Mahmoud Abbas: On the Record

This page records specific public conduct. It does not claim knowledge of private beliefs or motives.

Documented record

• April 30, 2018: On April 30, 2018, in a speech to the Palestinian National Council in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas said that the historical persecution of Jews in Europe culminating in the Holocaust was due not to their religion but to their "function in society, which had to do with usury, banks, and so on," attributing the Holocaust to Jews' "social behavior" — remarks Yad Vashem condemned as "fundamentally anti-Semitic" and Holocaust-distorting, and which the EU's foreign service and senior Trump-administration officials (Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman) also condemned. anti-Jewish [sentiment] was not because of their religion, but because of their function in society, which had to do with usury, banks, and so on" (as translated/reported by JTA from the April 30, 2018 speech) Source 1 Source 2

Context and response

Four days later, on May 4, 2018, a statement from Abbas's office said: "If people were offended by my statement in front of the [Palestinian National Council], especially people of the Jewish faith, I apologize to them," adding it "was not my intention to do so," reaffirming "full respect for the Jewish faith, as well as other monotheistic faiths," and stating "we condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms."

Where Galil stands

Our opinion: We don't stand with a leader who told his own people the Holocaust was the Jews' fault for lending money — a conditional apology four days later doesn't erase what was said from that podium.

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Sources manually reviewed 2026-07-27. Corrections and later context will be appended to this page.