SWC Statement on Killing of Ismail Haniyeh

July 31, 2024

The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued the following statement on the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.  

 Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed yesterday in Teheran, was a mass murderer who helped organize the largest one-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.  He cynically and unabashedly used Palestinian lives, including children, as shrapnel in his obsessive war against Israel.  He stole billions of dollars in aid and enjoyed a life of luxury as his own people lived in abject poverty.  

 Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director for Global Social Action of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, stated, “When chanting protesters return to the universities they should know that they will be parroting Haniyeh’s mantra that “Armed resistance is a path, Palestine is from the river to the sea.” 

Rabbi Cooper also said “The world needs to back peacemakers not genocide seekers. Democracies, led by the US, should support Israel’s quest to free the remaining hostages from the terror of Hamas hell 300 days after they were kidnapped.”

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. 

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).