Friday, June 24, 2016
Elder of ZiyonIt was widely reported - Reuters and the New York Times both featured his lies in their articles. Even Al Arabiya's coverage noted that there was no evidence for the claim.
Yet the only groups that have condemned it so far are groups that are explicitly Zionist to begin with. (Or they claim to be, in J-Street's case, even though that group seems to have ignored Abbas' many previous statements that are nearly as inflammatory and false.)
The EU parliament gave Abbas a a 30-second standing ovation after the speech. European Parliament President Martin Schulz welcomed him by saying, “Your presence here today, the day after President Rivlin delivered his address, sends a strong signal that the will to achieve a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine is still alive." But he has been silent since then.
The State Department spokesperson surreally talked about the incident but didn't come close to condemning it.
QUESTION: Are you familiar with the comments – the part of his speech in which he said that there were some rabbis who were wanting to poison Palestinian water?Oh, accusing Jews of poisoning the wells is not "helpful" and is an opportunity for both sides to ratchet down the rhetoric. Thanks for those strong words from Israel's best friend.
MR KIRBY: I’ve seen the comments. I can’t confirm the veracity of that.
QUESTION: You can’t – I’m not asking you to confirm it. I’m asking you what you think of it.
MR KIRBY: Well, look, I mean --
QUESTION: I mean, is this the kind of – is this the kind of language that you guys want coming from someone who says that he’s a partner for peace and wants to negotiate, and then he accuses the other side of trying to poison his people?
MR KIRBY: We’ve been – without speaking to specific comments, as you know I’m not wont to do, we have been very clear – the Secretary’s been clear about our concerns about inflammatory rhetoric and incitement and --
QUESTION: Well, this is before the EU parliament. What --
MR KIRBY: Again, we want – here’s how I’d put it, Matt: We --
QUESTION: You don’t think it’s --
MR KIRBY: As we’ve said before, we --
QUESTION: You don’t think it might be true, do you?
MR KIRBY: I – again, I’ve seen nothing to indicate the truth of that. But we have long said what we want is for both sides to ratchet down not just the violence but the rhetoric, which can inflame some of the violence. And we just don’t find that sort of rhetoric helpful.
The fact is that while diplomats routinely and forcefully condemn Israel for actions that their own states are far more guilty of, there is nothing but praise for Mahmoud Abbas as he spouts his lies and incitement (Unbelievably, Abbas even began the speech saying that he is against incitement.)
The double standards cannot be clearer. And while they would deny this up and down, it is hard to construe the lack of reaction to this as anything other than an attempt to paper it over because the lie of Abbas as a peacemaker is too strong to be overcome by pesky facts.
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