Dave Chappelle has angered many in the Jewish community after his remarks on Israel — but one group advocating for them is extending an olive branch if he’s willing to chat.
American Jewish Committee spokesperson Richard Hirschhaut tells TMZ … they’d love to have a sit-down with Dave to help him understand why so many people were upset, and how he can better navigate this topic next time around.
The AJC, a global advocacy organization, says Dave’s first attempt to discuss Israel-Palestine — during his Boston show last week — missed the mark and adds … “Dave Chappelle prides himself on precision of language and moral clarity. His comments uttered during last Friday’s show at TD Garden failed on both counts.”
They tell us his initial condemnation of Hamas was great — but that he should have stopped there. AJC continues, “By criticizing Israel’s retaliatory strikes and accusing the US of aiding the slaughter of innocent people, Chappelle turns truth on its head. Make no mistake, the slaughter of innocents is precisely what Hamas did on October 7th.”
Of course, there’ve been innocent Palestinians who’ve been killed in the aftermath of all this as well — upwards of 4,300, in fact, depending on which tallies you look at. The original Hamas attack claimed around 1,400 or so innocent Israeli lives.
In any case, the AJC thinks DC needs to be more precise with his language — and they also believe he should know better at such a volatile time. According to them, his encouraging of people to shout “Free Palestine” creates a hostile and dangerous environment for Jewish people, and they say if that happens again, it’s incumbent on him to ask what that means.
In their mind, the answer is obvious … Free Palestine boils down to eliminating Israel.
Still, Richard says his org “would welcome an opportunity to meet with Chappelle and his team in an effort to help deepen his understanding of the current situation and enable him to be a source of more light than heat going forward.”
Based on Dave’s track record with other controversies … the AJC probably shouldn’t hold its collective breath. He doesn’t tend to apologize, nor does he often feel the need to sit down with anyone after something like this.
Another org repping Jewish interests — StandWithUs — has some strong words for Dave. Roz Rothstein, the co-founder and CEO says, “If the reports about Chappelle’s comments are correct, it is deeply disappointing that he has yet again used his platform to promote more division, misinformation, and hate regarding Israel and the Jewish people. We applaud the audience members who spoke up and walked out of the show in protest.”
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