German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas leave after a press conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on August 16, 2022. (Photo by JENS SCHLUETER / AFP)

The Central Council of Jews sharply criticized the behavior of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) after the Holocaust statements by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in the Chancellery and is calling for the federal government to reconsider financial support. “That was without question a mistake,” said Central Council President Josef Schuster to the Tagesspiegel, noting that Scholz did not contradict Abbas in his Holocaust accusation against Israel and even shook his hand afterwards.

“I would have wished for a clearer stance from the Federal Chancellor. Everyone must vigorously oppose the denial or trivialization of the Shoah at all times. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a president or someone sitting next to you on the bus,” emphasized Schuster.

The President of the Central Council calls on the Chancellor to reconsider the federal government’s comprehensive financial support for the Palestinians. “Everyone knows what happens to German tax money in the Palestinian territories. The Central Council has long warned that this is used to finance hate speech and terror propaganda,” said Schuster.

“Now everyone knows that this agitation is dictated from the very top. The federal government should once again think twice about whether these are the partners it wants to work with.” Indirectly, Schuster called for such receptions and such a stage for the Palestinians in the Chancellery to be dispensed with as a consequence. “I certainly can’t imagine what they’re supposed to bring.”

During his visit to Berlin on Tuesday afternoon, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of a “Holocaust” against the Palestinians. “Israel has committed 50 massacres in 50 Palestinian towns since 1947 to this day,” Abbas said at a joint press conference with Scholz in the Chancellery on Tuesday. “50 massacres, 50 holocausts,” he added.

Scholz followed the statements with a petrified expression, visibly annoyed and also made preparations to reply. His spokesman Steffen Hebestreit declared the press conference over immediately after Abbas’ reply. The question to the Palestinian President had previously been announced as the last. Hebestreit later reported that Scholz was outraged by Abbas’ statement.

After the appointment, Scholz rejected the “Holocaust” accusation in clear words. “Especially for us Germans, any relativization of the Holocaust is unbearable and unacceptable,” said the Chancellor of the “Bild” newspaper.

Such an occurrence is very unusual. The fact that his spokesman sent a newspaper individual quotations from the chancellor shows his self-awareness that there is a need for correction quickly.

Scholz spoke again on Twitter on Wednesday morning. His social media team wrote in German and English on behalf of the Chancellor: “I am deeply outraged by the unspeakable statements by Palestinian President Mahmoud

Prior to his controversial statement, Abbas was asked by a journalist if he would apologize to Israel on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Israeli Olympic team by Palestinian terrorists in Munich. Every day there are people who are being killed by the Israeli army, Abbas said. “If we want to continue digging into the past, yes please.” Abbas did not respond to the Olympic attack in which eleven Israelis were killed.

Scholz had previously criticized Abbas on the open stage for describing Israeli politics as an “apartheid system”. “I want to say explicitly at this point that I do not adopt the word apartheid and that I do not think it is right to describe the situation,” said Scholz.

Abbas had previously said the “transformation into the new reality of a single state in an apartheid system” does not serve security and stability in the region.

In addition, Abbas called on the EU and the United Nations (UN) to fully recognize the Palestinian state. Currently, the Palestinians only have observer status at the UN. However, Scholz rejected Abbas’ request. Germany continues to support a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, he said.

“It’s not the time to change this situation,” said Scholz about observer status at the UN. Further steps would have to be based on a negotiated solution with Israel. Abbas accused Israel of preventing this for a long time. The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians has not progressed since 2014.

Israeli Prime Minister Jair Lapid also clearly rejected Abbas’ accusation of the Holocaust. “That Mahmoud Abbas accuses Israel of committing ’50 holocausts’ while standing on German soil is not only a moral disgrace but a blatant lie,” Lapid wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening, referring to the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. History will never forgive Abbas. Lapid is himself the son of a Holocaust survivor.

The International Auschwitz Committee has sharply criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ accusation of the Holocaust against Israel and a hesitant reaction on the part of Germany. Executive Vice-President Christoph Heubner said late Tuesday evening that the President had “purposefully used Berlin’s political stage to defame the German culture of remembrance and the relationship with the State of Israel. With his shameful and inappropriate comparison to the Holocaust, Abbas has once again attempted to cater to anti-Israel and anti-Semitic aggression in Germany and Europe.”

Heubner also criticized the federal government. “It is astonishing and strange that the German side was not prepared for Abbas’ provocations and that his statements on the Holocaust in the press conference went unchallenged,” said Heubner in Berlin.