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

February 13, 2024

On the eve of the upcoming Munich Security Conference (MSC), the Simon Wiesenthal Center is calling upon Christophe Heusgen, veteran German 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 Secretary General 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 Israel closes 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. 7th crimes against humanity inflicted on innocent Israelis, Heusgen, a former senior German diplomat, endorsed UN Secretary Guterres’ moral equivalency between a mass murdering terror group and Israel.  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 is shocking 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 bragged about 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 position to repeat their murderous rampage of October 7th multiple 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 7th irrelevant, 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 Jewish people. 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 destroying its 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 destroying Hamas.”

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

About the Simon Wiesenthal Center:
The Simon 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 Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).