A survey of Black Americans shows a majority want the United States to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. As the Israel-Hamas war reaches its seventh month, the American public and the international community have intensified their calls for a ceasefire. Israel’s military operations in response to Hamas’s attack have resulted in the deaths of more than 30,000 Palestinians and a mounting humanitarian crisis in which many of Gaza’s residents are now facing food shortages. Black American activists, intellectuals, and religious leaders are paying attention, and news reports have highlighted the displeasure some prominent figures in the Black community have expressed toward U.S. President Joe Biden’s Gaza policy. Even before the humanitarian conflict in Gaza compounded, African American religious leaders, responding to pressure from young parishioners, began to pressure Biden to call for a ceasefire. In February, leaders in the influential African Methodist Episcopal Church—one of Black America’s oldest religious and civic institutions—called for an end to all financial aid to Israel.
