The United States and the European Union have jointly criticized recent comments made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas concerning the Holocaust and antisemitism. The EU’s diplomatic service released a statement characterizing Abbas’s remarks, which were delivered in late August to the Revolutionary Council of his Fatah movement, as “false and grossly misleading.” Deborah Lipstadt, the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, called for an immediate apology, denouncing Abbas’s comments as “hateful” and “antisemitic.”
In his statements, Abbas suggested that Nazi Germany had targeted Jews not because of their religion but because of their “social role.” He contended that many Jewish authors had explained that Hitler’s persecution of Jews was based on their social function rather than their religious beliefs. Abbas’s remarks have ignited controversy and drawn international criticism.
Abbas has a history of making statements about the Holocaust, in which approximately six million Jews, along with members of other marginalized groups, were systematically murdered by the Nazis during World War II.
The EU, a significant donor to the Palestinian Authority, condemned Abbas’s comments as “an insult to the millions of victims of the Holocaust and their families.” They described these historical distortions as inflammatory, deeply offensive, and potentially exacerbating tensions in the region. The EU emphasized that such remarks played into the hands of those opposing a two-state solution, an idea that President Abbas has repeatedly supported.
Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also criticized Abbas’s remarks, stating that Palestinians deserved to hear the historical truth from their leader rather than distortions.
Abbas’s controversial remarks have not been well-received in the past. During a visit to Berlin last year, he faced criticism from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after suggesting that Israel had committed “50 Holocausts” in reference to the 50th anniversary of the attack on the Israeli team at the 1972 Munich Olympics by Palestinian militants.
Despite calls from the Palestinian public to step down during his two decades in power, Abbas has resisted such demands and remained in office.