Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday, who emphasized that he rejects and condemns the Holocaust comment of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
He said it was important for him to clarify this personally to Lapid and publicly.
Lapid thanked him for this, as both Israel's prime minister and as the son of a Holocaust survivor."I spoke with Yair Lapid on the phone today and assured him that Germany and #srael have a close partnership," Scholz tweeted. "Our position is clear: We condemn any attempt to deny or play down the importance of the Holocaust. I look forward to welcoming Yair Lapid to Berlin soon."
The two emphasized the importance of the relationship between Israel and Germany and agreed to continue cooperation between their countries on various issues.
Discussing Iran, Lapid reiterated Israel's opposition to returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the need for a clear message from Europe that there will be no further concessions to the Iranians.
Lapid added that Europe must oppose Iran's foot-dragging in the negotiations. The two agreed to meet soon, also an expression of the close relations between the two countries.
Mahmoud Abbas’s “50 holocausts”
Scholz expressed outrage at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s claim on Wednesday morning that Israel perpetuated “50 holocausts,” a day after he stood silently as Abbas spoke.
“I am disgusted by the outrageous remarks made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,” the German chancellor tweeted. “For us Germans, in particular, any relativization of the singularity of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable. I condemn any attempt to deny the crimes of the Holocaust.”
Ich bin zutiefst empört über die unsäglichen Aussagen des palästinensischen Präsidenten Mahmoud #Abbas. Gerade für uns Deutsche ist jegliche Relativierung des Holocaust unerträglich und inakzeptabel. Ich verurteile jeden Versuch, die Verbrechen des Holocaust zu leugnen.
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) August 17, 2022
The German Chancellery also summoned the Palestinian representative to Berlin over Abbas’s remarks.
When a reporter asked Abbas to apologize for the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics, Abbas responded, “If you want to go over the past, go ahead. I have 50 slaughters that Israel committed... 50 massacres, 50 slaughters... 50 holocausts.”
Video from the press conference shows Scholz grimacing, although he did not address the remarks.
Scholz, did, however, reject Abbas’s use of the word “apartheid” to describe relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.