Former President Obama said during an interview on Pod Save America that the US had to admit that “we are all complicit” in the Israel-Hamas conflict and added, “no one’s hands are clean.”
Obama argued that if there was any way for the US to act on the Middle East conflict, people would have to recognize several points of view that he said might appear “contradictory” on the surface.
“What Hamas did was horrific and there is no justification for it. And what is also true is that the occupation, and what is happening to the Palestinians, is intolerable, and what is also true is that there is a history of the Jewish people that it can be dismissed unless your grandparents or your great-grandparents or your uncle or aunt tell you stories about the madness of anti-Semitism, and what is true is that there are people dying right now who have nothing to do with that’s what Hamas did,” he said, noting that he could go on for a while.
The former president argued that it was important to recognize the “whole truth,” not just one side.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Sen. Raphael Warnock, Democrat of Georgia, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. (Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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He also criticized attempts to discuss the conflict through TikTok and social media “activism”, saying people were trying to “maintain moral innocence” by telling only one side of the truth.
“That’s not going to solve the problem. And so if you want to solve the problem, then you have to take on the whole truth. And then you have to admit that nobody’s hands are clean, that all of us are complicit to some extent.”, he said.
Obama also said he wondered what he could have done differently during his presidency to “move this forward.”
“That’s the conversation we should be having, not just looking back but looking forward. And that can’t happen if we’re limited to our anger. I’d rather see you out there talking to people, including people you you disagree.” he said.
Former President Barack Obama has recorded two taped calls urging voters to vote in Virginia’s crucial congressional election. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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The “Pod Save America” podcast released a short clip of the interview on Saturday and said the former president was talking about “violence in Gaza.”
“If you really want to change that, then you have to learn how to talk to someone on the other side and listen to them and understand what they’re talking about, and not dismiss it. Because you can’t save that child without their help, not in this situation,” he continued.
During a speech at his foundation on Thursday, he said the Israel-Hamas conflict was a “moral reckoning” for all of us.
Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden and Democratic Senate candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, right, are seen at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo)
“All of this is taking place against the backdrop of decades of failure to achieve a lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians,” he said. “One based on real security for Israel, recognition of its right to exist, and a peace based on ending the occupation and establishing a viable state and self-determination for the Palestinian people.”
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