Thursday, April 28, 2016, New York, NY…Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations today condemned the offensive, outrageous, anti-Semitic statement made yesterday by the Palestinian Permanent Representative at a press conference in the United Nations (UN). In his appalling statement, Dr. Riyad Mansour compared the recent Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming terrorist attackers to Jewish resistance fighters against the barbaric Nazi regime during the Holocaust and compared Israel’s government to the genocidal Nazi regime.
Stephen M. Greenberg, Chairman of the Conference of Presidents, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO said:
“The comparisons made by the Palestinian Representative at a press conference in the UN venue denigrates the institution of the UN and contradicts its fundamental principles and are deserving of the strongest condemnation from Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon and representatives of member nations. Silence in the face of such offensive, hateful anti-Semitic remarks is a desecration of the memory of the victims of the Nazi genocide and dishonors those who rose up against the Nazi death machine. His comments are even more offensive given that next week is Yom Hashoah, the official Holocaust Memorial Day, and the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
The European Parliamentary Working Group on Anti-Semitism and the U.S. State Department both include ‘Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis’ in their definitions of anti-Semitism.
The halls of the UN too often echo with outrageous misrepresentations and allegations, even expressions of blatant hate against Israel and Jews. When the UN platform is abused without condemnation, as it was again yesterday, it demonstrates an indifference to the standards of acceptable behavior and discourse. The lack of any official response and public rebuke is interpreted as acquiescence or even acceptance. The same standards that are applied to all other members of the UN must apply also when it comes to Jews and Israel. We will accept no less.
We wait to hear from officials of the UN and the member states committed to fighting hate and prejudice, while standing up for democratic values.”
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