Cornel West

Overview

Cornel West has spread anti-Semitism, justified Hamas war crimes and promoted hatred of Israel, America and the police.

West spoke at the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia University (Columbia) in April 2024. He has also shown support for other anti-Israel protesters and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

In October 2023, West announced that he would run as an independent candidate in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. He left the Green Party to run as an independent.

In 2016, West served as the “Honorary Chair” of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

As of September 2024, West was listed on the Union Theological Seminary (UTS) website as a professor of philosophy and Christian practice. He was also listed as the “Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair” at UTS, which is affiliated with Columbia. Both schools are located in New York, New York.

Also as of September 2024, West’s UTS webpage said: “Dr. West is the former Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University.” He received a PhD in philosophy from Princeton in 1980.

As of September 2024, West’s X page said he was located in New York, New York.

Anti-Semitism

On July 19, 2023, West posted on X: “…The painful truth is that the Israeli state - like the USA - has been racist in practice since its inception.”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 other countries have adopted the definition as well.

In the same X post, West continued: “The founding of the Jewish state in response to the indescribable evil of the Holocaust against Jewish humanity produced dispossession and domination of Palestinian peoples. This sad paradox of how a terrorized and traumatized people for two thousand years - precious Jewish people - reproduced terror and trauma for precious Palestinian people in the last seventy-five years reveals our human wretchedness.”

Many anti-Israel activists claim the modern State of Israel was founded because of the Holocaust. This claim ignores the history of the modern Zionist movement and the historical efforts of Jews to leave the diaspora and return to the Land of Israel. The claim also ignores the ancient religious and cultural connection the Jewish people have kept with the Land of Israel for thousands of years, as first laid out in the Hebrew Bible.

The modern State of Israel was founded 76 years earlier, in 1948.

On August 2, 2014, West was featured as a speaker at an anti-Israel rally in Washington, D.C.

In his speech, West referred [00:04:41] to Israel’s ongoing Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas terrorists in Gaza as “Israeli state terrorism in action and it’s Jewish racism in motion.”

Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

Justifying Hamas Terrorist War Crimes

On October 7, 2023, West posted on Instagram: “STATEMENT FROM CORNEL WEST FOR PRESIDENT: / Dr. Cornel West Calls for Immediate Cessation of Violence in the Holy Land and for an End to the Illegal Occupation of Palestinians. Urges Western Colonial Powers to Be Conscious of Their Rhetoric and to Push for Peace, Not War / Saturday, October 7, 2023.”

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

West’s campaign statement further said: “[West] added, ‘President Biden and other world leaders must spend less time conjuring a fog of war with subjective and violent vernacular associated with who does and who doesn’t have the right to defend themselves, and more time evoking a language of love and dignity for all people involved.’”

Hatred of Israel

On December 9, 2023, West posted on X: “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 of the vicious Israeli occupation! #CeasefireNow #EndTheGenocide #EndTheOccupation.”

Israel and Egypt implemented a UN-approved [pp. 39–41] joint blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2011 to stop Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets. Hamas went around the blockade by smuggling weaponry through tunnels under the Philadelphi corridor separating Gaza from Egypt.

On December 11, 2024, West posted on X: “It’s bad enough that @POTUS ordered a veto of the UN Security Council ceasefire vote. Now it appears he circumvented Congressional review to expedite the sale of deadly munitions to continue Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. Congress must immediately investigate and determine if President Biden violated Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act. We must cease and desist unconditional military aid to the State of Israel. #CeasefireNow #FreePalestine #CornelWest2024.”

On December 19, 2024, West posted on X: “The humanity of the Palestinian people must never be invisible! Today I called for the International Criminal Court to investigate likely war crimes and violations of Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the ICC’s Rome Statutes committed by PM Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Force. The indiscriminate killings and genocidal acts against my Palestinian brothers, sisters, and siblings must cease and those guilty of war crimes must be brought to justice…”

On December 22, 2024, West posted on X: “As I and many others feared, the Biden Administration successfully watered down the recent UN resolution on Gaza. The language contained therein is inadequate and perambulates the irrefutable fact that an immediate #Ceasefire of all hostilities is what’s needed to prevent further war crimes and genocidal acts by the State of Israel. I reject this resolution and its intentional use of semantics to beguile the global community. This is not diplomacy, it’s complicity and a green light for Israel to continue their campaign of slaughter and moral bankruptcy…”

On January 26, 2024, West posted on X: “I am encouraged by the #ICJ ruling, which orders the State of Israel to institute measures to cease and desist genocidal activities in Gaza, as well as a directive to prevent and punish incitement to genocide…”

