Abbas’ advisor repeats PA antisemitic narrative
Abbas’ advisor repeats PA antisemitic narrative:
Jews were unwanted in Europe - European plot created a homeland for them in Palestine
According to the Palestinian Authority’s historical revision, Jews have no connection to the Land of Israel. The reason there are any Jews in “Palestine” is because of a European plot to get rid of the unwanted Jews. This antisemitic part of the Palestinian narrative was repeated last week by PA Chairman Abbas’ advisor on Foreign Relations, Nabil Shaath, at a symposium in Iraq:
“Shaath presented the plotting role that the US has played throughout history in order to erase the Palestinian identity and right, beginning with the Balfour [Declaration] that would not have been issued without American support, and the European plot to settle the Jews who were unwanted in Europe in order to get rid of them, so that they created a homeland for them that would absorb them in Palestine.”Al-Ayyam, June 26, 2019
Palestinian Media Watch has exposed the antisemitic element of the PA narrative numerous times. Another of Abbas’ advisors, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, for example, has stated that Europe supported Zionism to get rid of the Jews:
Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Abbas' Advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs: "After World War II ended, the colonialist states wanted to get rid of the presence of the Jews of Europe, who had a monopoly over the economy and capital. Therefore, they supported these claims and helped them establish their state on the land of Palestine at the expense of the Palestinian people, who are still suffering from this crime."Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 24, 2018
Former PA Minister of Education Sabri Saidam similarly promoted the idea that Europe plotted to ship its Jew problem off to “Palestine” and for this purpose came up with the Balfour Declaration. Saidam posted a video produced by official PA TV, which explained that Europe "was sick of the behavior of the Jews... and therefore it planned to get rid of them":
Narrator: "The nightmare was created by Britain and was realized on the land of Palestine. Britain gave a right which it did not have to one not entitled to it: [A right] to our land in the form of a state, which is now known as 'Israel' ...It was said that the old continent [Europe] was sick of the behavior of the Jews at the time, and therefore it planned to get rid of them... British Foreign Secretary at the time Arthur James Balfour stabbed a dagger into the soft belly of Palestine. He took upon himself a promise from one without ownership to one not entitled, as if he was the owner of the land and not a colonialist."Facebook page of PA Minister of Education Sabri Saidam, Nov. 2, 2018
This film echoes a documentary that official PA TV has broadcast several times about Abbas’ ruling party Fatah, which explains in detail that European countries “suffered from the Jews’ character traits”:
"Faced with the Jews' schemes, Europe could not bear their character traits, monopolies, corruption, and their control and climbing up positions in government. In 1290, King Edward I issued a decree banishing the Jews [from England]. Following him were France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Spain and Italy. The European nations felt that they had suffered a tragedy by providing refuge for the Jews. Later the Jews obtained the Balfour Declaration, and Europe saw it as an ideal solution to get rid of them."[Official PA TV, Jan. 1, 2013, and rebroadcast on Nov. 11, 2014, Dec. 31, 2015 and Jan. 3, 2016.It was broadcast on Fatah-run Awdah TV on Feb. 18, 2015.]
The following is a longer excerpt of the report on Shaath’s speech in Iraq:
Headline: "Shaath at a symposium in Baghdad: The Deal of the Century is a disgrace to whoever accepts it and it will not pass, and the American hegemony is on the way to disappearing"
"[PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas'] Advisor on [Foreign Affairs and] International Relations and Chairman of the [PLO] Department of Expatriates’ Affairs Dr. Nabil Shaath said that the Deal of the Century (i.e., US President Donald Trump's as yet unpublished Middle East peace plan) will not pass, and it is a slap of shame to anyone that accepts it...
This was said during a symposium titled The Latest Developments of the Palestinian Cause that was organized by the Iraqi House of Wisdom that is affiliated with the government, in coordination with The Mesopotamia Center for Strategic Studies... in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad...
Shaath presented the plotting role that the US has played throughout history in order to erase the Palestinian identity and right, beginning with the Balfour [Declaration] that would not have been issued without American support, and the European plot to settle the Jews who were unwanted in Europe in order to get rid of them, so that they created a homeland for them that would absorb them in Palestine.
Likewise, Palestine - according to Shaath - was not exceptional regarding the international changes that occurred in the world after the rise of the Soviet Union and the creation of a bipolar world. Israel benefitted from the unprecedented American support in order to ward off the Soviet danger...
Dr. Shaath pointed out the previous American administrations’ positions regarding the Palestinian cause, of which nothing has remained after Trump’s arrival; instead his pride and arrogance have pushed him to give what the Israelis never dreamed of, to take Jerusalem and the refugees’ issue off the negotiating table, and to cut the diplomatic and financial ties with the [Palestinian] Authority, with total disrespect for the international decisions and international law...
Shaath added: ‘Against this background there is nothing left that can be noted [to indicate] that the US is a sponsor of the peace process, or an objective mediator - nor can it even be considered a mediator.’”
[Al-Ayyam, June 26, 2019]
The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that "His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." In 1922, the League of Nations adopted this and made the British Mandate "responsible for putting into effect the declaration," which led to the UN vote in favor of partitioning Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state in 1947. In response, Britain ended its mandate on May 15, 1948, and the Palestinian Jews, who accepted the Partition Plan, declared the independent State of Israel. The Palestinian Arabs rejected the plan and together with 7 Arab states attacked Israel, in what is now known as Israel's War of Independence.