Officials are putting pressure on Philadelphia NAACP President Minster Rodney Muhammad to resign after a now-deleted anti-Semitic Facebook post.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia have all called for Muhammad’s resignation, CBS3 Philadelphia reported. Others have condemned the post and called for an apology. (RELATED: ‘The Jewish’: NAACP Official Suspended Over Comments About Jewish People)
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia spokesperson Steve Rosenberg said that the group is “absolutely calling for him to step aside.”
“I think it was Sen. Williams that said the leader of a wonderful civil rights organization, and the minister of this mosque, with the history of the posts that have gone on, can’t remain in that role,” Rosenberg said.
“Hate, in any form, cannot stand and must be condemned. I was disappointed to learn of the antisemitic post made last week by Philadelphia NAACP President Rodney Muhammad,” Santarsiero said in a statement Wednesday.
Hate, in any form, cannot stand and must be condemned. I was disappointed to learn of the antisemitic post made last week by Philadelphia NAACP President Rodney Muhammad. Mr. Muhammad’s disparaging post about the Jewish people runs counter to the mission of the NAACP.
— Steve Santarsiero (@SenSantarsiero) July 29, 2020
Pennsylvania State Sen. Anthony Williams said Tuesday that the NAACP “has to acquire a standard of its leaders,” which “can not allow for a slip of the tongue, a mistake of a thought, but most importantly, publicly posturing around racism and anti-Semitism.”
“I share the outrage of Philadelphia’s Jewish community to this offensive message, and I am extremely disappointed that Minister Muhammad saw fit to post it,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement Tuesday. “It perpetuates vile anti-Semitic rhetoric, and it compounds the hurt caused by DeSean Jackson’s earlier post, for which Jackson has appropriately apologized.”
Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver DeSean Jackson made multiple anti-Semitic social media posts earlier this month that promoted notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan and included a quote attributed to Adolf Hitler. The Eagles called the posts “absolutely appalling.”
“Our city and nation need healing and unity now, not the sort of division and hatred that this post creates,” the mayor said according to the report. “I call on Minister Muhammad to apologize to our Jewish community and to all those who fight every day for religious and racial tolerance. I know Minister Muhammad to be a bridge builder, and I hope he is up to the task of rebuilding the bridges that his unfortunate post has now damaged.”