Also on January 26, 2024, West posted on X: “I implore the Court to deliver FULL justice by indicting those responsible for Israel’s atrocities, ordering an immediate and lasting ceasefire, and calling for an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine…”

Hatred of America

On September 17, 2024, West posted on X: “...The American Empire is profoundly sick and perhaps incurably corrupt. Its lethal military overreach (as in Gaza abroad and Cop City at home), greedy elites, desperate workers and forgotten poor citizens have rendered the fragile U.S. experiment an undeniable failure. Both Republican and Democratic Parties are corporate-dominated, money-driven plantations led by either myopic fascists or multicultural militarists…American organized greed and weaponized hatred have wrought cowardly callousness and gangsterized violence. Truth, justice and love can hardly gain a foothold in such cultural quicksand of spiritual decay and moral decadence. Only international solidarity movements and rich Black cultural styles provide a small slice of political hope in our Ice Age of self-destruction!…”

On July 30, 2024, West posted on X: “The American Empire is at a moment now where its decay and decline is so undeniable that there has to be voices to tell the truth about it…”

On November 9, 2023, West posted on X: “The nexus between climate change and militarism is undeniable. The U.S. military’s vast carbon footprint and consumption of fossil fuels exacerbate the climate crisis. We must redirect our resources from the machinery of bellicose empire building to the creation of a just society…”

On June 12, 2020, West posted on X: “Black Lives Matter and the fight against the US empire are one and the same…”

On June 26, 2012, West posted on X: “Most new people come to the U.S. and overlook America’s dark side.”

Hatred of the Police

On March 9, 2024, West posted on X: “We must oppose militarism here and abroad, including shutting down Cop City in Atlanta, where we protested yesterday! / #StopCopCity…”

On November 14, 2023, West posted on X: “We must confront and dismantle ALL forms of iniquitous militarism, foreign and DOMESTIC. Cop City reminds us that from Atlanta to Palestine, freedom is a constant struggle. And we must not forget that the same forces committing genocide in Gaza train and instruct the forces that commit domestic terror against peaceful protests right here in the USA . #StopCopCity.”

The accusation that Israeli law enforcement teaches American police brutal tactics during police exchange programs is used to demonize Israel. Participants in these programs have stated [00:02:14] that the training in Israel focuses [00:13:36] on public policy, counterterrorism and leadership training in the form of lectures and discussions.

On September 9, 2023, West posted on X: “We must stand in deep solidarity with our courageous brothers and sisters of all colors who are resisting Cop City! Join with us tomorrow! #StopCopCity.”

On January 26, 2021, West posted on X: “In this time of the neoliberal Biden, we must connect police crimes, Wall Street crimes, and Pentagon crimes! The U.S. supported Saudi led war in Yemen must stop! #StopTheWarInYemen.”

On October 20, 2015, West posted on X: “Your support is needed 2 STOP Police Terror! Please donate generously to #RiseUpOctober.”

On October 11, 2015, West posted on X: “Police are STILL killing. Its on us to stop it.
WHICH SIDE ARE U ON?...#RiseUpOctober.”

On November 25, 2014, West posted on X: “Wall Street criminals, Drone Droppers, Torturers and Police who kill our precious children go free - and we weep and fight back!”

Speaking at the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia

On April 20, 2024, West posted on Instagram a video of him speaking at the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia and wrote: “Our struggle goes on!…#CornelWest arrived at #ColumbiaUniversity and hopped the fence of the south lawn. Shortly after, NYPD arrested hundreds of pro-PaIestlnian students and protesters…”

On April 17, 2024, Columbia students and anti-Israel activists set up a pro-Hamas “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the university's main lawn. Many participants were arrested and the encampment featured multiple violent incidents, including taking over a campus building and taking a university worker hostage.

Activists protested Israel’s war against Hamas and demanded that Columbia “divest from companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation…”

The action had reportedly been planned for months and was organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition. The encampment was also organized by Columbia’s banned pro-Hamas activist group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the university chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Activists reportedly received training from National SJP and other anti-Israel organizations.

Among the encampment leaders was Columbia student Khymani James who had said [00:00:25]: “Zionists…They are nazis!... They’re supporters of genocide! Why would we want people who are supporters of genocide to live?... Be glad, be grateful that I am not just going out and murdering Zionists.” Aidan Parisi, another encampment leader, responded to Columbia’s demand to disband the encampment by declaring online that: “COLUMBIA WILL BURN.”

