Before the United Nations Thursday vote granting statehood to Palestine took place, Mahmoud Abbas referred to Israel as a racist state or a culprit of racism three times. 

Speaking to the U.N. before the vote, Abbas said:

1. "Israeli occupation is becoming synonymous with an apartheid system of colonial occupation, which institutionalizes the plague of racism."

2. "The innocent lives that have been taken by Israeli bombs--more than 168 martyrs, mostly women and children, including 12 members of one family...in Gaza--are a painful reminder to the world that this racist, colonial occupation is making the two-state solution and the prospect for realizing peace a very difficult choice."

3. "Your support for our endeavor today will give a reason for hope to a people besieged by a racist, colonial occupation."

Note Abbas conveniently left out the hundreds of rockets Hamas has launched into Israel; the use of women, children, and the elderly as human shields; and the fact that Israel's response has been carried out in the posture of self-defense rather than aggression.