CIOGC condemns racist comments by Mitt Romney and his Refusal to reject Bachman statement

Last Modified: Tue, 07 Aug 2012 03:56:47 GMT v1.003

Ahlam Jbara

PRESS STATEMENT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Ahlam Jbara, ajbara@ciogc.org312-399-3796 (mobile)

CIOGC Condemns Racist Comments by Mitt Romney and His Refusal to Reject Bachmann statement

(Chicago, IL-August 5, 2012) - The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago is disappointed in GOP candidate Mitt Romney’s statement made in a speech during his recent visit to Jerusalem.  Romney was addressing a Jewish audience including a major Republican Jewish American donor Sheldon Adelson who has donated 100 million dollars to the Romney campaign.

Romneysaid “and as I come here and I look out over the city and consider accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few of other things”. He said “As you come here and you see GDP per capita in Israel about 21,000, and compare that across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita”.  

Besides the inherent racism in his statement, the U.S. Republican Presidential candidate got his facts wrong. According to the World Bank, Israel's per-capita GDP was about $31,000 in 2011, while the West Bank and Gaza's was just over $1,500, the Guardian reported. And a United Nations report to the UN General Assembly in February 2012 said the total cost of Israel’s occupation to the Palestinian economy was about $7 billion in 2010, almost 85 percent of the gross domestic product, according to the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy and the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem.

“Mr. Romney forgot the impact of the occupation on the Palestinian people.  The reasons for the disparity is not that the Palestinian culture or religion are inferior to that of the Israeli, but it is the occupation, the siege, the apartheid wall, the daily challenges that average an Palestinian witnesses living under the rule of the IDF in the West Bank and Gaza.”, stated Dr. Zaher Sahoul, Chairman CIOGC

Additionally, Mr. Romney has refused to comment on the recent public support his campaign advisers have given to Rep. Michele Bachmann’s outrageous claims against Muslim Americans “Infiltrating” the federal government. 

“Is Romney running for president of an inclusive and pluralist America or an exclusive and divided America?” said Haris Tarin, Muslim Public Affairs Council (www.mpac.org) in his op-ed published on CNN.com this week (“Michele Bachmann and Muslim Witch Hunts”). “This is not a question he can afford to duck. It’s central to his campaign. We will not let this kind of smear campaign and clear McCarthyism continue. We need answers from the man who is seeking to lead our country.”

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