Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation has released an urgent statement in response to criticism from the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition (MMWC) over its decision to cut ties with the organization.
The controversy began when Janan Najeeb, founder of MMWC, wrote a blog post describing Israel as an "apartheid state."
This sparked concerns, and Archewell immediately decided to halt future donations to the organization, to which Najeeb responded with an open letter to the Foundation, demanding a public apology.
Now, Harry and Meghan's Foundation has issued "A Statement from the Executive Directors" on its website.
“At the Archewell Foundation, we: Show Up, Do Good. Our values are an extension of those of our founders, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” it reads.
Th statement continued, "We do not discriminate. We believe change comes from building bridges. We welcome all. We do not, however, tolerate any form of hate speech, including hate-fueled symbols, language, or imagery—no matter the community it targets.”
"For us, association with the blending of the Star of David with a swastika, is impossible to accept. Additionally, language that calls for the destruction of others, whether explicitly or implicitly, crosses a line. It is not aligned with our values: we are pro-humanity, pro-love, pro-peace, pro-equality,” it added.
The statement concluded, "Out of respect for all of our partners, a responsibility to our donors, and in reflecting the values of our Principals, we make adjustments to our future funding accordingly. We remain deeply committed to our work with Muslim-led organizations and refugee support programs through The Welcome Project and relief efforts in Gaza."
To note, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, founded the Archewell foundation in 2020.
