The NAACP, it turns out, has a foreign policy. This is something new. It never issued any statements about the millions of black Africans who were murdered by Arabs, including those belonging to the Janjaweed militias marauding through the Darfur region, in Sudan over the past few decades. It hasn’t said a word about Muslim terrorists in Nigeria — Boko Haram — murdering Christians and kidnapping Christian girls. It has taken no position on the threats, including war, made by the Egyptian Arabs against Ethiopians Christians, in an attempt to limit Addis Ababa’s diversion of water from the Blue Nile, to run the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, so necessary for Ethiopia’s supply of electrical energy. The NAACP has said nothing about the black African slaves still held by Arabs who, in Niger, hold 900,000 black slaves, in Mali possess 200,000 black slaves, and in Mauritania 110,000 slaves. No, not until now has the NAACP spoken out, and for its first significant foray into foreign policy it has decided to try to save the terror group Hamas from being destroyed by the IDF. More on the NAACP’s moral stumble can be found here: “NAACP Asks Biden to Halt Weapons to Israel as He Seeks to Shore Up Black Voter Support,” Algemeiner, June 6, 2024:
The NAACP urged President Joe Biden on Thursday to “indefinitely” halt all weapons deliveries to Israel and pressure the US ally to end its war in the Gaza Strip, sending a reminder that his support for Israel could hurt him among Black voters in November’s election.
The NAACP’s call was a rare instance of the influential civil rights organization taking a position on US foreign policy towards a country without a significant Black population. It appeared likely to deepen the Democratic president’s election-year challenges as he tries to back a key ally abroad and temper unrest among his supporters at home.
The 115-year-old civil rights group said Israel had a right to defend itself after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 that killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.
The NAACP urged Hamas to return the hostages and “stop all terrorist activity.” It also urged Israel to “commit to an offensive strategy that is aligned with international and humanitarian laws.” Israel has been waging a military campaign against Hamas in Gaza aimed at freeing the hostages and destroying the Palestinian terrorist group, which rules the coastal enclave. Critics have falsely accused the Israeli military of committing genocide against Palestinians during its operations in Gaza.
The NAACP, which has advocated for racial justice and rights for Black Americans, said the US must use its influence with Israel to bring a permanent ceasefire to Gaza.
“The NAACP calls on President Biden to draw the red line and indefinitely end the shipment of all weapons and artillery to the state of Israel and other states that supply weapons to Hamas and other terrorist organizations. It is imperative that the violence that has claimed so many civilian lives, immediately stop,” the organization said in a statement first provided to Reuters….
If the American government were to end the shipment of “all weapons and artillery” [sic] to Israel, while Hamas would continue to be supplied with weapons from Iran, it could leave the Jewish state unable to finish off Hamas, and more important, would make Israel vulnerable to an attack by an increasingly aggressive Hezbollah — with 120,000 rockets and missiles in its arsenal — from the north. Even more worrisome would be a possible attack from Iran, able to reach every dunam in Israel, with rockets, missiles, and drones, while Israel would have to carefully husband its offensive – and defensive – weapons.
Biden on Friday said Israel proposed a fresh Gaza ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages. He called on Hamas to agree to the new offer, saying it was the best way to end the conflict. “It’s time for this war to end and for the day after to begin,” Biden said.
It was not “Israel’s initiative,” but rather, Biden’s plan, and one to which Israel agreed only reluctantly. Fortunately, Hamas now appears to have rejected it, for Ismail Haniyeh continues to insist that Israel must agree to a “permanent ceasefire” and to a complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza — two conditions that the IDF cannot possibly accept.
In an interview with Reuters, NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the US needs to show moral leadership and stop sending weapons to Israel because of civilian deaths. Israel says it takes care to avoid civilian casualties and blames Hamas for, it says, hiding its fighters and command centers among civilians.
Johnson said the NAACP’s decision to speak out was driven in part by young Black Americans horrified by the images of dead Palestinian civilians on their smart phones….
The images of “dead Palestinian civilians” must be understood in light of the all-important context. It is the IDF that makes colossal efforts to prevent civilian deaths. It is Hamas, embedded within civilian areas and buildings, that tries to maximize them.
Scotsman48 says
If the NAACP want to be called as their initials claim then how come they scream when somebody calls them colored…
After all the Letter C stands for Colored.
Any word on the NAACP telling the young colored guys in Chicago to stop shooting other young colored guys?.
Inquiring minds want to know.
James Lincoln says
Scotsman48,
Your point is well taken.
Organizations change over the years, but they often retain their original acronyms.
e.g.: YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association.
You will never hear it called that now – complaints from oldsters, women, and non-Christians.
Now, it’s just the “Y”
OLD GUY says
NAACP another worthless organization trying hard to hang on to its political life and income for its leadership.. It’s on the wrong side if it cares about Black people.when it supports Hamas and Islam..