Abbas in Antisemitic speech claims Jews' "social role that was connected to usury, and banks" caused Antisemitism, Holocaust; claims some Jews are descended from Khazars; denies Jewish connection to Israel

Excerpt from speech by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on April 30, 2018, at the opening of the 23rd session of the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the PLO, broadcast on official PA TV.

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "I have read many books, all by Jewish authors, and also all of them by Zionist authors. In other words, they aren't ours and are not from here or there. Authors of Zionist and Jewish books have noted what I want to say now.
First, one of the authors whose name is Arthur Koestler - an American Zionist Jew - wrote a book The Thirteenth Tribe. The thirteenth tribe means - sir, they are 12 tribes [of Israel]! These [Ashkenazi Jews] are the thirteenth tribe. In other words, the sons of Jacob were 12. Where did you bring 13 from? They invented it. Where? In the Khazar Kingdom. When? In the 9th century. It was an irreligious kingdom. Afterwards it became a Jewish kingdom. The emperor converted to Judaism and therefore [the kingdom] converted to Judaism. Afterwards it broke apart, and all its residents migrated to Europe, and these are the Ashkenazi Jews (this claim is rejected by experts and genetic testing confirms uniform origin of the different Jewish communities - Ed.). The Ashkenazi Jews are not Semites, and they have no connection to Semitism or Abraham, Jacob, or others. It was a Tatar-Turkic state, it was irreligious and afterwards became Jewish, and the Jews began to say 'the Promised Land' and I'm Semitic and I'm denying them! The one saying this is not me, but rather the Zionist American Jew Arthur Koestler. This is one point.
Second, these Jews who migrated to eastern and western Europe were subjected to massacres by some state every 10 to 15 years from the 11th century until the Holocaust that took place in Germany. OK, but why did this happen? They say: 'Because we are Jews.' Now I want to mention three Jews [who wrote] three books, including [Soviet leader] Joseph Stalin. I assume we all know Stalin, right? Stalin was Jewish (sic.), and another man whose name was Abraham Leon, and another man whose name was Isaac Deutscher.
The three of them say that the hatred of the Jews is not due to their religion- (the audience calls out that Abbas meant Karl Marx instead of Joseph Stalin -Ed.) Karl Marx, Karl Marx, I apologize. The hatred of the Jews is not due to their religion, but rather due to their social role. If so, it's a different issue. And therefore, the Jewish problem that was common in all of the states of Europe against the Jews was not due to their religion, but rather due to their social role that was connected to usury, and banks, and so forth. The proof of this is that there were Jews in the Arab states. Why did not a single incident take place against the Jews because of them being Jews? (sic., there were many atrocities against Jews in Arab countries. See "In Ishmael's House: A History of Jews in Muslim Lands," by Martin Gilbert -Ed.) Not even one incident. You claim that I'm exaggerating? I challenge [anyone claiming] that any incident took place against the Jews during 1,400 years in any Arab state due to them being Jews! They occurred in Europe for this reason. This is a second point.
Now we are talking about the Jewish homeland. They are talking about longing for Zion and that's why they are going [there] and so forth. I say - not me, rather history says that these words are baseless."

Note: Abbas later apologized if Jews were insulted by this statement.