SWC to Munich Security Conference Chairman Christophe Heusgen: Is Hamas a Future Peace Partner or a Terrorist Entity Akin to ISIS and Al Qaeda?

On the eve of the upcoming Munich Security Conference (MSC), the Simon Wiesenthal Center is calling upon Christophe Heusgen, veteranGerman diplomat and current Chairman of the conference, to clarify how he classifies Hamas.

The Center noted that Mr. Heusgen opposed Israel’s ground offensive even before it began and supported a statement by UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres which sought to contextualize Hamas’ violent massacre of 1,200+ Israelis. Heusgen currently supports a cease-fire that would effectively preserve Hamas as Israelcloses in on the terrorist group’s last strongholds.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda for SWC, said: “In the aftermath of the Oct.7thcrimes against humanity inflicted on innocent Israelis, Heusgen, a former senior German diplomat, endorsed UN Secretary Guterres’ moral equivalency between a mass murdering terror group andIsrael. What Ambassador Heusgen has to say influences the attitudes, policies, and media coverage across Europe and beyond. As a ‘go-to’ foreign policy guru for media in Europe, it isshocking that he would declare that Israel should not use military force to dismantle Hamas, a terrorist organization that systematically raped women, burned babies in ovens and braggedabout murdering Israelis. Hamas will never be defeated with polite speeches and empty resolutions. Had Israel listened to Heusgen’s advice, Hamas would today already be in a positionto repeat their murderous rampage of October 7thmultiple times over, as their terrorist leaders have repeatedly threatened they would.”

Rabbi Cooper added that “those who now call for a ceasefire in Gaza render their earlier condemnations of October 7thirrelevant, since keeping Hamas in power would permanently condemn Israelis to live under the shadow of a terrorist group whose stated goal is to eradicate the state of Israel and the Jewishpeople. No other nation would ever agree to such a status quo and Germany along with other democracies should back Israel’s goal of defanging a genocide-seeking monster.”

Rabbi Cooper rejected that Hamas could ever be a potential peace partner: “An organization such as Hamas, dedicated to destroyingits neighbor, can never be a partner for peace. Preventing Israel from eliminating Hamas is the true impediment to peace. If you are pro-peace, you should support destroyingHamas.”

For furtherinformation, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Erik Simon at esimon@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, orfollow @simonwiesenthal for newsupdates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

About theSimon Wiesenthal Center:
TheSimon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the LatinAmerican Parliament (PARLATINO).