ATLANTA — Bernice King wrote in a social media post Tuesday night that she was "certain" her father, Martin Luther King Jr., would "call for Israel's bombing of Palestinians to cease, for hostages to be released."
The post on X by the King Center CEO came as a response to a video posted by comedian Amy Schumer, who has been vocal in her support of Israel amid the escalating war with Hamas. The war has brought significant destruction to Gaza, with reports Tuesday of Israeli airstrikes hitting the territory's largest refugee camp.
The video posted by Schumer on Monday, featured clips of MLK speaking in support of Israel and against antisemitism, including one in 1967 in which he said, "The whole world must see that Israel must exist, and has the right to exist and is one of the outposts of democracy in the world."
Noting the clip, Bernice King responded in a thread, "Certainly, my father was against antisemitism, as am I," before adding: "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."
King's post continued: "He said, 'Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.' We have much to correct. Here is a clip of my father talking about withdrawing from the Vietnam War and 'moral power.'"
King concluded the thread, writing: "I encourage you to read ‘Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?’ I mourn with all who are mourning. I know that we can’t afford to diminish & dehumanize each other if we are truly committed to ridding humanity of the Triple Evils & to freedom from oppression for all."
More than 8,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war, mostly women and minors, the Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday, without providing a breakdown between civilians and fighters. The figure is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack, also an unprecedented figure. Palestinian militants also abducted around 240 people during their incursion and have continued firing rockets into Israel.
More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes, with hundreds of thousands sheltering in packed U.N.-run schools-turned-shelters or at hospitals.
The war has also threatened to ignite fighting on other fronts. Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group have traded fire daily along the border, and Israel and the U.S. have struck targets in Syria linked to Iran, which supports Hamas, Hezbollah and other armed groups in the region.
Some 200,000 people have been evacuated from Israeli towns near Gaza and the northern border with Lebanon.
Violence has also surged in the occupied West Bank.
There has been no central electricity in Gaza for weeks, and Israel has barred the entry of fuel needed to power generators for hospitals and homes, saying it wants to prevent it from falling into Hamas’ hands.
It has allowed a limited amount of food, water, medicine and other supplies to enter from Egypt, though far less than what is needed, relief groups say. A convoy of 59 aid trucks entered through the Rafah Crossing with Egypt on Tuesday — the largest yet — bringing the total that has entered since Oct. 22 to 216, according to Wael Abu Omar, Hamas’ spokesperson for the crossing.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, says 64 of its staff have been killed since the start of the war.