‘History Will Never Forgive Him’: Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas Condemned Over ’50 Holocausts’ Remarks

Leaders in Germany, the United States, and Israel have issued strong condemnations after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused the Jewish state on Tuesday of perpetrating “50 Holocausts” against the Palestinians since 1947.

The remarks — in which Abbas also refused to denounce the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered — came at a joint press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Scholz did not immediately rebuke Abbas, but on Wednesday he tweeted, “I’m deeply outraged by the unspeakable statements by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. For us Germans, in particular, any relativization of the singularity of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable. I condemn any attempt to deny the crimes of the Holocaust.”

Ich bin zutiefst empört über die unsäglichen Aussagen des palästinensischen Präsidenten Mahmoud #Abbas. Gerade für uns Deutsche ist jegliche Relativierung des Holocaust unerträglich und inakzeptabel. Ich verurteile jeden Versuch, die Verbrechen des Holocaust zu leugnen.

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) August 17, 2022

German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert said, “What President Abbas said in Berlin about ’50 holocausts’ is wrong and unacceptable. Germany will never stand for any attempt to deny the singular dimension of the crimes of the Holocaust.”

What President #Abbas said in Berlin about „50 holocausts“ is wrong and unacceptable. Germany will never stand for any attempt to deny the singular dimension of the crimes of the Holocaust.

— Steffen Seibert (@GerAmbTLV) August 16, 2022

U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt remarked, “PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s claim that Israel committed ’50 Holocausts’ is unacceptable. Holocaust distortion can have dangerous consequences and fuels antisemitism.”

PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s claim that Israel committed “50 Holocausts” is unacceptable.

Holocaust distortion can have dangerous consequences and fuels antisemitism. https://t.co/Ok7NxQbQba

— Special Envoy Deborah Lipstadt (@StateSEAS) August 17, 2022

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid stated, “Mahmoud Abbas accusing Israel of having committed ’50 Holocausts’ while standing on German soil is not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie. Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, including one and a half million Jewish children. History will never forgive him.”

Mahmoud Abbas accusing Israel of having committed “50 Holocausts” while standing on German soil is not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie.

Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, including one and a half million Jewish children.

History will never forgive him.

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) August 16, 2022

Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa said, “Abbas’ comments are an outrageous attempt to downplay the murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust, and are part of a long standing position by a man whose doctorate deals with denying central parts of the Holocaust. While Abbas’ comments are particularly egregious, they are unfortunately part of a growing global trend to trivialize and appropriate Nazi Germany’s crimes against the Jewish people.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ reprehensible remarks on Tuesday were the latest manifestation of a Holocaust trivialization trend that has been growing worldwide recently.

A new data report we compiled details this disturbing phenomenon.https://t.co/osm9kIeDze

— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) August 17, 2022