A range of Jewish groups in the United States have come out recently in condemnation of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accusing him of incitement.
The groups have also expressed growing concern over the escalation of terror and violence throughout Israel, and particularly in Jerusalem.
In the past month, there have been two car terrorist attacks, an assassination attempt, stabbing attacks, and numerous thwarted terrorist attacks, including two Wednesday night. Several people have been killed, including a 3-month-old baby, and scores more injured.
“Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials must end their inciteful comments,” Robert Sugarman and Malcolm Hoenlein, chairman and executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said in a joint statement.
“His reference to igniting a religious war, as well as his earlier statements which urged that Jews should be blocked from entering the Temple Mount ‘by all means necessary’ and denying any Jewish connection to its holiest site, only serve to raise tensions and encourage further violence. These attacks should instead be condemned by Mr. Abbas and the Palestinian leadership, international community and the United Nations.”
The Zionist Organization of America's (ZOA) national president, Morton Klein issued a similar statement last week, criticizing Abbas and arguing “it is high time to cease pretending that Abbas is a genuine moderate and peace partner.”
“It is simply astonishing, immoral and deeply damaging to the cause of peace that the world, including the Obama Administration, takes no notice of Palestinian Arab incitement to hatred and murder and the open, shameless glorification of any Palestinian Arab who tries to or succeeds in murdering even a single Jew,” Klein wrote.
Like the President's Conference, who concluded their statement urging Israel to “do everything possible to protect its citizens and restore peaceful conditions," the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on Israeli leaders to work to abate the tensions between Arab and Jewish Israelis.
“This spate of violence by Palestinians, including stabbings, shootings and the deliberate crashing of cars into civilians, is alarming,” Abraham Foxman, ADL’s national director, said. “It is appalling that Palestinian President Abbas has not condemned against these attacks, despite the ongoing violence and messages throughout Palestinians media and society celebrating the violence and calling for more. Abbas’ outrageous and disgraceful silence is further evidence that he is abandoning his past commitments to non-violence and to Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation.
The American Jewish Committee's statement focused on the international response calling on governments worldwide “to condemn unequivocally Palestinian terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, and to press the Palestinian Authority to make every effort to deter, rather than incite, further assaults.”
“Hamas rockets and missiles may be quiet for the moment, but Palestinian individuals, affiliated with terrorist organizations, are using other methods to kill and maim,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.