Netanyahu’s claim a Palestinian Mufti requested ‘Holocaust of Jews’ sparks major backlash

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that a Palestinian mufti was responsible for convincing Adolf Hitler to carry out the Holocaust during World War II. Netanyahu stated that Hitler initially only wanted to expel Jews but was opposed by Jerusalem Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini during his visit to Berlin in 1941. According to Netanyahu, the mufti responded to Hitler’s question of “What should I do then?” with “Burn them all.”

Netanyahu’s speech at the World Zionist Congress received significant backlash.

Numerous messages of outrage flooded social media, with a senior official in the Mahmoud Abbas administration, saying, “Netanyahu hates Palestinians so much that he’s ready to forgive even Hitler.” This official who serves as the chief negotiator for Palestine in talks with Israel, stated, “Netanyahu should stop exploiting this issue for political gain.”

Netanyahu’s remarks were also debunked by historians.

A professor at Tel Aviv University commented, “To say that the mufti was the first to suggest killing or burning Jews to Hitler is incorrect. The idea of cleansing the world of Jews was at the center of Hitler’s policy before any meeting with the mufti.”

Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, known for his close ties to Netanyahu, also refuted the claim. He told Israel Army Radio, “The Final Solution, as it’s called, the Holocaust, of course, was not the mufti’s idea. It was Hitler’s evil brainchild.”