Mahmoud Abbas stripped of Paris honour after Holocaust revisionism

The city of Paris announced it was stripping Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the special honour following his false and inflammatory remarks about the Holocaust. 

Abbas was widely condemned after he said: “They say that Hitler killed the Jews because they were Jews and that Europe hated the Jews because they were Jews. Not true. It was clearly explained that (the Europeans) fought [the Jews] because of their social role, and not their religion.”

“Even Karl Marx said this was not true. He said that the enmity was not directed at Judaism as a religion but to Judaism for its social role. The [Europeans] fought against these people because of their role in society, which had to do with usury, money and so on and so forth,” Abbas added.

On Friday, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said Abbas’ remarks “run counter to universal values and the historical truth of the Holocaust. We condemn your comments with the utmost firmness. No cause can justify revisionism and negationism.”

Hidalgo awarded Abbas with the Grand Bronze of Paris in 2015, for working towards peace and a two-state solution.

Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, was among the first officials to react to Abbas’ translated speech, saying: “The recent statement of President Abbas on Jews and the Holocaust is an insult to the memory of millions of murdered men, women and children. The Palestinians deserve to hear the historical truth from their leader, not such distortions.”

The U.S. followed suit, Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt calling Abbas’ remarks “hateful” and “antisemitic.”

“The speech maligned the Jewish people, distorted the Holocaust, and misrepresented the tragic exodus of Jews from Arab countries,” Lipstadt said.