The encampment was forcibly dismantled at the directive of Columbia’s president and administration. The NYPD [New York Police Department] entered the area, cleared the encampment and arrested more than 100 protestors, approximately 80 of whom were Columbia students. The students were charged with trespassing and suspended from Columbia indefinitely.

The next day, activists created a new encampment. When divestment negotiations with Columbia failed, protesters illegally forced their way into the university’s Hamilton Hall on April 30, 2024. They smashed [00:00:55] through a glass-paneled door, broke security cameras, threw university property out of the windows and unfurled [00:00:01] a banner in the building’s wall that read: “INTIFADA,” a term in Arabic for uprising or insurrection that carries the connotation of violence.

While barricading themselves in the building, agitators kept three Columbia custodians hostage and stopped them from leaving. When the NYPD raided and dismantled the encampment a second time, they arrested more than 100 students, nearly half of whom were reportedly not affiliated with Columbia.

NYPD shared on Twitter photos of objects the police found in Hamilton Hall. These included knives, hammers, gas masks, ropes and a pamphlet that read [video 1]: “...DISRUPT/RECLAIM/DESTROY zionist business interests everywhere! DEATH TO ISRAELI REAL STATE! DEATH TO AMERICA!...LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA!”

Just outside the encampment area, Jewish students were called [slide 2]: “Uncultured a** b**ches!” and were told to “Go back to Europe!” Activists also said [slide 3] to them: “Yahoodim [Jews], yahoodi [Jew], f**k you!” and “Stop killing children!” as they walked from campus to their dorm rooms.

Also just outside the encampment area, anti-Israel activists chanted [slide 5]: “Ya Hamas, ya habib, odrob, odrob Tel Aviv! [Oh Hamas, oh loved one, strike, strike Tel Aviv!]”, a chant that celebrates Hamas rocket attacks against Israel.

An activist just outside the encampment area held [photo 4] a sign that said, referring to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing: “AL-QASAM’S NEXT TARGETS.” Her sign contained an arrow pointing to a pro-Israel crowd.

On May 31, 2024, Columbia SJP announced that its activists had set up a third encampment at the university. At the encampment, protesters reportedly displayed on a big screen a video that portrayed Hamas as a peace-seeking organization and made a sign that contained an inverted red triangle, a symbol in support of Hamas.

The Columbia encampment reportedly inspired a wave of protest encampments across North American campuses, where pro-Israel students were blocked or restricted from campus facilities. Jewish students were reportedly harassed in several other ways.

On May 7, 2024, West posted on Instagram a video of the Columbia encampment and wrote: “I salute my brother @macklemore using his powerful artistry to tell some painful truths…HIND’S [Hamilton] HALL. Once it’s up on streaming all proceeds to UNRWA.”

On April 30, 2024, participants in Columbia’s second pro-Hamas encampment forced their way into the university’s Hamilton Hall, barricading themselves in the building and taking three Columbia custodians hostage. Protesters also vandalized [00:00:55] and destroyed university property inside the hall. A police raid on Hamilton found knives, gas masks, ropes and literature that read: “...DESTROY zionist business interests everywhere!...DEATH TO AMERICA!...”

The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) has hired Hamas members as teachers in its schools and provided arms to the terror group. Dozens of UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel, and many kept hostages for Hamas in their homes.

Support for Anti-Israel Protesters

On May 9, 2024, West posted on Instagram: “...While in Edinburgh, Scotland for my Gifford Lecture series, I was blessed to speak at the demonstration and stand in solidarity with the students for Palestinian cause - Edinburgh Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee - I will be visiting and speaking in other demonstrations and encampments for the days to come!...”

West’s Instagram post included a video of anti-Israel protesters chanting [00:00:03]: “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!”

The term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” carries the connotation of violence. Palestinian intifadas waged against Israel have been marked since 1987 by hundreds of hijackings, shootings, stabbings, bombings and suicide missions.

In the same video, West gave a speech at the rally, saying [00:02:32]: “...we’re going to do all that we can to make sure a spotlight remains on you, as you continue to have vision, as you continue to have organization, and as you continue to have strength of resilience and resistance.”

Anti-Israel activists use the term “resistance” to refer to violence and terror perpetrated against Israeli civilians and their allies. It is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence. Anti-Israel activists chant slogans such as: “Resistance by any means necessary!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” in response to terror attacks.

BDS

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.

One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”

Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”

In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”

The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.

Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.

BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.