman’s anti-Israel sentiments.
"She has been suspended while we investigate the matter," wrote Michael Briggs, a spokesman for Sen. Bernie Sanders (D., NY.), according to The New York Times.
In a March 2015 Facebook post obtained by the Free Beacon, Zimmerman called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "an arrogant, deceptive, cynical, manipulative asshole" and claimed that he had "sanctioned the murder of over 2,000 people this summer." She later edited the post, swapping "asshole" for "politician" and "f-ck you, Bibi" for "shame on you, Bibi."
Zimmerman has long been involved in radical left-wing politics. She has expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and headed the campus chapter of J Street at the University of California, Berkley.
The young BDS activist has also consistently attacked Hillary Clinton for her stance on Israel. "Hil thinks she can win us back with hawkish Israel policies? Wake the f–k up," she wrote in a February Facebook post.
Sanders staffers were eager about Zimmerman's hire and wrote that they stood with her "unequivocally."
Groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the World Jewish Congress condemned Zimmerman's appointment. Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, questioned Sanders’ decision in a written statement.
"Bernie Sanders’ hiring of Simone Zimmerman as his chief advisor on Jewish issues is cause for profound concern," Lauder wrote. "I call on Senator Sanders to clarify his own positions and whether this hire reflects his views on Israel. Does he support the positions Ms. Zimmerman espouses?"
"We are known by the company we keep, and those whose advice we seek," he wrote.
Sanders has expressed a left-wing stance on Israel, calling Israel’s response in the 2014 Gaza war "disproportionate" and claiming that Israel killed "10,000" Palestinians "indiscriminately." He was the only presidential candidate who refused to attend the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in March.
Sanders is also the only Jewish candidate in the race.