TEHRAN, IRAN – JUNE 19: A pro-government demonstrator holds aloft a picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Tehran University, on June 19, 2009 in Tehran, Iran. Making his first public appearance after daily protests over the official election results, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke at Friday Prayers, calling for an end to street protests over last week’s disputed presidential election. He has declared support for the officially declared winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and denied accusations that accusations that last week’s presidential election was rigged. (Photo by Getty Images) In a July 31 tweet, United States Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Ellie Cohanim called on Twitter to permanently ban Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Cohanim tweeted a video clip of her on “Fox & Friends” earlier in the day reacting to a video from a July 29 Knesset hearing in which Head of Twitter Policy for the Nordics and Israel Ylwa Pettersson was asked why Twitter has flagged President Donald Trump’s tweets but not Khamenei’s tweets.
“We have an approach to our leaders that presently say that direct actions with fellow public leaders, comments on political issues of the day or foreign policy saber-rattling on military, economic issues are generally not in violation of our rules,” Pettersson replied.
Cohanim tweeted, “It’s time for @Twitter to permanently ban #Iran’s Hate Monger In Chief—Khamenei.”
It’s time for @Twitter to permanently ban #Iran’s Hate Monger In Chief—Khamenei. Watch me on @foxandfriends https://t.co/xQUXUmCcpP
— Ellie Cohanim (@EllieCohanim) July 31, 2020
Cohanim told Fox and Friends that she was born in Iran and her family had to flee the country after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
“I personally understand the threat Ayatollah Khamenei presents to the Jewish people and to the world,” Cohanim said. “So when you understand that Twitter is giving a platform to a despot who has literally called for genocide against the Jewish people while at the same time they’re censoring President Donald Trump, the hypocrisy is so thick it becomes clear to me … that this is about one thing and one thing only, and that’s the elections coming up on November 3.”
“Fox & Friends” co-host Pete Hegseth said that a Twitter spokesperson had sent them a statement that echoed Pettersson’s remarks at the Knesset hearing, which Hegseth called a “word salad in light of the fact that this is an American company openly allowing an anti-Semitic leader to make these kinds of statements.”
“Never not once has there ever been any consequence to Khamenei’s hatred and vitriol that’s all over Twitter,” Cohanim replied. “His vitriol goes back to 2014, when he laid out a nine-step plan for eliminating Israel. So this is a long history that this man has of calling for genocide against Jews, for wiping Israel off the face of the Earth.”
Israel-Jewish Congress Executive Director Arsen Ostrovsky, who asked Pettersson why Twitter was flagging Trump’s tweets but not Khamenei’s, tweeted: “Thank you @elliecohanim & @StateDept for drawing attention to @Twitter’s refusal to take action against @khamenei_ir incitement to violence and genocide! Now is #TimeForAction.”
Indeed it is! This follows our Knesset hearing this week.
Thank you @elliecohanim & @StateDept for drawing attention to @Twitter's refusal to take action against @khamenei_ir incitement to violence and genocide! Now is #TimeForAction.
cc. @CotlerWunsh @USEAntiSemitism https://t.co/mOkrbZ4wla
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 31, 2020
On July 30, Twitter had permanently banned former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke from the platform. A spokesperson told TechCrunch that Duke was “permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter Rules on hateful conduct.”
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