Sanders suspends Jewish outreach head over anti-Israel Facebook post

“Bernie Sanders’ hiring of Simone Zimmerman as his chief adviser on Jewish issues is cause for profound concern,” Mr Lauder said. “Does he support the positions Ms Zimmerman espouses? If not, he should make that clear by terminating her immediately as one of his closest advisers.”

However, a Bernie Sanders supprt group – Jews for Bernie – took to Twitter to support Ms Zimmerman, rejecting “smears emanating from the far right” that she supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). One tweet said : “Simone Z. is an anti-occupation activist, not an anti-Israel activist. Those who refuse to acknowledge the difference are extremists.”

In 2013 article for the Jewish Telegrpahic Agency, Ms Zimmerman defended the right of pro-BDS students to be heard at campus Hillels. However, in the same piece, she wrote that she had “campaigned actively against divestment efforts” on her campus, the University of California, Berkeley.

A spokesman for the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign said on Thursday: “[Simone Zimmerman] has been suspended while we investigate the matter”.