Dear Chancellor Merkel,

The Jewish community in Belgium – and undoubtedly in your country – was appalled by the outrageous accusations the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vented in his speech before the European Parliament.

We are particularly concerned about the reactions of your compatriots, Mr. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, and Mrs. Katharina von Schnurbein, the EU-coordinator for combating anti-Semitism.

President Abbas' intolerant statements regarding Jews and Israel came as no surprise, given the fact that he obtained his doctorate in the former Soviet Union with a dissertation that disputed the Holocaust. In The Other Side, a book he published in 1984, he describes the murder of 6 million Jews as a “myth” invented by Zionists, subsequently calling it a "fantastic lie".

And now, in his speech before the European Parliament on the 22nd of June, Abbas stated: “Just a week ago, some rabbis rose up in Israel and explicitly announced and demanded of their government that it poison the water in order to kill the Palestinians. Is this not clear incitement? Is this not clear incitement, whose goal is to carry out a mass murder of Palestinians?”

The same type of anti-Semitic lie already cropped up in Cologne in the year 1349. Even though it was condemned by Cologne's government, it did not prevent the Jews from becoming victims of irrational hatred. Even the then Pope, Clemens VI, called the allegations against the Jews "devilish". What a contrast with the European Parliament, where Abbas received a standing ovation and encouraging pats on the back!

Even Abbas' claims that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would put an end to global terrorism didn't seem to make the ladies and gentlemen of the European Parliament frown. So the barbaric terrorism we are witnessing today is Israel’s fault? Furthermore, Abbas referred to the Christian and Islamic heritage of Jerusalem but purposely omitted Jerusalem's Jewish roots. Is this a man of peace? 

Adding insult to injury, Abbas minimised the Holocaust by accusing Israel of pursuing a “genocide” of the Palestinians. Palestinian life expectancy is higher in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank than anywhere else in the Arab world. Life expectancy of Jews deported by the Nazis was a mere couple of hours, or at best a few weeks or months. 

How mortifying and hurtful was Martin Schulz’s tweet describing this speech as "inspiring"! Now, several weeks later, and despite our protests, Mrs. Von Schnurbein, who is supposed to combat anti-Semitism at the highest possible level, has done nothing more than condemn Abbas’ lies in the lamest possible terms.

Despite the numerous statements of political and religious leaders to oppose the current surge of anti-Semitism in Europe, the President of the European Parliament allows anti-Semitism in his own ranks, refuses to condemn it, and even worse, encourages it.

We have also asked our very own Belgian Members of the European Parliament to react, but no one has responded. Martin Schulz, meanwhile, is well aware that his reprehensible attitude is criticised by Jews and non-Jews all over the world, but chooses to cloak himself in silence, whilst Mrs. von Schnurbein limits herself to a vague condemnation and so far has not undertaken any significant action in her capacity as Europe’s chief opponent of anti-Semitism. 

Many European citizens, non-Jews and Jews alike, are counting on you to act as Europe’s moral leader. We ask you to call upon the President of the European parliament to retract his outrageous tweet, and to urge Mr. Schulz and Mrs. Von Schnurbein to unequivocally condemn President Abbas' statements and accusations. 

Dear Chancellor, Belgian Jews and their friends are counting on you.


Sincerely yours, 

Michael Freilich
Editor-in-chief of Joods Actueel, Belgium’s Dutch-language Jewish magazine