
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Thursday criticized Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas over his recent speech in which he claimed that Adolf Hitler only killed Jews "because they dealt in usury and money".
"I strongly condemn Palestinian President Abbas's recent comments, which egregiously distort the horrors of the Holocaust and repeat false tropes about Jews," Schiff wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"His remarks add fuel to the fire at a time when antisemitism and violence against the community are so alarmingly on the rise," he added.
AIPAC reposted Schiff and thanked him "for your moral clarity in condemning Palestinian President Abbas' abhorrent comments."
"Rather than joining other Arab leaders in building bridges with Israel, Abbas is poisoning Palestinian society with dangerous lies that make peace impossible," added AIPAC.
Earlier on Thursday, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt condemned Abbas’ remarks as well.
"I am appalled by President Abbas’ hateful, antisemitic remarks at a recent Fatah meeting. The speech maligned the Jewish people, distorted the Holocaust, and misrepresented the tragic exodus of Jews from Arab countries. I condemn these statements and urge an immediate apology," Lipstadt wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh defended Abbas, claiming the PA chairman was only quoting Jewish, American, and other historians and authors in his speech, though he did not say which historians Abbas allegedly based his claims on.