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by Shiryn Ghermezian
A mural commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in Chattanooga, TN. Photo: Reuters/Billy Weeks.
The daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. commented on a video shared on social media by Jewish actress and comedian Amy Schumer amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that shows the late civil rights leader saying that Israel “must exist and has the right to exist” and that he would “take a stand against antisemitism because it’s wrong, it’s unjust, and it’s evil.”
“Amy: Certainly, my father was against anti-Semitism, as am I,” wrote Bernice King, who is the CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, on X/Twitter. “He also believed militarism (along with racism and poverty) to be among the interconnected Triple Evils. I am certain he would call for Israel’s bombing of Palestinians to cease, for hostages to be released… and for us to work for true peace, which includes justice. He said, ‘Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.’ We have much to correct.”
“I mourn with all who are mourning,” the younger King wrote. “I know that we can’t afford to diminish and dehumanize each other if we are truly committed to ridding humanity of the Triple Evils and to freedom from oppression for all.”
During his life, Martin Luther King Jr. did not shy away from voicing his support for Israel, the Jewish people, Zionism, and his opposition to antisemitism. In 1968, just 10 days before his assassination, he spoke at the annual convention of the Rabbinical Assembly about Israel’s right to secure its borders and keep the country safe.
“Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all of our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity,” he said at the time, “I see Israel, and never mind saying it, as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land almost can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security, and that security must be a reality.”
