‘Nobody’s hands are clean’: Obama urges reflection amid Israel-Hamas conflict

Former President Barack Obama said, "What's happening to Palestinians is unbearable." The remark was made during an interview with Pod Save America, a portion of which was published on Saturday. 

He said the killing spree in southern Israel by Hamas was "horrific" and unjustifiable, but "also true is that the occupation and what's happening to Palestinians is unbearable". Obama also discussed the "madness of antisemitism" and how "TikTok activism" stifles debate.
In this interview Obama warned against ignoring the complexities of Israel's conflict with Hamas, saying that "all of us are complicit." adding that 'Nobody's hands are clean.' The Politico and Business Insider report.

"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. In reflecting on his presidency, Obama asked, "Well, was there something else I could have done?"

Obama previously warned that an Israeli ground operation in Gaza could "backfire," arguing that while Israel has the right to defend itself, any civilian deaths would fuel extremism and harm the country's long-term security.

In his most recent intervention, the former president urged all sides of the Israel-Palestine debate to recognize the "complexity" of the conflict and all parties' legitimate grievances.

"There is a history of the Jewish people that may be dismissed unless your grandparents or your great grandparents or your uncle or your aunt tell you stories about the madness of antisemitism," he said. "And what is true is that there are people right now who are dying who have nothing to do with what Hamas did."

Activists using TikTok

Even as he acknowledged the deaths of innocent Palestinians, Obama warned against accepting what he called one-sided narratives on the internet that prioritize slogans over nuance.

"The problem with the social media and trying to TikTok activism — and trying to debate this on that — is you can't speak the truth," he said. "You can act as if you're telling the truth. You can tell one side of the truth and, in some cases, maintain your moral innocence. However, this will not solve the problem."

If you want to solve the problem, Obama says, "you have to accept the whole truth and then admit nobody's hands are clean — that all of us are complicit to some degree."

'Would there have been anything else I could have done?'

During his presidency, Obama advocated for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in order to achieve a two-state solution. He also urged Israelis to consider the viewpoint of Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank in a 2013 speech.

"Put yourself in their shoes — look at the world through their eyes," Obama advised at the time. "It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of her own, and lives with the presence of a foreign army that controls the movements of her parents every single day."

However, Obama backed Israeli military operations in Gaza, including "Operation Protective Edge," a bombardment that killed over 2,200 Palestinians, nearly two-thirds of whom were civilians. And, like every other US president, he failed to secure an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians on a final status.

In the interview, Obama reflected on his time in office in light of the latest Middle East crisis.

"I look at this and I think back, 'What could I have done during my presidency to move this forward?' As hard as I tried — I've got the scars to prove it — but there's a part of me that's still saying, 'Well, was there something else I could have done?' That's the conversation we should be having, not just looking backwards, but looking forward."

'From Obama to Biden, democrats have a problem'

Tim Scott, a Republican presidential candidate from South Carolina, responded to Obama's remarks in a statement to POLITICO on Saturday.

""From Obama to Biden, Democrats have a problem: supporting Israel always has an asterisk," he said.

"Obama is dead wrong and he has a legacy of aiding those who support terrorism," he went on to say. "The truth is simple: Hamas is evil."

President Joe Biden has offered significant military assistance to Israel in its fight against Hamas. The administration, on the other hand, has recently called for humanitarian pauses and warned against causing excessive harm to Palestinian civilians.

Former President Donald Trump, whose administration was closely aligned with Israel, criticized Netanyahu in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, saying he was "not prepared" and praising Hezbollah, a regional militant group, as "very smart." Soon after, Trump retracted his remarks.

Former President George W. Bush described himself as a "hardliner" in a recent video, saying, "My view is: One side is guilty. And it's not Israel."" Bush warned that the fighting would be "ugly" but defended Israel's right to retaliate against Hamas.

Former President Bill Clinton condemned Hamas in a social media post following the initial attack, but he has said little since. Clinton wrote in the post, ""Now is a time for the world to rally against terrorism and to support Israeli democracy. I stand with the government of Israel and all Israelis, and urge them to stand together."