In 1970, Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell criticized Israel's actions in the Middle East, likening them to Nazi bombings. (Shutterstock)
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Bertrand Russell, a Nobel Prize winner, renowned mathematician, philosopher, and public intellectual, was a figure who held the Western World’s attention during his lifetime.
In the final year of his life, 1970, Russell made a powerful statement condemning “Israel’s aggression” in the Middle East. He specifically criticized Israeli bombing raids deep into Egyptian territory, part of the so-called War of Attrition. Russel, a pacifist, drew parallels between these actions and the bombing of Nazi Germany and the U.S. bombing of Vietnam.
In his final political statement, Russell called for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-6-day war borders. This statement, which was the last thing he ever wrote, was read at the International Conference of Parliamentarians in Cairo on February 3, 1970, a day after his death.
Adding to the historical context, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe’s book, “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine,” provides meticulous historical detail and documentary archival evidence, often sourced from Israeli records. The book presents a shocking account of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
