New York, NY,…Dianne Lob, Chair, and William Daroff, CEO, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement:
“We are frustrated, though hardly surprised, by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ flagrant distortion of the Holocaust and condemn his reprehensible claim, made while standing on German soil, that Israel committed ‘50 Holocausts’ against the Palestinians. Despite protestations to the contrary by Palestinian news agencies, Abbas’ dishonest invocation of the Holocaust demonstrates his deep-seated antisemitism and is all the more troubling given his abdication of responsibility for leading the Palestinian people in a negotiated process to resolve the conflict with Israel.
“President Abbas continues to tip his hand and the international community must continue to hold him accountable. Under Abbas, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has operated in bad faith at the negotiating table, including repeated incitement of violence against Israel and its civilians. President Abbas and other PA officials have directly encouraged violence, murder, and hatred directed against Jews, particularly through ‘pay-for-slay’ schemes that promote the killing of Jews and Israelis for profit.
“We commend German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for publicly rejecting and challenging Abbas’ biased rhetoric, including unfairly labeling Israel an ‘apartheid’ state, and call on responsible members of the international community to speak strongly and loudly against hate speech and antisemitism, whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head.”
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The Conference of Presidents is the central coordinating body representing 50 national Jewish organizations on issues of national and international concern
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