(JTA) – Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders embraced a Muslim student and referenced his Jewish background in condemning all forms of racism. In the Q&A portion of a town hall meeting at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Wednesday night, Oct. 28, hijab-wearing senior Remaz Abdelgader identified herself as “an American Muslim student who aspires to change this world” and complained about the “rhetoric that’s going on in the media.” In response, Sanders, a Vermont senator who identifies as a democratic socialist, hugged her and said, “Let me be very personal here if I might. I’m Jewish. My father’s family died in concentration camps. I will do everything that I can to rid this country of the ugly stain of racism which has existed for far too many years.” He noted that “there is a lot of anger being generated, a lot of hatred being generated against Muslims in this country …”