Palestinian leader's speech condemned as anti-Semitic

Remarks by the Palestinian president about the causes of 20th-century anti-Semitism in Europe were sharply criticized as anti-Semitic and drew widespread condemnations from Israel and around the world on Wednesday.

In rambling remarks that were part of a lengthy speech to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) parliament on Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it was the Jews' "social function," including money lending, that caused animosity toward them in Europe.

He also portrayed the creation of Israel as a European colonial project, saying "history tells us there is no basis for the Jewish homeland."

Citing books written by various Jewish authors, Abbas argued: "They say hatred against Jews was not because of their religion, it was because of their social profession. So the Jewish issue that had spread against the Jews across Europe was not because of their religion, it was because of usury and banks."

The comments drew criticism that Abbas perpetuated anti-Semitic stereotypes and ignored the deep Jewish historical connections to the Holy Land.

The Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial said in a statement that Abbas's speech was "replete with anti-Semitic tropes and distortions of historical facts." It accused the Palestinian president of "blatantly falsifying history to the point of accusing the Jewish victims as being responsible for their own murder."

The UN's special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said in a statement that "leaders have an obligation to confront anti-Semitism everywhere and always, not perpetuate the conspiracy theories that fuel it."

"Denying the historic and religious connection of the Jewish people to the land and their holy sites in Jerusalem stands in contrast to reality," he said.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel lashed out at Abbas over his remarks.

"Abu Mazen has reached a new low," Ambassador David Friedman tweeted, referring to Abbas by his nickname. "To all those who think Israel is the reason that we don't have peace, think again."

The rhetoric reflects the escalating tensions between the Palestinians and the Trump administration. Ties have been strained since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital last year, prompting the Palestinians to suspend contacts with the administration.

Friedman and Abbas have sparred before. In March, Abbas called Friedman a "son of a dog" in an angry rant.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbas's remarks were "the pinnacle of ignorance" and that the Palestinian leader was "again reciting the most disgraceful anti-Semitic slogans."

"It would appear that, once a Holocaust denier, always a Holocaust denier,"Netanyahusaid on Twitter.

Abbas said in his speech that Jews living in Europe had suffered massacres "every 10 to 15 years in some country since the11thcentury and until the Holocaust." He has been accused of Holocaust-denial in the past, following the publication of his 1982 doctoral dissertation (The Secret Relationship between Nazism and the Zionist Movement) fromthe Moscow Institute of Orientalism.

AbbasspokespersonNabilAbuRdainahdeclined comment on the criticism.

Abbas, 82, made his remarks in the West Bank city ofRamallahat a rare meeting of the Palestinian National Council, the de facto parliament of the PLO, which Abbas heads.

A veteran member of Fatah, the dominant faction of the PLO, Abbas served for decades as a loyal deputy of his predecessor,YasserArafat. He assumed the leadership of Fatah, the PLO and the Palestinian Authority after Arafat died in 2004.