At best, Olaf Scholz’s lack of immediate response to blame Israel for the Palestinian Holocaust can be described as helplessness. The chancellor looks ahead, visibly irritated, but not a single word escapes his lips when Mahmoud Abbas taunts him with the following statement: “Israel carried out 50 massacres in 50 Palestinian settlements from 1947 to today. 50 massacres, 50 holocausts.” Immediately after that, Scholz’s press secretary ends the press conference, the politicians shake hands.

One thing is certain: the German chancellor must not allow a guest on German soil to deny the Holocaust, relativize it or in any way denigrate the memory of the worst crime in human history. The Holocaust – and this must of course be remembered in Germany – was planned in Berlin. National Socialist Germany is to blame for the murder of six million Jews. To this day, honoring the memory of the victims is the responsibility of the German government.

What is happening to the German culture of memory?

But it is obvious that something is wrong with the German culture of memory. There is no other way to explain why Olaf Scholz maintained his presence of mind when the use of the word “apartheid” came up recently. A highly controversial term in relation to Palestinians, and one that the Israeli government has repeatedly denounced as anti-Semitic – most recently in connection with a report by the international human rights organization Amnesty International. A term that causes controversial discussions in intellectual circles in Israel, the United States and even Germany. It was important that the chancellor then emphasize that he and the German government do not accept the word “apartheid”. Clearly, Scholz was well prepared in this regard.

But how could he not expect Abbas to draw comparisons to the Holocaust? After all, it is not the first time that the head of the Palestinian National Authority has tried to draw attention to himself with provocative and unacceptable statements. And here a glaring misunderstanding becomes apparent. The German federal government does not necessarily need to comment on terms that are used in the context of the Middle East conflict in a highly controversial way – and are used not only by many Palestinians, in addition to Abbas, but also by well-known rights organizations. However, when it comes to Holocaust memory, this is a violation of the “red line”. In that case, Germany has its obligations – and cannot remain silent. The fact that Olaf Scholz did not issue an immediate rebuttal of Abbas’ words did enormous damage to Germany’s reputation, and not just Israel’s, and cannot be justified by anything.

After the press conference, the chancellor tweeted: “I am deeply outraged at the unspeakable statements of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. It is for us Germans that any relativization of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable. I condemn any attempt to deny the crimes of the Holocaust. ” But this announcement came too late. The scandal has already reached Israel, adding to an already tense situation in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, the son of Holocaust survivors, once tweeted about Abbas: “History will never forgive him.”

Abbas does not represent all Palestinians

Abbas’ words deserve no comment: they are shameful and disgusting. And, above all, they harm the Palestinians, who have won the right to choose those who represent their interests in the world (remember that the last democratic elections were held 16 years ago). They also deserve the head of the Palestinian Authority, ready to defend the interests of his people through diplomacy. Thus, Abbas could have ensured that, after the press conference, the death of five children in Gaza a few days ago would be discussed – the deaths were the result of an Israeli air strike, and were not hit by an Islamic Jihad militant missile that deviated from the target, as the Israeli authorities initially claimed. Instead, Abbas desecrated the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and, with them, the reputation of the Palestinians, who would never relativize the Holocaust. And who both they and the Israelis want above all for the beginning of peace.

Written by Sarah Judith Hofman, columnist for DW

The commentary expresses the author’s personal opinion. It may not agree with the opinion of Russian editors and Deutsche Welle in general.