On Tuesday afternoon, MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin allowed a guest to condemn the Israeli government as “all terrorists” without even giving any rebuttal as he had anti-Israel activist Mohammed el-Kurd on his show for the second time in less than a month.
After El-Kurd declared that he hopes pro-Palestinian activists around the world would draw attention to his cause, and accused Israel of engaging in “ethnic cleansing” against Arabs, Mohyeldin followed up by asking his guest if he thought the new Israeli government that is expected to succeed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would treat him more favorably. El-Kurd responded:
In my opinion, I think they’re all terrorists. I’m being very honest. If you’re continuously committing war crimes, violating international law, be it by shelling civilians or by boasting about it on your podium, then you’re a terrorist. And in this country. there’s no really — there’s no right and left. Across the political spectrum, the political objective has been clear — which is to expel the Palestinian population. And that systemic manifestation of the political objective has been explicit and clear also. Since 1948 we have had our lands stolen — we have had our people massacred legally and illegally.
Ignoring all the anti-Semitic vitriol, Mohyeldin followed up:
I know that last time you and I spoke, you said the United States is not in a place to make judgments about the situation. And shortly after our conversation, the U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, said that the United States will not support any action that escalates violence and puts a two-state solution at risk in the region, including evictions of families like yours and others. Does a message like this from the U.S. make any difference? Do you think that there is any pressure that the U.S. government could apply here to prevent this from happening?
El-Kurd responded by complaining about the U.S. supplying funding to Israel. When the anti-Israel activist appeared on his show about four weeks ago, Mohyeldin did not challenge his similarly incendiary comments about Israel and the U.S., but, in the next segment, the MSNBC host was combative when he spoke with Mark Regev, advisor to the Israeli prime minister. At that time, El-Kurd blasted U.S. and Israeli “genocide.”
This is the same Mohyeldin who called American Sniper Chris Kyle a “racist”
This episode of Ayman Mohyeldin Reports was sponsored in part by Aveeno. Their contact information is linked.
Ayman Mohyeldin Reports
June 8, 2021
3:43 p.m. Eastern
MOHAMMED El-KURD, PALESTINIAN ARAB ACTIVIST: What we expect, however, is from people all over the world to not let our expulsion, our ethnic cleansing, our dispossession, to happen in silence. We are expecting people to protest everywhere and speak up against this state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing.
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: The Israeli parliament — as you probably heard our colleague say — is expected to vote on this new government June 14th — that’s less than a week away, Sunday perhaps, as early as then. Will a new coalition in power mean anything for your family and the other families in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem?
EL-KURD: In my opinion, I think they’re all terrorists. I’m being very honest. If you’re continuously committing war crimes, violating international law, be it by shelling civilians or by boasting about it on your podium, then you’re a terrorist. And in this country. there’s no really — there’s no right and left. Across the political spectrum, the political objective has been clear — which is to expel the Palestinian population. And that systemic manifestation of the political objective has been explicit and clear also. Since 1948 we have had our lands stolen — we have had our people massacred legally and illegally.
MOHYELDIN: I know that last time you and I spoke, you said the United States is not in a place to make judgments about the situation. And shortly after our conversation, the U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, said that the United States will not support any action that escalates violence and puts a two-state solution at risk in the region, including evictions of families like yours and others. Does a message like this from the U.S. make any difference? Do you think that there is any pressure that the U.S. government could apply here to prevent this from happening?
EL-KURD: Well, let me begin by expressing my concerns over such remarks. I think it’s quite laughable to make a linguistic statement that you’re against something while continuously funneling money into it. In Sheikh Jarrah we need the American administration to take action against our expulsions, against our ethnic cleansing. It’s not enough for the United States to say that they don’t support settlements while giving Israel $3.8 billion a year in military aid which they use to expel us and throw us out of our homes. When I’m teaching my students and a sound grenade goes through my window, it is American made. And the United States needs to answer to that.
MOHYELDIN: All right, Mohammed el Kurd live for us in East Jerusalem, thank you. We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops.
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