Jewish Groups React to Salman Rushdie Stabbing

Various Jewish groups have issued statements and tweets expressing support for novelist Salman Rushdie after he was stabbed multiple times during an August 12 event, with some groups calling for Twitter to remove Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from the website.

Rushdie, 75, was being introduced for a lecture at New York’s Chautauqua Institution when the attack occurred; police have arrested Hadi Matar, 24, for being the alleged attacker. Matar has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Iranian regime issued a fatwa––a legal ruling based on the Islamic law––against Rushdie in 1988 over his book The Satanic Verses. Rushdie, who is currently hospitalized, has been taken off a ventilator but his son described Rushdie’s injuries as “life-changing.”

“Last year, Twitter asked for public input on policy for world leaders. I can tell you that it’s past time to drop Khamenei and stop amplifying the violent and antisemitic voices from Iran.” – Jonathan Greenblatt

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt was among those calling for Khamanei to be removed from Twitter. “Is there nothing else that will get @Twitter’s attention after @SalmanRushdie’s attack?” he tweeted. “Last year, Twitter asked for public input on policy for world leaders. I can tell you that it’s past time to drop Khamenei and stop amplifying the violent and antisemitic voices from Iran.” Greenblatt added in a subsequent tweet: “Inexcusable that @Twitter continues to amplify Khamenei’s #antisemitism. The Iranian autocrat flagrantly promotes violence & endorses terrorism. What explanation could [Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal] have for not suspending a leader who chronically posts abusive & hateful content?

“If the attack on Salman Rushdie is connected to the Iranian ‘fatwa’ calling for his execution, it is one more link in the chain of murder and attempted murder that originates in Tehran under the mullahs,” the American Jewish Committee said in a statement to the Journal. “For decades, we’ve seen hard evidence of Iran’s sponsorship of terror, from the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut to the Israeli Embassy and AMIA bombings in Buenos Aires, the Mykonos restaurant killings in Berlin, and just in recent days the thwarted attack against Iranian women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad, and the assassination plot against former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Now, Salman Rushdie has fallen victim to the violence and intolerance Iran inspires and encourages. We must all condemn egregious attacks like this, as we wish him a swift recovery.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted that they are “outraged but not shocked that renowned author and free speech icon #SalmanRushdie has been violently attacked. Pray for him. Iranian regime offered $3 million to kill him. @POTUS must end talks with Tehran as it tries to assassinate Americans.”

Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations Chair Diane Lob and CEO William Daroff said in a statement: “We are shocked and outraged by the assassination attempt on author Salman Rushdie at New York state’s Chautauqua Institution and condemn in the strongest possible terms Iran’s direct ordering of its followers to murder Rushdie and others opposed to the regime’s criminal behavior. Iran remains the world’s most significant supporter of terrorism directly and through its regional and international proxies, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an armed, political faction responsible for untold deaths, violations of human rights, support for terror, and the targeting of American and Western interests across the globe.” Lob and Daroff called for the United States to implement “increased sanctions and other strong measures” against the Iranian regime and for Twitter to suspend Khamenei and five other accounts connected to the regime.

StandWithUs tweeted out a link to a story about the Iranian Foreign Ministry denying being behind the Rushdie stabbing, but arguing that Rushdie brought it on himself for “insulting” the Islamic faith. “This is an oppressive regime backing violent threats to free speech all over the world,” the pro-Israel education group wrote. “The Iranian government is everyone’s problem.”