Cornel West Strongly Condemns Israel for its War Crimes in Gaza

 

By David Starr

 

Cornel West could be called a man with many abilities and outlooks, such as teaching the philosophy of religion, African American critical thought, as well as knowing the classics, philosophy, cultural theory, literature, and music.

 

West is trying to overcome the Democratic/Republican monopoly on power by running for president in the 2024 election. It is of course a long shot, but for West, it’s the principle of the thing. One issue that West feels strongly about is the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian war. 

 

On West’s web site, there is a variety of policies listed, and what West would do in the first 100 days as president. A West administration “would usher in a paradigm shift in American politics.” In the foreign policy category, West would stop, “All funding and weapons to Israel immediately, promoting self-determination for both Palestinians and Israelis.” 

 

On Instagram, West didn’t pull any punches with the disaster in Gaza:

 

“The US veto at the UN to block a vote to end Israel’s barbaric genocidal campaign in Gaza is an act of spiritual obscenity and moral bankruptcy. We must fight to cast a light on the precious Palestinian children, and innocent women and men being slaughtered by Israeli forces enabled by the US government! We must have an immediate ceasefire, end of the siege and end the vicious Israeli occupation!”

 

West’s assertions have been similar to the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) conclusion that Israel has committed “genocidal acts.” And the information below points out that Israel has been imposing its unlawful occupation, settlements and war. 

 

“In its Advisory Opinion, the Court responds to the questions posed by the General Assembly by concluding that:

 

• the State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful;

 

• the State of Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible;

 

• the State of Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory;

 

• the State of Israel has the obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all the natural or legal persons in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;

 

• international organizations, including the United Nations, are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; and

 

• the United Nations, and especially the General Assembly, which requested the opinion, and the Security Council, should consider the precise modalities and further action required to bring to an end as rapidly as possible the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

 

While the ICJ sounded more polite in its conclusion, West expresses a damning condemnation of Israel.    

 

According to NewsNation, “West, who is seeking to be added to presidential ballots as an independent, says his stance on the war in Gaza separates him from Vice President Kamala Harris…” West is quoted as saying, “She and I come from a long tradition of Black folks from both Jamaica and the United States with Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, and Malcolm X who always made the connection between having moral authority, which means if you have any moral authority, you call a genocide into question.”

 

West continued, “If you have any moral authority, you speak to the issues of poverty and wealth inequality in a substantive way and mass incarceration. So, in that sense, I’m just clashing with Sister Harris. I come out of a different corner of the Black (tradition).”

 

In conclusion, West questioned Harris’s concern about the death and suffering of Palestinians. He wants her to go beyond words: “I don’t want to hear words. I want to see action.”

 

As Israel continues its attempted genocide against Palestinians, the British journal The Lancet estimates that 186,000 of them were killed. And Cornel West is not backing down from Israel’s war crimes. He will continue to damn Israel for its occupation, settlements and the killings of a significant amount of people.

 

 


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