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PA President Mahmoud Abbas was censured by both Israeli and German officials Tuesday night after he claimed in a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Israel was guilty of committing “50 Holocausts” against the Palestinians.
Abbas’ remarks were made in response to a question about whether he would apologize for the 1972 Munich massacre, in which Black September terrorists (aligned with Abbas’ Fatah party) murdered 11 Israeli Olympic athletes. Abbas replied: “If we want to go over the past, go ahead. I have 50 slaughters that Israel committed…50 massacres, 50 slaughters, 50 Holocausts.”
Following the remarks, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid tweeted: “Abbas accusing Israel of having committed ‘50 Holocausts’ on German soil is not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie. History will not forgive him.”
Similarly, Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman called Abbas a “Holocaust denier,” a “terrorist who engages in diplomatic terrorism” and “more dangerous than all the terror operatives of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
In Germany, where the use of the term “Holocaust” is reserved exclusively for Nazi Germany’s crimes, both government and opposition leaders were quick to denounce the PA president.
Scholz, who had earlier taken Abbas to task for his use of the term “apartheid,” tweeted on Wednesday morning that he was “disgusted by the outrageous remarks” while Germany’s ambassador to Israel called Abbas’ comments “wrong and unacceptable.”
I am disgusted by the outrageous remarks made 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.
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) August 17, 2022
This is not the first time that Abbas has made comments that seek to deny or trivialize the murder of six million Jews. In 2018, Abbas claimed that “Jewish social behavior” was a direct cause of the Holocaust. Similarly, in his 1982 Ph.D. dissertation, Abbas asserted that the six million figure was grossly exaggerated and also accused Zionist leaders of collaborating with the Nazis.
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In response to a report by the Israeli daily Ha’aretz that Israel was responsible for the deaths of five Palestinian children on the last day of Operation Breaking Dawn, the IDF declared that it was “reviewing and examining its activity during the operation and the outcomes of its activity.”
The Israeli army further stated that “During the operation, the [Israeli army] made every feasible effort to minimize, as much as possible, harm to civilians and civilian property.”
According to Ha’aretz, Israel initially claimed that the children were likely killed by an errant rocket fired by Islamic Jihad but “several defense sources” assert that an internal army probe found that they were killed by Israel.
The incident in question came one day after eight Palestinian civilians, including children, were killed by a misfired rocket in northern Gaza. In this instance, the IDF produced unimpeachable evidence that the civilians in question were not killed by Israeli forces.
Watch this failed rocket launch which killed children in Gaza.
This barrage of rockets was fired by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in Gaza last night.
The rocket in the red circle misfired, killing Palestinian civilians—including children—in Jabaliya in northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/55zSU3fsRY
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 7, 2022
Operation Breaking Dawn, which took place over three days in early August, was conducted in an effort to weaken Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s leadership, destroy its terror infrastructure and protect Israeli communities in the direct line of fire.
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An organization dedicated to combating antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the entertainment and sports industries has released a damning report on the rise in antisemitic incidents over the past year-and-a-half.
In its 20-page report, Creative Community For Peace (CCFP) highlighted incidents such as NFL player DeSean Jackson tweeting a quote from Hitler in 2020, antisemitic lyrics in hip hop music and a Dutch soccer team chanting “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas.”
In addition, CCFP also focused on streaming platforms and found a plethora of antisemitic bullying as well as speeches by noted antisemite Louis Farrakhan and music by far-right heavy metal bands.
CCFP recommended that companies employ an expert on antisemitism as part of their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion teams and that they also adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism as a framework for determining whether something is antisemitic.
According to Ari Ingel, the director of CCFP, the report is “the first step towards transformation and creating accountability in industries in need of it.”
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Israel is on its way to returning to pre-pandemic tourism levels, per a report recently released by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
According to the report, July saw 249,500 tourists enter the country, down from the 2019 high of 322,800 but a dramatic increase from July 2021’s total of 49,200 tourists.
The ministry forecasts that 2022 will see a total of 2.2 to 2.5 million visitors to the Holy Land, almost half of the 2019 record high of 4.4 million tourists.
In response to the report, Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov stated that “The positive trend is continuing, and according to the information we have, this will continue through August…[tourists] continue to enjoy our beautiful and unique country, with its varied religious, cultural and historical sites and a vibrant nightlife and entertainment scene.”
The tourism industry was one of the sectors of the Israeli economy most heavily hit by the COVID pandemic, with many suffering unemployment for months.
Recommended Reading
- The UN ‘Commission of Inquiry’ into the Israel-Gaza Conflict Abuses the UN Charter (Alan Baker, Algemeiner)
- Ben & Jerry’s Clash With Unilever Makes Israel a Test Case (Reuters and Israel Hayom)
- CNN to Air Special Report on Antisemitism in America (Jewish News Syndicate)
- Excavations Underway to Find Secret Trenches From Six Day War in Jerusalem (Jerusalem Post)
- Hera Help Us! Rare Knucklebone Dice With Names of Gods Show Gaming in Ancient Israel (Times of Israel)
Featured Image: JENS SCHLUETER/AFP via Getty Images
