Ashkenazi Jews stem from Europe, not the Middle East, and were murdered during the Holocaust due to hatred against them for their historic role as money lenders, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a speech that sparked an international furor.
Nazi leader Adolph Hitler said “he fought the Jews because they were dealing with users and money,” Abbas told a meeting of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council on August 24th.
His speech was translated into English and published by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
Abbas in that speech put forward the claim that European Jews had no historic ties to the land of Israel, as documented in the Bible, because they were descended from a Turkish-linked tribe known as the Khazars that disappeared over a thousand years ago.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas: Hitler Fought the European Jews Because of Their Usury, Money Dealings, It Was Not about Antisemitism.This is the same Mahmoud Abbas whose doctoral dissertation is known for its Holocaust denial.pic.twitter.com/1AhTeFM2b9
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) September 6, 2023
Abbas: Hitler did not kill the Jews just for being Jews
Palestinians including Abbas put forward this theory as part of an argument that they are the true Semites, who descended from those who lived in this area during the time of the Bible. They argue that European Jews can not, therefore, be the largest of antisemitism.
“The truth that we should clarify to the world is that European Jews are not Semites,” Abbas said. “They have nothing to do with antisemitism.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas looks on during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (not pictured) in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 27, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMAD TOROKMAN)The Foreign Ministry recalled that Abbas had written a doctoral thesis denying the Holocaust.
Germany’s Ambassador to Israel Stephan Seibert said Abbas’ speech was “an insult to the memory of millions of murdered men, women and children. The Palestinians deserve to hear the historical truth from their leader, not such distortions.”
The European Union condemned the speech, calling it “false and grossly misleading.”
“Such historical distortions are inflammatory, deeply offensive, can only serve to exacerbate tensions in the region and serve no one’s interests. They play into the hands of those who do not want a two-state solution, which President Abbas has repeatedly advocated for.
“Moreover, they trivialize the Holocaust and thereby fuel antisemitism and are an insult to the millions of victims of the Holocaust and their families,” the EU stated.
It noted that the “EU remains committed to combating antisemitism and racism in all its forms and will continue to strongly oppose any attempt to condone, justify or trivialize the Holocaust.”
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