UNESCO chief joins condemnation of Abbas

UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay joins growing criticism of a speech by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in which he claimed that the Holocaust was the result of Jewish “social behavior” in Europe at the time.

Azoulay, who is Jewish herself, endorses a statement on Twitter by Middle East Nikolay Mladenov, who slammed Abbas’s speech as “deeply disturbing,” “dangerous” and “in contrast to reality.”

“All forms of anti-Semitism, including Holocaust denial and relativization, are unacceptable,” she adds in her own tweet. “UNESCO promotes Holocaust education against falsifications of history and combats anti-Semitism through education.”

Joining my voice to UN envoy @nmladenov regarding comments by President Abbas. All forms of antisemitism, including Holocaust denial and relativization, are unacceptable. @UNESCO promotes Holocaust education against falsifications of history & combats antisemitism thru education. pic.twitter.com/jTjpssS664

— Audrey Azoulay (@AAzoulay) May 3, 2018