SWC Statement on the Appointment of Yahwa Sinwar as New Head of Hamas

August 6, 2024

In response to news reports that Yahwa Sinwar has been appointed the new Head of Hamas, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean, and Global Social Action Director for the Simon Wiesenthal Center issued the following statement:

“Yahwa Sinwar is not just any Hamas operative.  He was the leading mastermind of the October 7th attacks, which resulted in the largest single-day loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.  Israel must eradicate Hamas to ensure a safe future for its own citizens and to put an end to the suffering of Palestinian civilians caused by Sinwar’s inhumane game plan.  Sinwar is guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. “

Rabbi Cooper continued: “We know how Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia will react. But it’s time for the world’s democracies—led by the United States to demand Sinwar be brought before the bar of justice for unleashing Oct 7th mass-murder of Jews, for using Israeli children and women as human shields, and deploying Palestinians as cannon fodder in a war he started. Hamas is still holding over 100 Israeli hostages. They must all be released—those alive and those killed by Hamas if there is to be a ceasefire. There can be no talk of the “day after” for Gaza so long as Sinwar continues to lead Hamas and the people of Gaza into the terrorist abyss he constructed.”

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).