Mahmoud Abbas wrote a dissertation which minimized the Holocaust and argued that Jews used it as an instrument to gain power over others.

His currents claims are of a piece with his belief that the Holocaust is a myth.

Here are some of the disgusting things t Abbas wrote about the Holocaust:

"His thesis completed in 1982 was called The Secret Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement.[3][4] In 1984, a book based on Abbas's doctoral dissertation was published in Arabic by Dar Ibn Rushd publishers in Amman, Jordan. His doctoral thesis later became a book, The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism, which, following his appointment as Palestinian Prime Minister in 2003, was heavily criticized as an example of Holocaust denial. In his book, Abbas wrote:

"It seems that the interest of the Zionist movement, however, is to inflate this figure [of Holocaust deaths] so that their gains will be greater. This led them to emphasize this figure [six million] in order to gain the solidarity of international public opinion with Zionism. Many scholars have debated the figure of six million and reached stunning conclusions�fixing the number of Jewish victims at only a few hundred thousand."

en.wikipedia.org/.../Mahmoud_Abbas

And he is supposed to be the liberal Palestinian leader who will make peace with Israel.

This is a rather perversely eloquent synopsis. How does an individual, much less nation, reach an accommodation?

There's always Salaam Fayad . . .

It may make him evil, but he's only an idiot if it's counterproductive.  So far it's got him control of the Palestinian Authority and the West bending-over backwards to help him.  Doesn't seem too idiotic to me.

What does it matter how inane Abbas is?  He can just let Western media do the talking.

CNN Headlines:

"Deaths surge as Israel blasts Gaza targets"

"Palestinians: 85 killed since Israeli operation in Gaza began"

Article ends with:

"Human rights groups have protested the blockade of electricity and fuel shipments into Gaza, blaming Israel for punishing civilians along with the territory's Hamas leadership"

Plus a photo of a Palistinian wailing against a wall(!), plus a photo of an injured infant.

And, of course, during the continual rocket attacks endured by the Israelis, NOTHING.

God knows how the BBC are spinning it.

When I say "media bastards," on other subjects, I'm not just name-calling.  They really are bastards, across the board.

jm, this is from CNN or BBC?

CNN.  BBC was an afterthought.

CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, what's the difference?

Whether Abbas is an idiot or merely playing one is irrelevant.  But what about some other players, such as

Condoleezza Rice?

Writes Erlanger:

"She has defended Israel’s right to defend itself but has urged restraint. A major Israeli operation [in Gaza] would likely put a crimp in American-sponsored peace talks between Mr. Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel."

What does betting on Abbas make Secretary .Rice and PM Olmert?

"What does betting on Abbas make Secretary .Rice and PM Olmert?"

Useful idiots following in the hallowed tradition of Peres, Beilin and others.  Useful idiocy is deeply rooted in Israel.  See the slavish homages paid to Stalin in Israel, particularly upon his death.

To truly understand why and how Stalinism is deeply rooted in Israeli political culture, and how its effect is still felt, see Amnon Lord's short, but insightful book, "The Israeli Left: From Socialism to Nihilism".  The book is in Hebrew (with a different and less interesting title) and unfortunately, I don't think it has been ever translated (officially) into English.  But I have heard rumors of some unpublished translations floating around.

hg

Rice and Olmert are grasping at straws when they puff up Abbas.  It fits perfectly with 60 years of failed diplomacy that has only prolonged the conflict instead of ending it.  Only when the Arab side concludes it has nothing to gain by maintaining hostilities will peace come, and foreign interlocutors will only continue to make fools of themselves by denying this simple truth.

Ginzy the book by Amnon Lord sounds intriguing.

Do you have any more information about it?

It's a fascinating book.  The one major drawback is that it presumes a good working knowledge of early Israeli history, including the pre-state period, and the major players of those eras (and not just Ben Gurion).  Also the last chapter is obsolete and largely irrelevant.  But it is still worth plowing through.  Google Amnon Lord Socialism Nihilism and see where it takes you.

hershel g> (and the usual etc.'s)

An attempt to write in Hebrew in the TNR blog:

The original Hebrew title of Amnon Lord's "The Israeli Left: from Socialism to Nihilism" is:

אבדנו כל אשר יקר היה

For the record, Lord himself is strictly secular, and is himself a product of a Shomer Tza'ir kibbutz (I believe Ein Dor).

hershel g.

