PA Anti-Semites Get a Free Pass from the State Department

The State Department conspicuously omitted the Palestinian Authority from its March 13 report on anti-Semitism around the world. The report did note that Hamas, which rules Gaza, treats the anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion as fact, denies the Holocaust, and broadcasts hateful TV shows aimed at children. But the PA under Mahmoud Abbas, which controls the West Bank, managed to escape blame for the anti-Semitism that it promotes with no less energy. The American Jewish Committee released a study showing the PA's schoolbooks characterize Jews in "hateful" and "derogatory" language, cite the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a legitimate source of historical information, and omit any mention of the Holocaust. The State Department report did mention that in the 1990s, Holocaust denial became commonplace in popular media in the PA - without any acknowledgment that most of the "popular media" is government-controlled.