Fact Check: James Baldwin Said Israel Was Created for Salvation of Western Interests, Not Salvation of Jews?

Claim:

American writer James Baldwin once said: "The state of Israel was not created for the salvation of the Jews; it was created for the salvation of the Western interests."

Rating:

Correct Attribution ( About this rating? )

In late August 2024, a quote attributed to American civil rights activist and writer James Baldwin spread on X .

The full quotation ( archived ), which also appeared on LinkedIn , read:

But the state of Israel was not created for the salvation of the Jews; it was created for the salvation of the Western interests. This is what is becoming clear (I must say that it was always clear to me). The Palestinians have been paying for the British colonial policy of "divide and rule" and for Europe's guilty Christian conscience for more than thirty years.

Some users cast doubt over the quote's authenticity ; however, it had been correctly attributed to Baldwin.

In 1979, while the writer was living in New York City, he penned an open letter to The Nation – a self-described progressive magazine in publication since being founded by abolitionists in 1865 – titled "Open Letter to the Born Again."

In his letter, he provided the quote verbatim .

Therefore, because the quotation was correctly attributed to Baldwin and could be read in The Nation, we rated this claim "Correct Attribution."

Snopes has verified two other quotes accurately attributed to the writer, and debunked another misattributed to him.

Sources:

Baldwin, James. Open Letter to the Born Again . 29 Sept. 1979. www.thenation.com , https://www.thenation.com/article/society/open-letter-born-again/.