The UAE foreign minister has condemned Mahmoud Abbas’ claims that Hitler fought with the Jews ‘because of their social role and not because of their religion’.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan said the remarks on Jews and the Holocaust by the Palestinian Authority (PA) leader that have drawn widespread accusations of antisemitism were “irresponsible”.
During a speech at his Fatah party’s Revolutionary Council last month, Abbas also claimed the Jews were one of the causes of Germany’s loss in World War I, a false claim which Hitler initially peddled.
The Palestinian leader also repeated the ‘Khazar Myth’ that he has peddled often over the years, stating that Ashkenazi Jews descend from Turkish Khazars who converted, rather than biblical Jews.
He also accused the United States and Great Britain of inventing the idea of Jewish statehood, according to a translation of the remarks by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
In a statement, the UAE foreign ministry said: “Sheikh Abdullah condemned the irresponsible statements made by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas regarding Jews and the Nazi Holocaust, emphasising the importance of tolerance and human brotherhood values in the UAE’s approach to building peaceful and prosperous societies.
“He also underscored the UAE’s rejection of hate speech, extremism in all its forms, religious intolerance, racism and racial discrimination.”
The remarks were made during a meeting Al Nahyan had with representatives of Jewish organisations on the side lines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
