3/27/2019
By Ivan Pereira
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Mayor Bill de Blasio denounced a Brooklyn council member who took to Twitter Wednesday to declare “Palestine does not exist. There, I said it again.”
Councilman Kalman Yeger retweeted Bklyner.com reporter Zainab Iqbal who noted that in the past Yeger has not recognized the state of Palestine. Iqbal’s tweet was in response to a Tuesday tweet from Yeger in which he called U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar an anti-Semite.
Johnson responded to the social media spat Wednesday afternoon with a tweetdenouncing Yeger’s comments, calling them “unhelpful and unwelcome.”
“Comments like these do not do anything to advance the dialogue needed to foster a peaceful solution which is something we should all be working toward,” Johnson said in a screen-captured message.
The mayor also weighed in, quote-tweeting Yeger with calls for a two-state solution.
“I challenge anyone who thinks the State of Israel shouldn’t exist. But the same goes for anyone who would deny Palestinians a home,” he tweeted.
Yeger’s spokesman did not give an immediate response to either Johnson or the mayor’s comments.
Other elected officials commented on Yeger’s post later in the day, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Comptroller Scott Stringer.
“Yeger’s comments are painful to individuals & the cause of a two state solution & peace. I urge him to immediately apologize,” Williams tweeted.
