“Right out of the Hitler playbook” – Martina Navratilova condemns Fox journalist for anti-Palestine tirade
Martina Navratilova recently condemned Fox journalist Jesse Watters for his anti-Palestine stance amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Navratilova has spoken against the violence and suffering the people of Palestine and Israel have endured over the course of the last two weeks. Hamas, an armed organization, launched a surprise attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, to which the latter retaliated strongly.
As per reports, the death toll has crossed the 5,000 mark, accompanied by bloodshed and chaos. This escalation comes fresh amid the decades-long quarrel between the two countries over the rights of ownership and control of contested land.
Recently, Fox News journalist Jesse Watters commented on the issue saying:
"I don’t think we can have a Palestinian state at this point. I’ve had it with the Palestinians. I’ve given up on Palestinians. If I was in Israel, I wouldn’t be talking about a Palestinian state. I don’t think Joe Biden should be talking about a Palestinian state right now."
Watters stated that he finds it hard to draw a line between Palestinians and members of Hamas.
"I don’t like how people try to differentiate between the Palestinians and Hamas. To me, I see people with guns… that’s Hamas, the people without the guns are the Palestinians. They believe in the same thing. The Palestinians hire Hamas to run the government," Watters added.
British-American broadcaster Mehdi Hasan held a conversation with his Egyptian counterpart Ayman Mohyeldin over Watters' opinion.
"The media has a role to play in this too. Jesse Watters on Fox earlier this week said one of the most anti-Palestinian, even by Fox standard, racist rants I've heard," Hasan said in his criticism of Watters.
Martina Navratilova too denounced Watters and drew parallels between his comments and the dehumanizing rhetoric adopted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
"Right out of the Hitler playbook- step 1- dehumanize this particular group of people. Do enough of that and you can do anything with/to that group," Navratilova wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Martina Navratilova criticized Israeli President Isaac Herzog for his statement against Gaza residents
On Sunday, October 15, Martina Navratilova called out Israeli President Isaac Herzog for holding civilians in Gaza Strip responsible for the attack on Israel.
"We are working, operating militarily according to the rules of international law, period. Unequivocally, it’s an entire nation out there that is responsible."
"It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not [being] aware, not involved. Absolutely not true. They [civilians] could have risen up, they could have fought against evil regime which took over Gaza," Herzog said (via ITV News).
Martina Navratilova responded to Herzog's statement, saying:
"How awful is this statement?"