UN's Albanese claims Jews in Nazi camps were called ‘Muslims,’ distorts history of 'antisemitism'

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese claimed in an interview that Jews in Nazi camps were called 'the Muslims,' citing accounts of life in concentration camps. The article refutes this, noting the term 'Muselmann' referred to prisoners in extreme exhaustion, not a racial classification. Albanese also argued that antisemitism originally targeted all Semitic peoples, not just Jews, a claim contradicted by historians who state the term was coined specifically for anti-Jewish hostility. The piece highlights Albanese's history of controversial statements.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese claimed in an interview that during the Holocaust, Jews being taken to gas chambers were called 'the Muslims.' The article refutes this, explaining that the German term 'Muselmann' referred to prisoners in a state of extreme exhaustion or starvation, not a racial classification identifying Jews as Muslims. Albanese also argued that the term 'antisemitism' originally referred to discrimination against all Semitic peoples, not just Jews. Historians and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance state the term was coined in 1879 specifically to designate anti-Jewish campaigns. The piece notes Albanese's history of controversial statements, including calling Israel the 'common enemy of humanity' and denying the October 7 massacre was antisemitic.

UN's Albanese claims Jews in Nazi camps were called ‘Muslims,’ distorts history of 'antisemitism'