On Tuesday, Cornel West, the presidential candidate and renowned political activist teamed up with Michigan Task Force for Palestine. Their event, Gaza Endures Interfaith Rally, took place in Dearborn, and West demanded an end to the siege of Gaza as well as a permanent cease-fire.
There were several hundred participants, including Muslim, Christian and Jewish faith leaders who described the war on Gaza as genocide.
“Oh, what a blessing, what an honor, what a privilege to be here, Dearborn, Michigan!” West said as he greeted the crowd. “Brothers and sisters, in the face of overwhelming hatred as well as terror as well as trauma, the challenge becomes: can we respond to hatred without hating others?
“I hate the Israeli occupation, I hate the Israeli domination, I hate the Israeli genocide ... but that doesn’t mean I hate all of Jewish brothers and sisters.” He also called for the Biden administration to be held accountable and that Israeli defense forces to be brought before the International Criminal Court.
West, who tossed his hat into the ring for the 2024 presidential election a few months back, sat down with The Detroit News to elaborate on his stance. “Every struggle against injustice has polarizing effects,” West said.
He added, “We’re bringing out the injustices that have been rendered invisible ... when you have nearly 8,000 precious Palestinian babies who are being killed ... and almost 20,000 as a whole ... how can I not raise my voice, how can I not be concerned about that?”
West, who is running as an Independent, has been under scrutiny when it comes to his financial dealings. In an alarming article published by Forbes earlier this month called the scholar broke and stated that his net worth is zero.
The Isreal-Hamas war has resulted in the deaths of almost 20,000 Palestinians, displaced some 1.9 million of them and destroyed much of northern Gaza.