Abbas Calls Holocaust ‘Most Heinous Crime’ Ahead of Remembrance Day
Image by Getty Images
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the Holocaust “the most heinous crime to have occurred against humanity in the modern era.”
The statement, made in advance of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, was published Sunday by Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.
The statement is the result of a meeting last week in Ramallah between Abbas and American Rabbi Marc Schneier, founder and president of The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
Abbas also expressed his “sympathy” to the families of the victims of the Holocaust.
It reportedly is the first time that a Palestinian leader has offered such condolences, according to the New York Times.
Abbas called on the world to “fight racism and injustice” and called on Israel to reach a “comprehensive peace” in the region.
“The Palestinian people, who suffer from injustice, oppression and denied freedom and peace, are the first to demand to lift the injustice and racism that befell other peoples subjected to such crimes,” he said, according to Wafa.
“On the incredibly sad commemoration of Holocaust Day, we call on the Israeli government to seize the current opportunity to conclude a just and comprehensive peace in the region, based on the two states vision, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security,” he concluded.
Holocaust Remembrance Day begins in Israel on Sunday night.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
