NEW YORK—The World Jewish Congress (WJC) and other Jewish groups sharply denounced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech on Monday at a meeting of the Palestinian National Council, calling it a “repugnant litany of propaganda and conspiracies dripping of sheer anti-Semitic incitement and vile.”
In his address, Abbas stated that the Holocaust was not a result of anti-Semitism, but the fault of Jewish “social behavior,” and “charging interest and financial matters,” and asserted that Adolf Hitler had actually facilitated the immigration of Jews to Israel.
He also claimed Ashkenazi Jews were not real Jews and therefore had no right to the Land of Israel and also portrayed the creation of Israel as a European colonial project, saying “history tells us there is no basis for the Jewish homeland.”
“The World Jewish Congress unequivocally condemns Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ despicable and outrageous exploitation of the oldest anti-Semitic tropes in the book, going so low as to accuse Jews of bringing genocide upon themselves in some twisted attempt to disprove the Jewish historical connection to the Land of Israel,’’ the WJC said.
‘’ We urge the international community to hear these remarks for what they are, and to denounce them in the strongest possible terms, rather than allowing itself to be lured into the Palestinian leader’s façade of intentions. This kind of anti-Semitism will encourage only further violence and hatred, not peace,” the Jewish group said.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Chairman Stephen M. Greenberg and Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Malcolm Hoenlein stated, “We are outraged by the comments of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in which he placed responsibility for the Holocaust on its Jewish victims. This goes beyond Holocaust denial — which was the subject of Abbas’ dissertation. This is Holocaust glorification, exonerating the perpetrators and condemning the innocent Jewish martyrs.”
“His obscene comments deserve the strongest condemnation from leaders around the world as he exposes once again his true bigoted beliefs and hatred,” they said.
“There can be no more excuses or obfuscations for such blasphemous lies. Once again he proves he cannot be a partner for peace or coexistence.”
B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin stated, “Abbas’ anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric is the height of maliciousness, and no one can expect to arrive at an agreement with a leader who peddles such anti-Semitic tropes. Abbas perpetuating vile conspiracy theories and falsifying history does nothing for the Middle East peace process. It does, however, elevate hatred to a new level.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, national director and CEO of the ADL, said, “Laden with ahistorical and pseudo-academic assertions, the Palestinian president’s latest diatribe reflects once again the depth and persistency of the anti-Semitic attitudes he harbors.”
“With public speeches like these,” Greenblatt continued, “it is not surprising that under Abbas’ leadership, the Palestinian Authority has failed to renounce and combat Palestinian antisemitic incitement, including narratives that Jews are to blame for the Holocaust and other anti-Semitic persecution, and which deny or diminish the millennial Jewish presence in and connection to the Land of Israel.”
Abbas was also not immune from criticism from groups on the left, who are generally more sympathetic to him.
J Street said, “There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of incendiary rhetoric. With diatribes like this, President Abbas only undermines the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Palestinian people, and distracts from the need for international action to help alleviate the crisis in Gaza and advance the two-state solution.”
Americans for Peace Now stated, “There is no other way to say it: Mahmoud Abbas’ speech yesterday, yet again, included vile antisemitic statements, which are completely unacceptable and are inconsistent with efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.”
The U.N.’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said Abbas had repeated “some of the most contemptuous anti-Semitic slurs.”
“Leaders have an obligation to confront anti-Semitism everywhere and always, not perpetuate the conspiracy theories that fuel it,” he said in a statement.
“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 U.S. ambassador to Israel lashed out at Abbas over his remarks.
“Abu Mazen has reached a new low,” Ambassador David Friedman tweeted. ‘’To all those who think Israel is the reason that we don’t have peace, think again.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for international negotiations Jason Greenblatt also responded to the remarks, calling them “very distressing and terribly disheartening.”
A European Union spokesperson issued a statement saying that the Palestinian Authority president’s speech “contained unacceptable remarks concerning the origins of the Holocaust and Israel’s legitimacy.” It warned that “such rhetoric will only play into the hands of those who do not want a two-state solution, which President Abbas has repeatedly advocated.”
The statement said that “anti-Semitism is not only a threat for Jews but a fundamental menace to our open and liberal societies.”
