WASHINGTON, August 1, 2012 (WAFA) — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) said Tuesday it was appalled at what it described as the continued bigotry and racism coming from factions from within the Republican Party.
ADC was specifically referring to statements the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made on a recent trip to Israel, describing them as “racist and derogatory” comments towards the Palestinians.
“Romney’s actions are in line with the xenophobic nature exhibited by factions from within the Republican Party over the past few election cycles,” said the statement.
“The failure of the leadership within the Republican Party to eliminate xenophobia from their platform is one of the single biggest reasons the party is losing support amongst minority groups such as Arab Americans,” it said.
“The recent actions of factions from within the Republican Party go against the basic and fundamental foundations which make this country great. By continuing to pander to hatemongers, racists, and bigots, the Republican Party is going down a path that is not only damaging to the party, but will also prove damaging to the nation,” added the statement.
Romney said in Israel that its culture was the reason for its economic supremacy to the Palestinians.
“His comments fail to recognize the decades-long hold Israel has had on the West Bank and Gaza, and the impact the illegal occupation has had on the economy and people of Palestine,” said ADC, a grassroots Arab-American civil rights and civil liberties organization founded in 1980.
“The Israeli government continues to control access to Gaza, despite their 2005 withdrawal from the area; and, has been imposing a debilitating border blockade since Hamas seized the territory in 2007. Further, Palestinians have an extremely limited self-rule over the West Bank, as all border crossings -- and therefore overall control of the area -- lies in Israeli hands. These are the facts to which the economic disparity should be attributed,” it added.
ADC said that Romney still surrounds himself with extremists, bigots, and racists.
“Arab Americans, along with minority communities across the country, are deeply troubled and concerned about the racist sentiments coming from within the Republican Party, and call on its leaders, such as Mitt Romney, to take a stand against such tactics and distance themselves from forces of hate in this country,” it said.
“The voices of hate, bigotry, and xenophobia must not be given a platform in politics, and the onus is on the leaders of the Republican Party to eliminate the hate from their platform and lexicon,” it concluded.
M.S.
