New York, NY – Harriet P. Schleifer, Chair, and William Daroff, CEO, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement:
“The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations strongly condemns the vile, antisemitic remarks recently made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a Fatah party meeting.
“We join in the rightful condemnation from the United States, Europe, and the broader international community of President Abbas for his heinous victim-blaming of Jews for the Shoah and parroting the false and antisemitic Khazar origin canard.
“Abbas’ false characterizations of Jews are part of a longstanding pattern of behavior dating back to his PhD dissertation on Holocaust denial. He continues his unrelenting quest to deny any Jewish ties to our ancestral homeland in an effort to attempt to delegitimize the State of Israel.
“Palestinians deserve leadership that is serious about meaningful engagement with the international community and negotiating peace. President Abbas, who is in his 18th year of a 5-year term of office, should be roundly condemned for continuing to incite terrorism, underwriting the murder of Jews through the pay-to-slay system, his flagrant despotism, and his recent antisemitic remarks. The international community should question his fitness to rule and his commitment to a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Should Abbas travel to New York for the upcoming 78th UN General Assembly, we urge UN and world leaders to call him to task for spewing antisemitic hate.”
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