Mahmoud Abbas accuses Israel of “lying like Goebbels” in his latest equation of Jewish state to Nazis
Mahmoud Abbas, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, has accused Israel of “lying like Goebbels” in his latest equation of the Jewish state to Nazis.
The autocratic President of the Palestinian Authority made the claim in a speech to the United Nations this week to mark “Nakba Day” (“Catastrophe Day”), which bewails the establishment of the Jewish state.
In an hour-long speech – double his allotted time – Mr Abbas said: “Israeli and Zionist claims continue by saying that Israel made the desert bloom. As if Palestine was a desert and they made the desert bloom. These are lies. They continue to lie, like Goebbels, and they continue to lie until people believe their lies.”
Joseph Goebbels was the Nazi Propaganda Minister. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.
Mr Abbas also denied the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, despite it being the holiest site in Judaism for millenia and the site of the two ancient Jewish temples. He claimed that the Israelis have “been digging for 30 years to find any evidence or proof of the existence” of a Jewish connection to the area. “They haven’t found anything,” he falsely said, in the face of abundant evidence to the contrary. “Al-Sharif belongs exclusively to the Muslims,” he said, referring to the Temple Mount by an Arabic appellation.
Mr Abbas also called for the suspension of the Jewish state from the United Nations.
Numerous countries refused to attend the propagandist event altogether, including the UK, United States and Canada, with several others lowering their level of representation.
Last year, the German Chancellor condemned remarks by Mr Abbas in Berlin that Israel had committed “50 Holocausts”. Chancellor Olaf Schultz later said that the comment disgusted him, and Mr Abbas partially walked the comment back.
Decades ago, Mr Abbas argued in his faux doctoral dissertation in the Soviet Union that the Zionist movement and its leaders were “fundamental partners” of the Nazis and shared equal responsibility for the Holocaust.
Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.
