An article today in the Independent focusing on the decision by US officials to deny Hanan Ashrawi’s request to visit the country noted the following response on Twitter by the veteran Palestinian official.
1/It is official! My US visa application has been rejected. No reason given. Choose any of the following: I’m over 70 & a grandmother; I’ve been an activist for Palestine since the late 1960’s; I’ve always been an ardent supporter of nonviolent resistance;
— Hanan Ashrawi (@DrHananAshrawi) May 13, 2019
The Indy journalist didn’t challenge Ashrawi’s assertion that she’s “always been an ardent supporter of nonviolence resistance”, a claim which doesn’t withstand scrutiny.
- In November of 2000, she endorsed the murder of Israeli soldiers and civilian settlers, stating that “the army of occupation and the settlers have become legitimate and select targets of Palestinian resistance.” (AP, November 15, 2000).
- During the same interview, she justified the savage lynching of two Israeli soldiers by Palestinians in Ramallah.
- When asked in 2001 to comment on the latest deadly Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis, Ashrawi said (on the PA’s Voice of Palestine, Sept. 9, 2001) that “The only language Sharon understands is the language of violence.”
- In 2004, during an interview with PBS, Ashrawi was asked if she condemns all Palestinian violence, and she asserted that “You cannot tell the Palestinians, you mustn’t resort to any kind of violence, whatever including self-defense”.
- In 2007, during a speech at Emory University in Atlanta, Ashrawi appeared to defend the terror group Hezbollah.
Let’s also remember also that Ashrawi was a minister under the government of terror mastermind Yasser Arafat.
Though, especially in recent years, Ashrawi has often expressed support for non-violence, at least during interviews with Western media outlets, her claim that she’s “always” supported only non-violence is clearly not accurate.
