The Palestinian president’s speech last week—in which he blamed Jews for the Holocaust while calling Zionism an instrument of British imperialism—provoked condemnation from even European leaders, alongside calls for his resignation. But, argues Yossi Kuperwasser, the problem runs far deeper than Mahmoud Abbas himself:

In light of the recent calls for Abbas to step down, one must emphasize that his remarks are a reflection not just of his personal opinion but rather of the Palestinian belief system. They constitute the basis of the false Palestinian narrative that holds there is no such thing as the Jewish people. The Jews are merely a religious group and as a result they have no right to a nation state. In a statement following the outcry over his remarks, Abbas apologized not to the Jewish people but to “members of the Jewish religion.”

The Jews, [by this logic], have no historical connection to Palestine and there is therefore no basis for their demand for a return [there]. As the descendants of the Canaanites, the Palestinians are the only indigenous people [in the land]. The Jews are intolerable beings, which is why the Europeans created Zionism in a bid both to rid themselves of the Jews and to defend themselves against the strengthening of the Arab nations and Islam. . . .

The struggle against Zionism is at the root of Palestinian identity and is at once national and religious in nature. It is just that for now, Abbas believes certain means of struggle are less beneficial to the Palestinian cause. The Palestinians, [according to their own narrative], are the only victims in this conflict, and they must fortify their identity as such through the perpetuation of their refugee status and the strengthening of the public’s consciousness of the Nakba [or “catastrophe,” as the creation of Israel is termed by Arabs. Since the Palestinians are victims], no one should demand that they take responsibility for their actions and their plight. . . .

It is not enough to replace Abbas. [It is necessary to] replace the Palestinian narrative, which is a much harder goal to accomplish.

Two extraordinary events demonstrate something important about Israel’s most fervent adversaries. One was a speech given at something called The People’s Forum (funded generously by Goldman Sachs), which stated, “When the state of Israel is finally destroyed and erased from history, that will be the single most important blow we can give to destroying capitalism and imperialism.”

The suggestion that this tiny state is the linchpin of a global, centuries-old phenomenon like capitalism goes well beyond anything resembling rational criticism. Even if Israel were guilty of genocide, apartheid, and oppression—which of course it is not—it would not follow that its destruction would help end capitalism or imperialism.

The other was an anti-Israel protest that took place in front of New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, deemed “complicit” in Israel’s evils. At organizers’ urging, participants shouted their slogans at kids in the cancer ward, who were watching from the windows. Given Hamas’s indifference toward the lives of Gazan children, such callousness toward non-Palestinian children from Hamas’s Western allies shouldn’t be surprising. The protest—like the abovementioned speech—deliberately conveyed the message that Israel is the ultimate evil and its destruction the ultimate good, cancer patients be damned.

The fact that Israel’s adversaries are almost comically perverse does not mean that they can be dismissed. If its allies fail to understand the obsessive and irrational hatred that it faces, they cannot effectively help it defend itself.