Since "it is known that in all of Europe there weren't 6 million Jews," the Holocaust should be seen as one more example of Jews' exaggeration of their sufferings, according to a senior Palestinian religious official. This latest Palestinian Holocaust denial was expressed by Abd Al-Rahman Abbad, Secretary General of the [Palestinian] Organization of Clerics and Disseminators of Islam. This organization is headed by Ikrima Sabri, former Palestinian Authority Mufti under Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas.
In another repugnant distortion of history, Abbad explained on official Palestinian Authority TV that Jews possess "an attitude of superiority towards others" and therefore Jewish "culture and religion obligate them to have contacts only among themselves."
This, he explained, is the source of the historical Jewish isolation in ghettos: Jews were not placed in ghettos by others, but chose to build walls around themselves and live in ghettos to avoid associating with non-Jews.
This attitude, which he called the Jewish "ghetto mentality," is not just one Jewish trait among many, but dominates: "The Jewish mindset [is] a mindset controlled by the [idea of the] ghetto."
President Barak Obama sees a direct connection between Holocaust denial and Israel's security:
"I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security. Not when there are still voices that deny the Holocaust. Not when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to Israel's destruction." [AIPAC Conference, June 4, 2008]
Click here to view interview with Palestinian official
Click here for examples of 10 years of PA Holocaust denial
The following is the transcript of the interview on PA TV:
"[The Israeli separation fence is a symptom of] the Jewish mindset, a mindset controlled by the [idea of the] ghetto. The ghetto means living in an isolated neighborhood only for Jews. That's why they cannot live with other groups because they believe that their culture and religion obligate them to have contacts only among themselves, based on an attitude of superiority towards others. That's why they did not live, for example, in the West, in separate neighborhoods, but lived in what is called "a ghetto."
The ghetto was not forced upon them, as is thought, rather, they were the ones who forced it upon themselves. This [separation] fence is not just one fence, there are many fences. Look at the [Israeli] city Lod, for example, or Ramle. There is no mixing between different population groups who are all Israeli citizens. There is separation. The reason for this is the Israeli mentality, the ghetto mentality, the mentality of rejection of 'the other', and refusal to coexist with him...
[Jews] exaggerate every action that other [nations] do against any Jew in the world. In this context is the Holocaust issue, which the whole world still [deals with]. There is a place [in Israel] called "Memorial for Holocaust and Heroism," which tells of the killing of 6 million Jews, but it is known that in all of Europe there weren't 6 million Jews."
[PATV (Fatah) July 17, 2009]
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Founded in 1996, Palestinian Media Watch is an Israeli NGO that studies Palestinian society from a broad range of perspectives by monitoring and analyzing the Palestinian Authority through its media and schoolbooks. I