Very sad.  The best geo-political thinking in Israel, by those who insist that THEY are not suffering any delusions, is to endure siege indefinitely, while blaming, depending on the day, the media, left-wing academics, Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah. Abbas, Ahmedinejad, etc., etc. for Israel's predicament.  Now, they are worthy of a lot of blame to be sure.  But, pardon me, I just do see what this does to make Israel more secure which, one would suppose, ought to be the primary object of all this thinking and discussion.

The Arabs and Moslems can wait a very long time as their wealth, political weight, and military capabilities slowly grow (where after all did those missiles that hit Ashkelon come from?  They weren't produced by the Palestinians).  They are a billion.  Status quo is not an intelligent strategy for Israel.  But, gee, feeling all gooey by bashing the media is a pleasant distraction from one's woes.  

Rice and Olmert may be grasping at straws with Abbas, but then, who else?    I don't think they're under any illusion about what Abbas can do about Gaza.  What they are doing, though, is bolstering this guy, if only pro-forma in this instance, as the only Palestinian with whom the outside world is willing to deal seriously, which in turn bolsters the West Bank Palestinians.

Actually, one can take heart from the fact that there has been some success in this approach, in that the "good" Palestinians have been detached from the "bad" Palestinians. (Yes, I know, "good" here is a relative term.)  Of course, nothing about the Palestinians is a pretty picture, but the hope lies in the West Bank, not Gaza -- which serves only as a conduit for terrorists -- the solution of which can only be containment or obliteration.  So, it's not only a matter of dealing with the menace of Gaza but of promoting the possibilities of the West Bank.

Thanks, ginzy,

How would you translate the title into English?

I came up with something like,

"Losing all that is dear/worthwhile." How close was I to its literal meaning?

"Losing all that is dear/worthwhile." How close was I to its literal meaning?

Pretty close.  I would render it  "We have lost all that was dear".

hg

Thanks ginzy, gotta work on my Hebrew verbs some more.

jackson, what you don't know, and i suspect neither does ginzy, is that this is a line from a song prevalent in kibutzim and youth movements in the 50s-60s and even 70s.

It was a Russian song about the revolution, named Tulips (צבעונים), and one of many such songs that the left "imported" to Hebrew and to the Israeli pioneer spirit.

Tulips, oh such tulips,

the gang is to be blamed for it all.

we've lost all that was dear

and will never return.

Whatever that means... we used to sing it with all our hearts and souls.

But the line serves well Lord's book.

Thank you Avigayil.  You are quite right, I did not know that was the source.

One of the hardest things for me is to pick up all these subtleties that are absorbed just by having grown up here, which you obviously did, and I very much did not (I came on aliya in August '95).  In fact when I read Lord's book I was handicapped by not knowing all the ins and outs of early Israeli history and all the who's who.  But I learned (sort of) and the book was quite informative.

thanx for the tidbit.

hg

Very interesting, Abigail, I look forward to reading the book when it comes out in English.

Avigayil,

Something in you explanation of Lord's title clicked in my memory and so I dug up my copy of Lord's book (not easy to do in our mad house) and sure enough, the picture on the cover of the book is of tulips!!

And the title actually is,

איבדנו כל אשר יקר היה

Jackson, my Hebrew grammar rules are quite rusty but I believe that this form of the verb "to lose" implies a more active form of losing where the actions of the individuals (actually the group) actively caused what was dear to be lost.

hg

Good memory, ginzy.

Among my other virtues, I'm also an expert in Hebrew. Also so much in love with this language, that I have the bible on the top of the pile next to my bed, and I read it almost every night. Would you believe a heretic like me would do this? Well, it's a great book, what can I do.

As long as it's not Shulhan Aruh that's at my bedside, I guess it's ok.

Anyway, IBADNU איבדנו or איבד is the only way to say "We've lost something" or "he's lost something" with this root.

Binyan PI'EL פיעל

In the the other binyanim the meaning of this verb changes.

I could go on for ever.

Better stop here.

Since we're having fun with Hebrew, here's a little sentiment I've thrown in from time to time vis-à-vis the Palis:

מאיר דוד כהנא‎

:)

Eric Alterman nails the irony of this blog's headline:

-- Department of No Comment: "The Spine" by Martin Peretz: "A Fool Unknowingly Contradicts Himself."

mediamatters.org/.../200803030002