“Hitler Fought The European Jews Because Of Their Money-Lending and Financial Dealings. It Was Not About Antisemitism”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas presented a controversial narrative about the Jews, their history, and the reason for the Holocaust. Delivering his remarks at the 11th session of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council on August 24, 2023, Abbas asserted that European Jews are not genuine Semites but descendants of the Khazars, and therefore any persecution faced in Europe cannot be tied to antisemitism. He postulated that Hitler’s battle against the Jews wasn’t rooted in racial or religious prejudice but rather the Jews’ involvement in usury and financial dealings.
Extending his account to the eastern /Mizrahi Jews, he said that while they were Semites, they were not initially welcomed in Israel. He stated that David Ben Gurion, a primary founder of the State of Israel, initially resisted the immigration of Jews from Arab countries. According to Abbas, it was only because Winston Churchill insisted that Ben Gurion acquiesced. Abbas didn’t stop there; he alleged that Jewish establishments in Arab nations were targeted by Ben Gurion to force the Jewish populace there to migrate. He emphasized, “The Jews did not want to emigrate but were forced to do so by means of pressure, coercion, and murder.”
President Abbas critiqued the Balfour Declaration, positing that not just Britain, but also the U.S. played pivotal roles in the Jewish State’s inception. According to him, Israel was the creation of both “Britain and America,” emphasizing the need for clarity on “who we should accuse of being our enemy.”
