An American philosopher accuses traditional American institutions of complicity in the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh

An American philosopher says that Israel acts without fear of accountability, because it still enjoys support from the media, academia, and American lawmakers.

Philosopher Cornell West added in

with the British "Middle East Eye" website that the American media should consider itself complicit in the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

In a stinging rebuke of the "distorted" media coverage of Abu Akleh's killing, West told the website that it was the complicity of the largest US establishment - including academia, the media and elected officials - that allowed Israel to act and believe that it could get away with any action.

The Israeli propaganda is sad

The philosopher explained that the outcomes of the Israeli propaganda machine towards the Palestinians are sad, but that this has a lot to do with the collective complicity of The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and others.

West - who is considered one of America's most prominent thinkers - said that Israel is certain of impunity because of "the cowardly complicity we practice, as well as the lies and criminality of the Israeli occupation."

The site said that West's comments come while the call for justice and accountability for the killing of Abu Akleh appears to be heading into a dead end, as although many US lawmakers have urged the FBI to conduct an investigation into the incident, the authorities have shown little interest. by doing so.

Western media parrot

West noted that while many Palestinian journalists at the time of the shooting said Shirin had been shot by Israeli forces, Western media outlets such as the New York Times, the Associated Press, and The Guardian did. The BBC echoed the misinformation published by the Israeli government.

West added that when it comes to issues of Palestinian dignity and rights, we get lies that hide crimes.

He said the public still has certain expectations from the mainstream media that claim to be progressive and objective, and described the public's expectations as belief in a myth that shatters when it comes to dealing with the plight of the Palestinians.

Strengthening the double standards of the West

He pointed out that the West reinforced its double standards with its negative portrayal of the Palestinian resistance compared to its positive portrayal of the Ukrainian challenge in the face of the ongoing Russian "invasion."

He added that while several US states have criminalized Palestinian calls for boycotts and sanctions against Israel, the United States has emerged at the forefront of efforts to isolate Russia, and while tech giants continue to support efforts to impose sanctions on Russia, Palestinians are being censored for speaking out on social media. against Israeli atrocities.

He added that it seems that the old guard in the United States is suffering from stagnation in its dealings with Israel and Palestine despite the great shift in the attitudes of young Americans, pointing to the possibility of seeing Israeli and Western despair in the depth and breadth of the lies that hide crimes that amount to the killing of a well-known Palestinian journalist. It is highly respected and highly appreciated.

The moral and intellectual opposite

Middle East Eye indicated that the American academic, Mark Lamont Hill, described in a keynote speech in 2018 the American media's coverage of what is happening in the Middle East as fundamentally racist, and that this media builds an image of this region in specific ways as "The Moral and Intellectual Opposite of the West".

West has attributed Harvard University's decision to ban him from working there to his pro-Palestinian activism.