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During Holocaust Remembrance Week, Palestinians Say Israel Is Same — or Worse — Than Nazis
People with Israeli flags attend the International March of the Living at the former Auschwitz Nazi German death camp, in Brzezinka near Oswiecim, Poland, May 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki
While Israel recently commemorated the six million victims of the Nazi Holocaust, it is often confronted by Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders and officials who claim that Israel is “acting like the Nazis” and worse. These lies have been intensified since Hamas launched the current war against Israel with its attack and massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The official PA daily stated that Israel’s defense war against Hamas “has exceeded all the German Nazi and Italian Fascist crimes of annihilation”:
The Zionist-American war is targeting the annihilation of the Palestinian people or exiling it from the land of Ribat [i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic] … and eliminating its national cause in order to spread darkness, wars, terror, and religious conflicts … Will the [Arab] brothers, the free world, and the supporters of peace stop the barbaric and insane war of annihilation that has exceeded all the German Nazi and Italian Fascist crimes of annihilation known to history? [emphasis added]
[Column by regular columnist Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 12, 2024]
Two months into the war, top PA official Jibril Rajoub stated that Jews are not “victims” but “criminal[s], terrorist[s], and a distorted form of the fascism and Nazism of the last century,” and that the West has been “deceived” about this. He added that the war in Gaza is part of “the defense that the Palestinian people has waged and is waging for 75 years” — in other words, since Israel’s establishment:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “The Americans, Europeans, and others were deceived to think that the Jew is a victim. The truth is that he is a criminal, a terrorist, and a distorted form of the fascism and Nazism of the last century.”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 4, 2023]
Talking about the PA’s proposed terrorists-for-hostages exchange, which the Palestinians envision as part of the negotiations with Israel to free the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, Jibril Rajoub has also claimed that living conditions in Israeli prisons “are unprecedented anywhere but [in] the Nazi camps of the 1940s”:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “This [prisoner exchange] will be an opportunity, and the international community must adopt this position — closing the issue of imprisonment; closing the issue of abductions [i.e., arrest of terrorists], closing the issue of the massacre being committed in Israeli prisons through living conditions that are unprecedented anywhere but the Nazi camps of the 1940s and its barbaric and fascist treatment, etc.” [emphasis added]
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, April 26, 2024]
Another example of Israel being called “Nazi” is this statement by an Egyptian academic accusing Israel of “wildly doing today to the Palestinians what the Nazis did to them” during its current defense war against Hamas. Obviously, the PA has no objections to the view expressed, as official PA TV chose to broadcast this interview twice:
International relations expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Egypt Bashir Abd Al-Fattah: “The Israelis are killing the Palestinians and annihilating the Palestinians. They are committing Nazi acts. They are wildly doing today to the Palestinians what the Nazis did to them previously — the same crimes and the same method.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, From Cairo, March 4 and 9, 2024]
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Tayseer Nasrallah echoed this, claiming Israel’s defense efforts in Gaza are “consistent with the mentality of crime, fascism, and Nazism”:
In World War I and World War II, no European city or state absorbed the scope [of damage] that the Gaza Strip has absorbed in six months. Therefore, this occupation [i.e., Israel] has actually used all its criminal tools and everything that is consistent with the mentality of crime, fascism, and Nazism against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. [emphasis added]
[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, April 9, 2024]
Earlier this year, a PA official compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister:
Palestinian National Council member and Fatah Austria Branch Secretary Mundhir Mar’i: “I compare Netanyahu to Goebbels, who was the Nazi propaganda minister who told Hitler: ‘Lie, lie, and lie, and the lie will become truth and people will say that it’s true.’ Now we are going in the same direction and on the same path. Goebbels was the propaganda minister, and now he has parallels in the form of Benjamin Netanyahu, [Israeli Minister of Finance] Smotrich, and [Israeli Minister of National Security] Ben Gvir.” [emphasis added]
[Falestinona (Fatah’s Information and Culture Commission in Lebanon), YouTube channel, Feb. 10, 2024]
Jibril Rajoub has likewise accused the Israeli government of being “fascist” and led by “neo-Nazis”:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “The Israeli war is against the Palestinian people, not against Hamas. For us, ‘Hamas’ is a political rival, and our struggle with it is a democratic, moral, and value-based struggle … Currently the Israelis or this fascist [Israeli] government led by these neo-Nazis, as I said, want to eliminate the idea of the [Palestinian] state.” [emphasis added]
[Al-Majalla, Saudi state-affiliated London-based news website, March 23, 2024
The Nazi libel against Israel was not born out of the current war in the Gaza Strip, which was launched by terror organization Hamas with its attack and massacre of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. For decades, Palestinian Media Watch has documented similar accusations by the PA.
