The former CNN editor who resigned Thursday after a bevy of anti-Semitic tweets resurfaced has issued an apology on social media Friday.
Mohammed Elshamy, 25, had tweets from years ago that referred to Jewish people as “pigs,” praised the terrorist organization Hamas, used the word “Zionists” as a slur, and appeared to downplay the Holocaust.
Elshamy, a former recipient of the Chirs Hondros Fund Award, resigned late Thursday night after those social media posts garnered attention on Twitter.
“Yesterday, tweets that I made in 2011 resurfaced in which I made offensive and hateful comments. I want to unequivocally express my apology to everyone, especially those in the Jewish community, who were offended by the tweets. I also want to apologize to my family, friends, and mentors who I am ashamed to have let down in this way,” his statement read in part.
“These views, which I posted when I was 16, are ones I no longer hold and have not held for many years,” Elshamy’s statement continued. “Nor do they represent the values I carry in my professional career, which began at a very young age, and, through which, I have witnessed first-hand wars, massacres and conflicts – in short, the awful cost of hate, especially when directed at marginalized people.”
In his time at CNN, Elshamy’s photography paired with numerous stories on their website and he occasionally wrote articles.
