120 American Jewish leaders released on Friday, 4 March 2023 a joint statement sharply criticizing Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s call to “Wipe out” Hawara, stating that he should not be given a platform within the U.S. Jewish community.
“We are opposed to Bezalel Smotrich visiting the United States later this month in his capacity as Israel’s finance minister, and we call on all pro-Israel Americans to understand that welcoming Smotrich here will harm, rather than help, support for Israel.”, said the statement.
The statement added that Israel’s Far-right Smotrich has long expressed views abhorrent to the vast majority of American Jews, from anti-Arab racism to virulent homophobia, to a full-throated embrace of Jewish supremacy and the latest of which his endorsement of violence against innocents based on their ethnic heritage.
U.S. Jewish community statements come days after the Biden administration denounced Smotrich’s call for the destruction of the Palestinian village of Hawara which was attacked by Israeli settlers who burned dozens of Palestinian homes and cars, calling his remarks “repugnant”.
In the same context, 5,000 Americans signed a petition demanding that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich be denied entry to Washington after his call to wipe out the town of Huwwara in the occupied West bank.
On Sunday night, hundreds of armed Israeli settlers attacked Huwara and nearby villages and torched dozens of houses and cars. Israeli settlers killed one Palestinian and injured more than 100 others during the attack which came amid a spike of violence in the occupied Palestinian lands.
Tensions have escalated between Palestinians and Israeli colonial settlers amid intensified Israeli deadly military raids in occupied Palestinian territories.
Earlier this month, Israeli occupation claimed the lives of 11 Palestinians and injured more than 100 others in a deadly military raid into the old city of Nablus.
Palestinian officials said this was the deadliest start to a year there since 2000. 64 Palestinians have been killed over the last two months across the occupied Palestinian lands.
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