In July 2023, a Fatah official labeled an Israeli counter-terror operation “Nazi,” saying Israel “insists on teaching Hitler what Nazism is”:
Other examples include:
PA: Israel is “reenacting the Nazi Holocaust,” Zionism is “Nazism,” Israelis are the “new Nazis” (2022)
PA regularly equates Israel and Israeli leaders to Nazism and Nazi leaders (2021)
Israeli PM Netanyahu is a Nazi with a swastika tattoo — in Fatah cartoon (2016)
Netanyahu has Nazi genes and imitates Hitler’s racism (2014)
The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.
The post During Holocaust Remembrance Week, Palestinians Say Israel Is Same — or Worse — Than Nazis first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Antisemites Target Synagogues in Spain, France Amid Surge in Jew Hatred Across Europe

The exterior wall of a synagogue in Girona, Spain, vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Photo: Screenshot
Pro-Palestinian activists have vandalized synagogues in Spain and France in recent days, sparking public outrage and calls for authorities to step up protections.
These are only the latest incidents in a troubling wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes targeting Jewish communities across Europe which continues unabated.
On Thursday, the Jewish community of Girona, a city in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region, filed a police complaint and urged authorities to take action after the outer wall of the city’s synagogue was defaced with an antisemitic slogan.
Unknown perpetrators defaced the synagogue’s walls with antisemitic graffiti, scrawling messages such as “Israel is a genocidal state, silence = complicity.”
The city’s Jewish community strongly condemned the incident, urging authorities to conduct a swift investigation, impose exemplary sanctions, and ensure robust security measures.
“Disguised as political activism, [this attack] seeks to stigmatize citizens for their faith — something intolerable in a democratic society,” the statement reads. “Tolerance and respect are values we must defend together.”
The European Jewish Association (EJA) also condemned the incident as a hate crime, urging the Spanish government to ensure the safety and protection of its Jewish citizens.
“This is yet another antisemitic attack, part of a wave we’ve seen daily for nearly two years,” the EJA wrote in a post on X.
This is what members of the Jewish community in Girona found this morning when they arrived at their synagogue to pray.
Antisemitic vandals had defaced the synagogue’s outer wall with the words:
“ISRAEL ESTAT GENOCIDA, SILENCI = CÒMPLICE”
Translation: “Israel is a genocidal… pic.twitter.com/ERj4z1hKOP— EJA – EIPA (@EJAssociation) September 4, 2025
In a separate incident, three pro-Palestinian activists were arrested on Thursday after trying to force their way into a synagogue in Nice, southeastern France, during an informational meeting on aliyah, the process of Jews immigrating to Israel.
According to local reports, several individuals attempted to forcibly enter the place of worship, sparking violent clashes and insults that left a pregnant woman injured.
Shortly after the incident, law enforcement arrested two women in their forties and a man in his sixties, taking them into custody as part of an investigation into aggravated violence.
The charges involve attacks on a vulnerable person, actions carried out by a group, religious motivation, and public religious insults.
Local authorities strongly condemned the act and announced that police officers would remain stationed outside the synagogue for as long as necessary.
Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents have surged to alarming levels across Europe.
Jewish individuals have been facing a surge in hostility and targeted attacks, including vandalism of murals and businesses, as well as physical assaults.
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Iran’s Alliances With China, Russia Falter as Regime Faces Growing Isolation, Study Finds

Chinese Foreign Minister Wag Yi stands with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazeem Gharibabadi before a meeting regarding the Iranian nuclear issue at Diaoyutai State Guest House on March 14, 2025 in Beijing, China. Photo: Pool via REUTERS
As Iran continues to face major crises both at home and abroad, its ties to China and Russia are proving far weaker than they seem, leaving the regime to confront the fallout largely on its own, according to a new study.
The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an Israeli think tank, has released a report examining how the 12-day war with Israel in June exposed the limits of Iran’s alliances with China and Russia.
In the study, authors Raz Zimmt and Danny Citrinowicz note that both China and Russia favored cautious diplomacy over direct support at a time when the Iranian regime was most vulnerable.
“The policy of Moscow and Beijing, which consisted of fairly mild condemnations of the Israeli and US strikes in Iran, sparked criticism and disappointment in Tehran,” the report explains.
“It also reinforced the Iranian assessment that its reliance on Russia and China remains limited, particularly in the event of a military confrontation with Israel and the United States,” it continues.
Earlier this week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian traveled to Beijing, joining Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, as the three nations aim to project a united front against the West.
The high-profile gathering came after Pezeshkian and Putin held talks in China on Monday on the sidelines of the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin.
During a joint press conference, the Iranian president hailed Tehran’s cooperation with Moscow as “highly valuable,” adding that continued implementation of their 20-year treaty signed earlier this year would further strengthen ties and expand collaboration.
Putin also noted that the relationship between the two countries is “growing increasingly friendly and expanding” amid mounting pressure and sanctions from Western countries.
According to Zimmt and Citrinowicz, Iran has little room to maneuver, even more so now as the regime faces the imminent threat of UN sanctions being reimposed due to efforts by Britain, France, and Germany, forcing it to rely on its fragile alliances with Russia and China.
