Bernie Sanders Recalls His Tears On Hearing Of His Family's Death In Holocaust

Sanders recalled that tears flowed down his face when he learnt that most of his father's family had been killed in the Holocaust. At Harlem's Apollo Theater, he was addressing a forum on race and social justice issues as per cbsnews. 

Such hatred built on the color of someone's skin or accent is "grotesque and awful" he noted. He knew right from boyhood that he wanted to spend his life fighting hatred and systemic racism.

"Love always trumps hate," Sanders said.

His forum had other members, including entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte, ex-Ohio state senator Nina Turner and Erica Garner, daughter of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who had succumbed after being put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer.

While addressing the audience, Sanders had begun to take questions from the audience. One of the persons from the audience had asked a number of things about Judaism.

"As you know, Zionist Jews -- and I don't mean to offend anybody, alright?" said the man, later identified by the New York Times as John Prince. "They run the Federal Reserve, they run Wall Street, they run every campaign."

His question set off the crowd into a boo, when Prince asked Sanders, "What is your affiliation to your Jewish community? That's all I'm asking."

"I am proud to be Jewish," said Sanders, even as the crowd applauded. He said that he was a "strong defender of Israel, but I also believe that we have got to pay attention to the needs of the Palestinians."

He has not talked much about his Jewish identity while campaigning. He said he finds it "uncomfortable" to talk about himself.

Sanders and Clinton have been on a campaign in New York over the past few days. They are seeking to win over voters before the Empire State's primary is held on April 19.

"If we can win here in New York State, it will be a huge step forward," Sanders said Saturday.