UN Envoy Apologizes for Misinterpreting Nazi Camp Term, Denying Jewish Persecution

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, issued an apology on Monday after incorrectly stating that Jews were referred to as "Muslims" in Nazi concentration camps. In an interview, Albanese attempted to argue that the term "antisemitism" originally denoted hostility towards all Semitic peoples, not specifically Jews. She claimed that some accounts from concentration camps indicated Jews were called "Muslims" as they were led to the gas chambers. Albanese also asserted that "antisemitism" initially targeted all non-Europeans from the Middle East before focusing on hatred of Jews.

In a post on X, Albanese acknowledged a misunderstanding of the German term "Muselmann," which literally translates to "Muslim." She explained that she misinterpreted this term, used in Nazi camps for inmates near death, and wrongly concluded that "antisemitism" originally meant hatred of all Semitic peoples. She then conceded that the word was specifically created to denote hatred of Jews.

The term "antisemitism" was popularized in 1879 by German journalist Wilhelm Marr to describe anti-Jewish campaigns. According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, it has always referred to prejudice and hatred directed at Jews since its inception. The term "Muselmann" was used in Nazi camps to describe inmates suffering extreme exhaustion and severe starvation symptoms. Its exact origin is uncertain, and it applied to both Jewish and non-Jewish prisoners who were often near death and frequently selected for extermination. The term did not represent a racial category used by the Nazis to equate Jews with Muslims.

Yad Vashem condemned Albanese's statement as a "fundamental distortion" of historical meaning, noting that the term "Muselmann" originated among camp inmates and could refer to both Jewish and non-Jewish prisoners.