On Monday evening, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu attacked Jeremy Corbyn for laying a wreath at graves in a Tunisian ceremony. The graves were not of ‘Munich terrorists’, but of Palestinian officials who were killed elsewhere.
Netanyahu’s tweet provoked a blistering put-down by Corbyn, who pointed to the Israeli PM’s record of unarmed Palestinians killed and Israel’s new nation state law, which discriminates against Israel’s Arab minority.
But Netanyahu has also been attacked for his attempted intervention because of comments he made just three years ago, which were reported at the time by the Israeli Ha’Aretz newspaper, which described them as “a claim that was rejected by most accepted Holocaust scholars“:
According to Ha’Aretz,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked public uproar when on Tuesday he claimed that the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, was the one who planted the idea of the extermination of European Jewry in Adolf Hitler’s mind. The Nazi ruler, Netanyahu said, had no intention of killing the Jews, but only to expel them.
In a speech before the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem, Netanyahu described a meeting between Husseini and Hitler in November, 1941: “Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jew.”
The paper also reports that 2015 was not the first time Netanyahu had said it – he had said similar to the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in 2012.
The comments are very similar to those made by Ken Livingstone, which were widely condemned as antisemitic. Netanyahu’s speech caused comparable outrage in Israel.
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Why is he not in front of the ICC for crimes against humanity?
I would like to know that as well. He is a very nasty man frankly. TM & Trump should all go. Crimes against humanity.
Israel is stretching its international friendships close to breaking point.
Short-sighted for a nation with so many enemies.
Israel’s purpose in accusing Corbyn becomes more obvious to more people as time passes – showing the wisdom of letting them just get on with it – Corbyn’s bulletproof on AS, racism.
They’re running out of ammo and shit out of luck.
Accusing Husseini of Holocaust guilt has the same purpose – to make the Jewish population of Israel feel more threatened so they’ll accept the dehumanisation of Palestinians being written into Israeli law.
If a two State solution had ever been part of Israel’s plan the settlements wouldn’t exist – it’s that simple.
None of which alters the fact that the only true innocents in the region are the civilians, which armed settlers are not.
Just to be clear, Ken didn’t of course make any reference to the Mufti of Jerusalem, and was referring to the Havaara Agreement – which ended the Zionist boycott of Nazi Germany in the 1930s – when he said that Hitler supported Zionism. THAT of course was just an historical fact, whereas Netanyahu’s statement was anything but.
Allan correct. Netanyahu’s comment is not at all similar to Ken Livingstone’s, they have a totally different focus. Netanyahu’s comment is undoubtedly antisemitic whilst Livingstone’s was not.
Whereas Livingstone was highlighting the FACT that Zionists cooperated with Hitler, he did not seek to absolve Hitler from any blame. On the other hand, Netanyahu, because he is now supported by many fascist groups against Islam has tried to shift culpability away from Hitler to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
Where is the outrage from the BBC, Sky, and the BOD at this deranged outburst from Netanyahu?
And what of course was Netanyahu’s objective in saying such a thing – ie in fabricating and dissembling such a story about the Mufti of Jerusalem!
The Netanyahu comments were NOT similar to those of Ken Livingstone.Ken Livingstone said that there was an agreement between the Zionist Movement and Hitler that it would be convenient to have a land in Palestine for the Jews.That is very different to claiming that the Mufti of Jereusalem ‘planted the idea of extermination in Hitler’s mind.Livingstone’s comment was based on verifiable fact:Netanyahu’s was not. Please don’t confuse free speech with propaganda.
Yes Hitler had been a laughing stock in Germany before Big Business there (because of their fear of the large Communiist Party and it’s nationalisation plans) poured money into the Nazi Movement.
Apparently they thought they could control him and for example US anti-Semite Henry Ford let the Nazi’s keep all the profits from Fords in Germany which helped fund their rallies and helped fly Hitler round Germany all of which made a group of Barbarian thugs look impressive. And now Hope Not Hate report Right Wing US billionaires are planning to put millions into Far Right Groups (and the individual Barbarians including here) so perhaps some are playing a dangerous game.
