Barack Obama Addresses "Complexity" Of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

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Barack Obama Speaks At His Foundation's Democracy Forum In New York City
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 17: Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a Democracy Forum event held by the Obama Foundation at the Javits Center on November 17, 2022 in New York City. The all day event featured speakers from a variety of backgrounds conversing on the state of global democracy and opportunities for the next generation of global leaders. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Barack Obama has opened up about his stance on Israel and Palestine.

Barack Obama has spoken out about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the first time since the Israeli military's latest offensive against Hamas in Gaza City. While appearing on the podcast Pod Save America, the former President of the United States focused on the "complexity" of the situation.

“If there’s any chance of us being able to act constructively to do something, it will require an admission of complexity and maintaining what on the surface may seem contradictory ideas that what Hamas did was horrific, and there’s no justification for it. And … that the occupation and what’s happening to Palestinians is unbearable,” Obama said.

Barack Obama Speaks At The Obama Foundation Democracy Forum

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 03: Former President Barack. Obama speaks to attendees at the Obama Foundation Democracy Forum on November 03, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Obama spoke about economic inclusion is fundamental to safeguarding and expanding democracies in countries around the world. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

From there, Obama spoke about the discourse he's seen on social media, specifically TikTok. “If you want to solve the problem, then you have to take in the whole truth, and you then have to admit nobody’s hands are clean – that all of us are complicit to some degree,” he said. Obama added that he'd rather see people “out there talking to people," than online. He further continued: "Including people who you disagree with. If you genuinely want to change this … you’ve got to figure out how to speak to somebody on the other side and listen to them and understand what they are talking about and not dismiss it."

Barack Obama Discusses The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Obama is one of several influential figures who have spoken out about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent weeks. After being criticized for his silence on the matter, Drake signed a letter penned to President Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire in the war. Be on the lookout for further updates on the conflict on HotNewHipHop.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.
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