Here is what some notable people and leaders from the last century have said about Israel’s Palestine war.
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi, is widely regarded as the father of the nonviolent resistance movement, which was essential in forcing the British out of India. Gandhi, an anti-colonialist and lawyer, declared that “Palestine belongs to the Arabs,” in addition to his well-known love for Jews.
“No exception can possibly be taken to the natural desire of the Jews to found a home in Palestine. But they must wait for its fulfillment till Arab opinion is ripe for it,” he said in 1938.
Gandhi also said that “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English and France to the French”.
Nelson Mandela
Mandela, South Africa’s first president, was an anti-apartheid activist.
In a passionate address on International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in 1997, Mandela remarked, “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
His demand for a two-state solution highlighted the conflict’s complexities. When he visited Palestine, he stated that he felt “at home amongst compatriots.” He declared his support for the two-state solution while insisting that Israel leave seized regions.
He later added, “Choose peace rather than confrontation. Except in cases where we cannot get, where we cannot proceed, or we cannot move forward. Then, if the only alternative is violence, we will use violence.”
Muhammad Ali
Ali, dubbed “The Greatest” not just for conquering the boxing ring but also for speaking truth to power, declined to enlist in the Vietnam War in 1967, at the peak of his boxing career. As a result, he was stripped of his heavyweight title.
“I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end,” he said.
Years later, during a visit to Palestinian refugee camps in South Lebanon in 1985, Ali spoke out against what he called “Zionist invaders.” He announced his support for the Palestinian cause, linking himself with a global cause.
“In my name and the name of all Muslims in America, I declare support for the Palestinian struggle to liberate their homeland and oust the Zionist invaders,” he said.
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