Benjamin Netanyahu Blames Holocaust on Arabs from Palestine

A few days ago Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech which has become subject to major criticism. Towards the middle of the video Mr. Netanyahu goes on to talk about the holocaust of WWII. He tells a story of his grandfather and of a man named Haj Amin al-Husseini whom visited Hitler in 1929 and allegedly persuaded the Hitler begin exterminating the Jews. He goes on to explain Haj Amin al-Husseini was “an Arab attacker” who came from Palestine. What is strange about his statement is the fact that the first concentration camp was not established until 1933. During the time of WW2 Palestine was considered a 3rd world country and had one of the lowest literacy rates in the entire world. How can Netanyahu claim the Arab people and Palestine are responsible for the holocaust in Germany? The answer is he can’t. This is an absurd statement to make. This is hate speech and propaganda. Remember in 2012 when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied the Halocaust even happened? Are the statements made by Benjamin Netanyahu not any less misleading and/or hateful as Ahmadinejad’s 3 years ago?

Some other points of interest from the speech I felt necessary to elaborate: Early on he talks about the Temple Mount, going on to say “The temple mount is our holiest site, it was built there by King Solomon 3,000 years ago 1500 years before Islam.” – Saying this seemingly as to take a poke at Arabs. Essentially meaning ‘The Jews have been living on this land longer then anyone else, therefore have every right to it’. Some history for you, what some people do not know is that there has been conflict with this region at a steady pace dating further back than the 7th century BC. In 597 BCE King Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Jews in Jeruselam, kicked them out of power and dismantled the temple of Solomon. Israeli and Palestinian and religious forces have been at War with one another on this same land for centuries. Basically for the same reasons we still observe today. Many modern politicians on both sides dismiss the notion that modern conflict arises out of ancient disputes, but when you hear Mr. Natanyahu address the Temple of Solomon in a modern political speech, there is no doubt this conflict is very real.

When talking about relations within Jerusalem, Mr. Netanyahu remarks “though we have been attached to it for 3 millenia. We in no way deny the sacred sites or the rights or the free access for other denominations and Israel has not and will not change the status quo”. A very misleading statement. You may remember the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 in which after decades of Zionist movements and in reparation for the atrocities faced by the Jewish people in World War II, the United Nations awarded the Jews a sovereign state in the territory of Palestine around the holy city of Jerusalem. Religious proxy conflicts were considered by the assembly, the solution called for Jerusalem to “exist as an international city of the world”. Not a city in Israel. In fact, in 1947 Israel had no jurisdiction over Jerusalem and it remained this way for the next 20 years. It was not until the 6 Days War of 1967, when in just six days, Israel defeated Syria and Jordan gaining the west bank; Israel defeated Jordan to capture all of Jerusalem; and Israel defeated Egypt gaining control of the Gaza strip and Sinai Peninsula. The United Nations which helped established the Jewish state in 1947, called the six days war a “violation of international law” in 1967. To this day the Israeli occupation in Gaza is considered a violation of international law and considered an “illegal occupation” by the United Nations. So when Mr. Netanyahu speaks on this matter, you can understand his recollection of history on behalf of Israel is selective at best. Israel has already broken international law on several occasions to create their own “status quo“. When Netanyahu states “Israel has always existed this way”, this is a bold faced lie.

The fighting and violence and hardship surrounding Israel and its neighbors has been well documented. To often people forget the history behind how the world came to exist at this present moment in time and why the world looks the way it does. The Goldstone Report of 2009  included accusations against Israel for war crimes committed against Gaza. In 2014 the United Nations has opened a new investigations into the same allegations. In September, for the first time in history, the United Nations acknowledged the statehood of Palestine by flying a Palestinian Flag. We can only hope these modern efforts help to dissolve the tension in the region.