Mahmoud Abbas claims Holocaust was not about antisemitism 

Mahmoud Abbas, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, made a slew of antisemitic comments in a recent speech. 

In the speech, which was delivered on 24th August to the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, Mr Abbas claimed that Jews were not “Semites” and were actually descendants of the Khazars. The Khazar myth is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that claims that Jews are descended from a Central Asian people and have no connection to the Land of Israel. He did, however, make the distinction that, in his view, Sephardi Jews are Semites “because they originated in the Arabian Peninsula”.

Mr Abbas also said in his speech: “They say that Hitler killed the Jews for being Jews and that Europe hated the Jews because they were Jews.”

He added, “It was clearly explained that [the Europeans] fought [the Jews] because of their social role, and not their religion. Several authors wrote about this. Even Karl Marx said this was not true. He said that the enmity was not directed at Judaism as a religion, but to Judaism for its social role.” 

Referring to Hitler, Mr Abbas continued: “He said he fought the Jews because they were dealing with usury and money. In his view, they were engaged in sabotage, and this is why he hated them. We just want to make this point clear. This was not about semitism and antisemitism.”

Following Mr Abbas’ speech, Paris revoked his Medal of the City of Paris. The medal was awarded to Mr Abbas in 2015 in “recognition of his actions towards finding peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis”.

In an open letter to Mr Abbas, Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, said: “I condemn your comments in the strongest possible terms; no cause can justify revisionism and negationism. As you know, the Holocaust is part of the history of Paris…In our city, during World War Two, tens of thousands of children, women and men of the Jewish faith were rounded up, deported and then exterminated in death camps.”

Steffen Seibert, the German Ambassador to Israel, said: “The recent statement of President Abbas on Jews and the Holocaust is an insult to the memory of millions of murdered men, women and children.” He added, “The Palestinians deserve to hear the historical truth from their leader, not such distortions.”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.

Earlier this year, Mr Abbas caused controversy after he accused Israel of “lying like Goebbels”. 

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.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

Image credit: MEMRI