“It is clear that for now, Iran has no viable alternative to continuing its political, economic, and security partnership, as limited as it may be, with Russia and China, especially given the escalating tensions between Tehran and Europe,” the paper explains.
“Likewise, Russia and China, who view Iran as a junior partner in a coalition against the West and the United States, have no real alternative to Tehran, and they are expected to continue the partnership as long as it serves their interests,” it adds.
The authors argue that China and Russia could readily sacrifice Iran to further their strategic goals, including strengthening ties with Washington.
The study comes just days after an Iranian official accused Russia without evidence of providing intelligence to Israel during the 12-day Middle Eastern war in June which allegedly helped the Jewish state target and destroy Iran’s air defense systems.
Mohammad Sadr, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council and close adviser to former President Mohammad Khatami, claimed Israel’s precise strikes on Iranian air defense systems were suspicious.
He noted Russia’s refusal to support Iran during the war, saying that Moscow had shown a “bias in favor of Israel” and that the recent conflict demonstrated the “strategic agreement with Russia is nonsense.”
“This war proved that the strategic alliance with Moscow is worthless,” Sadr said during an interview with BBC Persian, referring to the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
“We must not think that Russia will come to Iran’s aid when the time comes,” he continued.
At the SCO summit in Tianjin earlier this week, Tehran also described its ties with China as “flourishing,” pointing to a strategic pact similar to the one it signed with Russia.
According to some reports, China may be helping Iran rebuild its decimated air defenses following the 12-day war with Israel.
China is the largest importer of Iranian oil, with nearly 90 percent of Iran’s crude and condensate exports going to Beijing. The two sides also recently signed a 25-year cooperation agreement, held joint naval drills, and continued to trade Iranian oil despite US sanctions.
“It should be noted that despite the 25-year cooperation agreement signed between Tehran and Beijing in March 2021, the partnership between the two countries remains very limited, and China does not provide solutions to most of Iran’s economic difficulties, including the need for infrastructure investment,” the INSS study explains.
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US Lawmakers Urge Trump to Restrict Visas for Iran’s President, Other Regime Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Photo: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is urging President Donald Trump to block or sharply restrict visas for Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and other top Iranian officials traveling to New York this month for the United Nations General Assembly, warning that Tehran will use the global platform to disguise its escalating repression at home.
In a letter sent to Trump on Thursday, 40 members of Congress pointed to Iran’s recent human rights record, which includes nearly 1,500 executions in the past year, and accused Pezeshkian’s government of openly threatening to repeat the mass killings of dissidents that scarred the country in 1988.
“Immediately following the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the Iranian regime escalated its widespread internal crackdown, arbitrarily arresting hundreds of ethnic minorities, civil society leaders, women’s rights activists, and others,” the lawmakers wrote. They described Iran’s leaders as “criminals” who “support terrorism” and “sow hatred and instability across the Middle East.”
The letter was signed by an unusually broad coalition of Republicans and Democrats, including House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY), as well as Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Deborah Ross (R-NC), and Val Hoyle (D-OR), underscoring how concern about Iran’s hostility toward the US and its allies continues to cut across party lines.
Drawing a distinction between the regime and the Iranian people who support democracy, the lawmakers asked Trump to make a strong statement against a country that US intelligence agencies have long labeled the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.
“We respectfully urge you to restrict the Iranian delegation’s freedom of movement, and, to the extent possible, refrain from issuing visas to key delegation members, including for its President, Masoud Pezeshkian,” the letter stated.
It continued, “We urge you to take a strong stand against the Iranian regime’s ongoing support for terrorism and human rights abuses, in line with your dedication toward ‘Peace through Strength’ and the maximum pressure campaign against the regime. We look forward to working you to further
oppose the destructive and destabilizing influence of the government of Iran and support the
Iranian people on the world stage.”
The lawmakers’ request comes as the Trump administration weighs new restrictions on several UN delegations ahead of the annual gathering. According to a State Department memo obtained by the Associated Press, the US is considering limiting the movements of officials not just from Iran, but also from Sudan and Zimbabwe. The department is also considering limiting the movements of officials from Brazil, whose president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, traditionally opens the General Assembly.
The proposals also suggest that Iranian diplomats be barred from shopping at Costco or Sam’s Club without explicit permission from the State Department, according to the AP report. Diplomats from Iran have historically relied on those stores to buy affordable goods unavailable in their home country. By contrast, the memo indicates that delegates from Syria may be granted a waiver, reflecting shifting US priorities in the region.
Under the UN Headquarters Agreement, the US is obligated to grant visas to foreign officials attending UN functions. But successive administrations have imposed restrictions on the travel of adversarial delegations, typically confining them to Manhattan and surrounding boroughs. The latest proposals would go further, potentially requiring advance State Department approval for movements and limiting access to certain businesses.