GOP congressional candidate says terrorism is ‘fundamental’ to Palestinian society

During a discussion about Israel and the war in Gaza, Republican congressional candidate Seth Cohen called terrorism a core part of Palestinian society.

“It’s just fundamental to the Palestinian life right now,” said Cohen, a Chicagoan trying to unseat longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky in the largely suburban 9th District.

Schakowsky and Cohen, both of whom are Jewish, differ on how best to bring lasting peace to the region. Schakowsky, of Evanston, supports establishing a Palestinian nation alongside Israel. Cohen, of Chicago, opposes the two-state solution.

The candidates talked about Israel, Gaza and more during a joint, virtual interview with the Daily Herald. A video recording of the discussion is available at dailyherald.com.

Cohen, an executive with a nonprofit organization, opposes the creation of a separate Palestinian state. The problem with a two-state solution, Cohen said, “is that you’ll always have terrorism in those two countries because terrorism is fundamental, it’s just part of their society.”

Acts of antisemitic terrorism would continue even if Israel built hospitals, schools and technological infrastructure in the occupied Palestinian territories, Cohen said.

When asked to clarify his statements, Cohen said he doesn’t think Muslim people are fundamentally terrorists. Rather, he believes Hamas, Hezbollah and other groups deemed terrorist organizations by the U.S. and other nations always will be in the region.

“Not because they want it, not because it has anything to do with religion,” Cohen said. “I would say that they’re not true Muslims, because real Muslims don’t want to go and just kill everybody. It’s just there.”

In a Daily Herald questionnaire, Cohen envisioned a “unified Israel” that would be supported by the U.S. Even so, he recognized that expanding Israel’s borders to include Gaza and its residents would give Palestinians a supermajority in Israel’s legislature. “If you’re trying to create a Jewish state, that kind of defeats the purpose,” he said.

Incorporating Gaza into Israel without giving its residents political power would create an apartheid state, however. “I don’t know how it would work,” Cohen conceded.

Schakowsky, who has served the 9th District in Congress since 1999, said a single apartheid state isn’t the right solution. The land that has been a Jewish state since 1948 has been the homeland of Palestinians for a long time, too, she said, and those people “have been under the thumb of the Israeli government.”

Establishing two states “has the potential to provide lasting security for Israel, justice for Palestinians, and a prosperous future for both,” Schakowsky said in her Daily Herald questionnaire.

The 9th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. Tuesday is the last day to vote.