Obama says Black and Jewish Americans both know ‘dark side of human nature’

Former president Barack Obama says Black and Jewish Americans have a bond – over experiencing the worst of humanity.

“Black and Jewish Americans understand the dark side of human nature better than just about anyone,” he told Jewish Insider. “We’ve seen people at their worst.”

Mr Obama made the comments in an interview with JI, which posed 13 questions to him by email. However, the magazine says he only answered five of them – the ones focused on American politics. On that subject, Mr Obama acknowledged disturbing trends, including deepening divisions and a recent rise in anti-semitism.

“There’s no doubt that the country is deeply divided right now – more divided than when I first ran for president in 2008,” he told JI. “America has been fractured by a combination of political, cultural, ideological, and geographical divisions that seem to be growing deeper by the day.”

The ex-president also said misinformation was a big part of the problem.

“Until we can agree on a common set of facts and distinguish between what’s true and what’s false, then the marketplace of ideas won’t work,” he said. “Our democracy won’t work.”

But just as he did as a candidate and president, Mr Obama focused on his reasons for hope.

“We also know that progress is possible, and that ordinary people can make a difference – not just for those who look like them or worship the same God, but for everyone,” he told JI.

“That’s the legacy of Blacks and Jews coming together through the civil rights movement to insist upon equal rights – that understanding that injustice should spur people to action and to a sense of solidarity, and that collective activism can succeed in making change.”

JI says it also asked the former president several questions about Israel and the Middle East, but he did not answer them. By the end of his presidency, Mr Obama had a fraught relationship with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposed the Obama administration’s deal with Iran over its nuclear weapons program.

In the interview, Mr Obama stayed away from those subjects. Instead, he focused on the challenges ahead within the United States, citing the “solidarity” he sees between Jewish and African Americans as a reason for optimism.

“The new movements for justice in this country are informed by the Black and Jewish experience, as well as many other communities who have come together,” he said. “The more we can focus on what we have in common — whether we’re Black, White, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or anything else — the better off we’ll be.”