2023-09-07 19:28:52
New controversial statements by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the Holocaust (Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS)
The United States and the European Union (EU) on Thursday condemned statements by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the persecution of Jews in World War II and anti-Semitism.
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In a statement, the EU diplomatic service said that the statements by the 87-year-old Abbas, made at the end of August at a meeting of the Revolutionary Council of his Al Fatah movement, were “false and highly misleading.”
Deborah Lipstadt, the US special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, called for an immediate apology for what she called “hateful and anti-Semitic comments” by Abbas.
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In his remarks, the Palestinian president said that Jews were targeted by Nazi Germany because of their “social role” and not because of their religion.
The EU indicated that Abbas’s statements on the Holocaust are “false and highly misleading” (REUTERS / Olivier Matthys)
“This has been explained by many Jewish authors. When they said that Hitler killed Jews because they were Jews, and that Europe hates Jews because they were Jews, no. It was clearly explained that they fought ( once morest the Jews) for their social role and not for their religion,” Abbas said.
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The Palestinian president has frequently drawn the ire of various countries with his comments on the Holocaust, in which some 6 million Jews were murdered, as well as members of groups such as the Roma community, people with disabilities and those belonging to sexual minorities. and gender.
In a statement, the foreign affairs spokesman for the EU, a major donor to the Palestinian Authority, called the comments an “insult to the millions of Holocaust victims and their families.”
“Such historical distortions are inflammatory, deeply offensive, can only serve to exacerbate tensions in the region, and serve no one’s interests,” he said. And he added: “They play the game of those who do not want a two-state solution, for which President Abbas has repeatedly advocated.”
In addition, he assured that “they trivialize the Holocaust and with this they feed anti-Semitism and are an insult to the millions of victims of the Holocaust and their families.”
Finally, he noted that the EU “remains committed to combating anti-Semitism and racism in all its forms and will continue to firmly oppose any attempt to condone, justify or trivialize the Holocaust.”
The German government said that Mahmoud Abbas’s statements “distort” history (REUTERS/Lisi Niesner)
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-government in territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war and where the Palestinians seek to establish an independent state.
Abbas’s remarks were also condemned by the German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, who stated in a post on the X messaging platform: “The Palestinians deserve to hear the historical truth from their leader, not such distortions.”
During a visit to Berlin last year, Abbas was reprimanded by German Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz following accusing Israel of committing “50 Holocausts” in response to a question regarding the 50th anniversary of the attack on the Israeli team at the Munich Olympics. of 1972 by Palestinian militants.
During his two decades in power, Abbas has rejected repeated calls by Palestinians for him to step down.
(With information from Archyde.com)
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