Even Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s diplomatic friends condemned him.
Friends and foes alike blasted Abbas as an “antisemite” and a “Holocaust denier,” after he charged that the Nazis killed Jews in the Holocaust because they were money lenders.
Friends and foes alike blasted Abbas as an “antisemite” and a “Holocaust denier,” after he charged that the Nazis killed Jews in the Holocaust because they were money lenders.
“The Holocaust did not occur in a vacuum, it was the result of thousands of years of persecution,” UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said on Wednesday.
“This is why attempts to rewrite, downplay or deny it are dangerous.”
Mladenov along with the European Union, Sweden, Germany and US officials from both the Trump and Obama administrations spoke out sharply against Abbas’s words spoken Monday night to the Palestinian National Council in Ramallah.
“This is why attempts to rewrite, downplay or deny it are dangerous.”
Mladenov along with the European Union, Sweden, Germany and US officials from both the Trump and Obama administrations spoke out sharply against Abbas’s words spoken Monday night to the Palestinian National Council in Ramallah.
Abbas chose to “repeat some of the most contemptuous antisemitic slurs, including the suggestion that the social behavior of Jews was the cause for the Holocaust,” Mladenov said.
Israeli leaders have long charged Abbas with antisemitism, but it is unusual for the UN to do so, given its strong support for the Palestinian cause.
Mladenov also took issue with the portion of Abbas’s speech in which he charged that Ashkenazi Jews did not have roots in the Middle East, as he again attempted to disconnect Judaism from Zionism and the rights of Jews in the Land of Israel.
Israeli leaders have long charged Abbas with antisemitism, but it is unusual for the UN to do so, given its strong support for the Palestinian cause.
Mladenov also took issue with the portion of Abbas’s speech in which he charged that Ashkenazi Jews did not have roots in the Middle East, as he again attempted to disconnect Judaism from Zionism and the rights of Jews in the Land of Israel.
“Denying the historic and religious connection of the Jewish people to the land and their holy sites in Jerusalem stands in contrast to reality,” Mladenov said.
The Palestinians tried unsuccessfully to walk back the speech.
PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA: “President Abbas has stressed frequently his respect for the religion of Judaism, and that our problem is with who occupies our land.”
Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro wrote, “It’s over for Mahmoud Abbas. What a disgusting note to go out on.”
The Palestinians tried unsuccessfully to walk back the speech.
PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA: “President Abbas has stressed frequently his respect for the religion of Judaism, and that our problem is with who occupies our land.”
Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro wrote, “It’s over for Mahmoud Abbas. What a disgusting note to go out on.”
The Israeli left-wing organization Peace Now, which typically accuses Israel of thwarting the peace process, said Abbas’s speech was “vile,” “completely unacceptable, thoroughly offensive, and damaging to efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.”
Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas took to Twitter to declare that it was Germany, not the Jews, who were responsible for the Holocaust.
Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas took to Twitter to declare that it was Germany, not the Jews, who were responsible for the Holocaust.
“We reject any relativization of the Holocaust,” Maas tweeted. “Germany bears responsibility for the most atrocious crime of human history.”
The European Union, which has long lauded Abbas as a man of peace, said his speech “contained unacceptable remarks concerning the origins of the Holocaust and Israel’s legitimacy. Such rhetoric will only play into the hands of those who do not want a two-state solution, which President Abbas has repeatedly advocated.
Antisemitism is not only a threat for Jews but a fundamental menace to our open and liberal societies. The European Union remains committed to combat any form of antisemitism and any attempt to condone, justify or grossly trivialize the Holocaust.”
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, known for her strong support of the Palestinians, tweeted a statement against Abbas that was similar to that of the EU.
The European Union, which has long lauded Abbas as a man of peace, said his speech “contained unacceptable remarks concerning the origins of the Holocaust and Israel’s legitimacy. Such rhetoric will only play into the hands of those who do not want a two-state solution, which President Abbas has repeatedly advocated.
Antisemitism is not only a threat for Jews but a fundamental menace to our open and liberal societies. The European Union remains committed to combat any form of antisemitism and any attempt to condone, justify or grossly trivialize the Holocaust.”
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, known for her strong support of the Palestinians, tweeted a statement against Abbas that was similar to that of the EU.
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Abu Mazen [Abbas] gave another antisemitic speech. With utmost ignorance and brazen gall, he claimed that European Jews were persecuted and murdered not because they were Jews, but because they gave loans with interest.
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