Muslim civil rights and advocacy group also calls on Shapiro to detail what he did while serving in Israeli military during time of rampant war crimes
(PHILADELPHIA, PA, 8/2/24) – The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philadelphia) today called on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to apologize for recently-revealed racist remarks he made about Palestinians.
In a 1993 opinion article, Shapiro argued that peace “will never come” to the Middle East, said Palestinians were incapable of creating their own state and described Palestinians as “too battle-minded.”
He wrote: “Using history as precedent, peace between Arabs and Israelis is virtually impossible and will never come.” He also wrote: “Palestinians will not coexist peacefully… They do not have the capabilities to establish their own homeland and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States. They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.”
Shapiro today said his views have changed, but he did not specify which views or apologize.
SEE: Josh Shapiro once wrote that peace ‘will never come’ to the Middle East.
SEE ALSO: Josh Shapiro’s Comments About Palestinians Resurface Amid VP Speculation
In a statement, CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Tekelioglu said:
“We are deeply disturbed by the racist, anti-Palestinian views that Governor Shapiro expressed in this article. We are also concerned by his failure to clearly apologize for those hateful comments, especially given how quickly and harshly he has targeted college students protesting the Gaza genocide for their speech.
“Given Governor Shapiro’s more recent comparisons of pro-Palestinian college students to members of the racist KKK, his attempts to pressure public schools into silencing and punishing anti-genocide student protesters, his apparent attempt to endanger the free speech rights of state employees, his support for a law that would punish colleges that divest from the Israeli government, and his refusal to condemn or call for an end to the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza, the words in his college editorial appear to be part of a longstanding pattern.
“Governor Shapiro must not simply claim that his views have changed. He must explicitly apologize and then prove that he has changed by retracting his recent anti-Palestinian positions, pledging to protect the right of students, state employees and everyone else in Pennsylvania to protest the Gaza genocide, and calling for an end to U.S. support for the Israeli government’s war crimes.
“He must also explain exactly what he did while serving in the Israeli military, given its decades long history of committing crimes against humanity, including during the time Shapiro served.
“Only then will Governor Shapiro hope to begin regaining the full trust of all Pennsylvanians, including its Muslim, Palestinian and Arab communities.”
He noted that in May, CAIR-Pennsylvania condemned Governor Shapiro for his remarks in Pittsburgh in which he encouraged UPenn to remove a peaceful anti-genocide encampment.
In October of last year, CAIR’s Philadelphia and Pittsburgh chapters released a public letter to Shapiro denouncing his statements in reaction to the cycle of violence in the Middle East.
More than 60 representatives of Pennsylvania’s Muslim organizations, mosques and schools co-signed the letter, which criticized Governor Shapiro’s disregard for his Palestinian-American constituents who have lost family members or are concerned for their safety due to Israel’s indiscriminate attacks against civilian areas.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: Ahmet Tekelioglu, CAIR- Philadelphia Executive Director, 617-401-5397, atekelioglu@cair.com
