As jokes go, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s outrageous claim about the former Palestinian Grand Mufti in Jerusalem should rank as one of the worst lies in history.
Addressing the Zionist Congress last Tuesday and trying to illustrate his claim that Palestinian incitement against the Jews goes back ages, Netanyahu sparked an uproar by suggesting that Haj Ameen Al Hussaini had persuaded Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to exterminate the Jews.
After Netanyahu’s ill-conceived statement about Al Hussaini sparked backlash on social media worldwide, Israelis themselves poured scorn on Netanyahu saying his words ‘minimised the Holocaust’. Mocking Netanyahu, a facebook post claimed that Eve had only wanted to sniff the apple, but during a meeting with the Mufti of Jerusalem, he convinced her to take a bite off it. Posts in a similar vein held Al Hussaini accountable for the sins and evil deeds of humankind.
Photo: 972mag.com.
Netanyahu made his comments only hours before his scheduled visit to Germany, where his host Chancellor Angela Merkel told him in a joint press conference that “Germany abides by its responsibility for the Holocaust. We do not see any reason to change our view of history.”
Photo: 972mag.com.
The US has not criticised Netanyahu for incitement but the State Department said on Wednesday that Netanyahu’s claim was not supported by “scholarly evidence.”
