Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is calling on members of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers to cancel an event that is featuring a person who has openly expressed anti-Semitic views, including calling Jewish people “enemy number one.”
The Minneapolis teacher union's pro-Palestinian affinity group is bringing Taher Herzallah to speak to teachers. Herzallah is with American Muslims for Palestine, and has said that people should not be friends with Jews.
"You know, children and young people, one of the beautiful things about them is they want to be friends with everybody," says Frey who spoke to WCCO's Jordana Green on Wednesday.
Frey says he has made a request to have another speaker replace Herzallah, or cancel the event all-together.
Herzallah is also a member of the Columbia Heights Park and Recreation Commission and ran an for the Anoka County Commission earlier this month, but was not elected. He is a PhD student at the University of Minnesota.
"The fact that this person is actively saying, don't be friends with Jews, they are enemy public, they are enemy number one, I mean, the fact that I have to say that, that's troubling out loud is troubling in and of itself," Frey explains.
In a video posted by Canary Mission last year, Herzallah said:
“Anybody who has any relationship or any support or identifies themselves as a Jewish person or as a Christian Zionist, then we shall not be their friend. I will tell you that they are enemy number one and our community needs to recognize that as such."
Frey, who is himself Jewish, did confirm to WCCO Radio that he's reached out to the union but has not said if any changes will be made. The Minnesota Star Tribune is reporting that the president of the teacher’s union, Marcia Howard, said the union plans to have members of the group and those with concerns to meet and discuss the issue still on Wednesday.
In a video the mayor posted to Instagram, he says, "We must support our Minneapolis Public Schools as a place of unity and caring. There’s no place for hate of any group."
Frey also took time to clarify his thoughts on the situation in Gaza and the ongoing war.
"I have long supported a ceasefire and a two state solution, including an independent Palestine," Frey says. "And, we can also acknowledge that statements that we shouldn’t be friends with Jews or that they are 'enemy number 1' are wrong."