Palestinian Authority lashes out at renowned academics who denounced president’s antisemitic remarks

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian political factions have raged against dozens of Palestinian academics who criticized President Mahmoud Abbas’ recent remarks on the Holocaust that have drawn widespread accusations of antisemitism. Politicians on Wednesday lambasted the open letter signed earlier this week by over a hundred Palestinian academics, activists and artists based around the world as “the statement of shame.” The renowned writers and thinkers released the letter after footage surfaced that showed Abbas asserting European Jews had been persecuted by Hitler because of what he described as their “social functions.” The Palestinian relationship with the Holocaust has been a matter of dispute for decades.