SWC Officials “Strongly Disagree” with UN Secretary-General’s Statement Marking 50th Anniversary of Six Day War

“During our recent meeting (pictured) with the Secretary General, we expressed our commitment to a two state solution, but disagreed with his assertion that it is Israeli 'occupation' that is the main impediment to peace,” said RabbiMarvin Hier, founder and dean and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

“Today, there are two main obstacles to peace in the Holy Land — continued Palestinian terrorism targeting Israeli civilians led by Hamas and the genocidal culture of hate that hascharacterized Palestinian leaders, starting with the Grand Mufti of Palestine who stood at Hitler’s side and broadcast from Germany during World War II: 'Kill the Jews wherever youfind them. This pleases God, history and religion.' His hatred stirred seven Arab armies to attack the fledgling Jewish state in 1948 and the genocidal dream of eradicating theJewish people from its historic homeland was the motivation in 1967 of Arab nations. Tragically, it continues to be reflected in words and deeds of leading Palestinians political,educational and religious figures.

“Today, Israel controls 11,200 square miles of territory, 1/20 the size of California. Arab countries constitute 5.7 million square miles.

“With all due respect to an important world leader, the main issue is not territory but mindset. Unless and until Palestinian leaders stop raising their children to believeterrorists are martyrs, until their self-proclaimed maps stop showing all of Israel - home to over 8 million citizens — as part of Palestine, there will be no peace and thePalestinians themselves will have no one but themselves to blame.

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center reiterates its pledge and commitment to work with Secretary General Guterres and other world leaders, including Arabs and Muslims who are trulycommitted to the pursuit of peace and mutual respect,” the rabbis concluded.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the UnitedStates. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).