This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Malaysian prime minister has described Jews as “hook-nosed” and blamed them for creating the troubles in the Middle East – reigniting accusations of antisemitism against him.

Mahathir Mohamad, who at 93 became the world’s oldest head of government after starting his second stint as prime minister in May, has for decades been accused of antisemitism for his attacks against Jews, whom he has accused of perpetrating a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories.

“If you are going to be truthful, the problem in the Middle East began with the creation of Israel. That is the truth. But I cannot say that,” he said in an interview on BBC’s Hard Talk.

Calling Israelis “special”, Mahathir challenged historical accounts that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, saying the figure was 4 million.

When asked about the description of Jews in his book The Malay Dilemma, he said: “They are hook-nosed. Many people called the Malays fat-nosed. We didn’t object, we didn’t go to war for that.”

The Anti-Defamation League, a US-based organisation against antisemitism, was not immediately available for comment but attacked Mahathir’s “decades-long record of antisemitic conspiracy theories” in a tweet in May. “The world cannot accept this from any leader,” the tweet read.

Last week, when addressing the UN general assembly in New York, Mahathir said the world “rewards Israel” for breaking international laws and committing acts of terrorism against Palestinians.