Mayors Of Los Angeles And Miami Condemn London Mayor's Hate Rhetoric

At a press conference today at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn released his letter to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "Unless and until Mayor Ken Livingstone of London apologizes for his comments," Hahn said, "...he will not be accorded or offered any official welcome to the City of Los Angeles, and I am urging my fellow mayors to do the same."

At the same time, the Wiesenthal Center’s Florida Office also released a letter from Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, which concurred with Mayor Hahn’s initiative. Alvarez wrote that hate speech and bigotry must be addressed with outrage and that, "It is the responsibility of elected officials to set the example and treat others, no matter what their background, with respect."

Additionally, at a Chicago City Council meeting next Wednesday, April 6th, City Alderman Edward Burke will present a resolution urging Mayor Livingstone to apologize.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center, praised Mayor Hahn for taking this issue to the U.S. Conference of Mayors as well as the other U.S. city officials for their leadership roles in this issue.

Recent comments by Mayor Livingstone have demeaned the memory of the Nazi Holocaust, Israeli leaders and embraced a leading Islamist cleric who endorses suicide terrorism against civilians. To date, he has rebuffed calls from various officials, including UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, to apologize. The Wiesenthal Center recently launched an online campaign where over 15,000 activists sent petitions directly to Mayor Livingstone asking him to apologize.

For more information, please contact the Center's Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036.