After WW2 the victims including mainly Jewish citizens, Socialists, Social Democrats, Communiists, LGBT citizens, Disabled Citizens and people with learning disabilities and mental health difficulties etc. got a degree of justice but some still wonder how much a price the Nazi sponsors paid?
As far as I am concerned Jeremy was and still is a peacemaker and he felt and feels you need to talk to those who may feel an armed struggle is the only way (as he and others did in Northern Ireland before Blair came along to claim the credit for a seed planted by others) and JC here was being consisted in trying to get people to follow a peaceful path. I don’t really use twitter but perhaps some of the Corbynistas out there could start the tweet ‘Corbyn4NobelPeacePrize’. Solidarity!
Hi Skwawkbox, I agree, Netanyahu and Livingston didn’t have the same argument and it should be corrected in the article since one is a racist angry hateful bully and the other a long time antiracist militant and an honest man, mixing both comment is not helpful to truthand accuracy
Antoine I might be wrong but I think you meant you disagree.
In any case Skwawkbox should withdraw the the “very similar” comment.
Absolutely!
Netanyahu is saying that the idea of the Holocaust did not originate with Hitler. There is no evidence for this.
Livingstone, whatever his faults, makes absolutely no such claim.
92 people were murdered by a terrorist organisation. One of the cell that committed the atrocity also died.
Among the dead, 17 Jews were ruthlessly murdered, 28 people from the UK and 41 people of Arab origin.
The state that was founded as a result of these terrorist acts celebrate this mass murder and many other atrocities. Indeed this atrocity is celebrated with a plaque on the very building that was attacked
The labour party leader, Corbyn, is being criticised for being in a cemetery where, in an other area, there is a grave for Arab terrorists.
Yet the second in line for the UK throne, Prince William, happily stayed behind this plaque celebrating terrorism, despite the fact that the cowardly murders included 13 UK soldiers, serving ‘king and country’, the king being William’s great grandfather…
Trying to excuse the outrage, a myth has arisen that there was a warning…unlike the other terrorist outrages committed by these murderers…but even if that was true does that justify glorifying terrorism and murdering innocents.
The matter is made more serious by the lack of acknowledgement for those who died, unlike the monarchy mourning military deaths in campaigns in Northern Ireland and India during visits, for example…
Jewish terrorism, and the atrocity committed bombing the King David Hotel in West Jerusalem, cannot be brushed aside in fear of being labelled antisemitic. The state of Israel, in openly celebrating terrorism cannot claim moral superiority and justify acts transgressing human rights, and the murder of civilian children, women and men.
Yes and someone wrote recently that in 2006 the plague in the King David Hotel was commemorated and the then Leader of the Israeli Opposition, Netanyahu attended and apparently said in aspeech this was “legitimate” (?)
17 Jewish citizens, 28 British citizens, and 45 Arab citizens were killed.
The UK Embassey there at the time condemned the ceremony.
And N tries to lecture a Man of Peace!
Oops line one should be plaque and 47 Arab citizens were killed by the Jewish gang – a tragic total of 92.
Ellmann, Austin, Streeting, Gapes, Berger, Hodge etc.— they are very quick to tweet against Corbyn.
I wonder if they attacked Netanyahu over this?
Where’s john mann and his ‘Dizzguzzting rerzist’ faux-outrage, now?
Let’s hear it, john.
I did some editing and include a really great tweet from @New_Number_2
https://www.academia.edu/37238622/They_came_back
REMEMBERING THE SHANTILA & SABRA PALESTINIANS (1982)
Three thousand and five hundred
Were slaughterd by the Fascist Falange
Israeli Commission looked into the horror
And Sharon was the one to be damned
In two thousand and fourteen
To the accompaniment of Fake Western grief
They buried the blam-ed Mr Sharon
And Tony Blair laid a wreath!
(See Owen Jones, ‘The Corbyn wreath ‘scandal’ is just an exercise in hypocracy’, Guardian 14/8/18)