Abbas Says Jews Caused Holocaust

The Fellowship  |  May 2, 2018

The entire career of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas has been one of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel hatred, and a speech he gave this week only added to that. The Times of Israel reports on Abbas’ address that not only negated Jewish ties to Israel, but blamed Jews for the Holocaust and accused Zionists of collaboration with Hitler:

In a long and rambling at speech in Ramallah in front of hundreds at a rare session of the Palestinian National Council, Abbas touched on a number of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories during what he called a “history lesson,” as he sought to prove the 3,000 year-old Jewish connection to the Land of Israel is false.

Abbas said his narrative was backed by three points made by Jewish writers and historians, the first being the theory oft-criticized as anti-Semitic that Ashkenazi Jews are not the descendants of the ancient Israelites…

The “proof” that it was not because they were Jews, he asserted, “is that there were Jews in Arab countries. Why wasn’t there ever one incident against Jews because they’re Jews?” he asked. “Not even once. Do you think I’m exaggerating? I challenge you [to find] even one indecent against Jews in over 1,400 years — because they were Jews in Arab lands.

Abbas went on to claim that the Holocaust was not the result of anti-Semitism but rather of the Jews “social behavior, [charging] interest, and financial matters.”

Abbas also repeated and elaborated on his previous claim Israel was a European project from the start.

In a speech in January, Abbas had said that European Jews during the Holocaust chose to undergo “murder and slaughter” over emigration to British-held Palestine. On Monday, he said, “Their narrative about coming to this country because of their longing for Zion, or whatever — we’re tired of hearing this. The truth is that this is a colonialist enterprise, aimed at planting a foreign body in this region…”

“Those who sought a Jewish state weren’t Jews,” Abbas said, repeating a claim he made in January when he said that the State of Israel was formed as “a colonial project that has nothing to do with Judaism” to safeguard European interests.