21 oct 2015
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News sites around the world today are talking about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion in a speech yesterday that Hitler didn’t want to kill the Jews, just expel them, till he was convinced to exterminate them by the Palestinian leader, Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
The criticism is so universal, and angry, that the remarks look to be a landmark in Netanyahu’s cynicism; they draw back the curtain for the world on his refusal to sincerely address Palestinians aspirations for freedom today. Yet, in the face of the criticism Netanyahu is doubling down on his |
contention that Palestinians incited the holocaust. Here is what he said today before leaving to Berlin:
My intention was not to absolve Hitler of his responsibility, but rather to show that the forefathers of the Palestinian nation, without a country and without the so-called ‘occupation’, without land and without settlements, even then aspired to systematic incitement to exterminate the Jews.
Meanwhile, Germany says it has no idea what Netanyahu is talking about.
Here is the speech to the World Zionist Organization, in which Netanyahu relates the ten biggest lies told about Israel. One lie is that Israel intends to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. He says this lie has a long pedigree, going back to the mufti. The relevant portion begins at 2:55.
Here’s the passage:
My grandfather came to this land in 1920 and he landed in Jaffa, and very shortly after he landed he went to the immigration office in Jaffa. And a few months later it was burned down by marauders. These attackers, Arab attackers, murdered several Jews, including our celebrated writer Brenner.
And this attack and other attacks on the Jewish community in 1920, 1921, 1929, were instigated by a call of the Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who was later sought for war crimes in the Nuremberg trials because he had a central role in fomenting the final solution. He flew to Berlin. Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews. And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, “If you expel them, they’ll all come here.” “So what should I do with them?” he asked. He said, “Burn them.” And he was sought in, during the Nuremberg trials for prosecution. He escaped it and later died of cancer, after the war, died of cancer in Cairo. But this is what Haj Amin al-Husseini said. He said, “The Jews seek to destroy… the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The remarks are a huge embarrassment. Even Israeli leaders are characterizing them as “shameful,” according to the Times of Israel.
An overwhelming majority of Holocaust historians reject the notion that Husseini planted the idea of a “Final Solution” for Europe’s Jews in Hitler’s mind.
The Guardian says the speech has drawn a storm of criticism with many saying that Netanyahu is trivializing the Holocaust.
India Today says the speech has stirred up trouble for Netanyahu, and quotes Saeb Erekat:
It is a sad day in history when the leader of the Israeli government hates his neighbour so much that he is willing to absolve the most notorious war criminal in history, Adolf Hitler, of the murder of six million Jews,” Saeb Erekat, the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s secretary general, said.
“Mr Netanyahu should stop using this human tragedy to score points for his political end,” said Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator with the Israelis.
Ali Abunimah says that Netanyahu is practicing Holocaust denial and seeking to “whitewash Hitler.”
Scott Roth characterizes this as an ad hoc historical theory.
The philosophical underpinnings of Israel r intellectually & morally bankrupt. This is why we see these sort of ad hoc historical theories.
CJ Werleman cracks:
Netanyahu blames Palestinians – not Nazis – for Holocaust. Somewhere in Hell, Hitler high-fives the Devil.
Knesset member Ahmad Tibi had perhaps the best line in reference to Netanyahu’s race baiting before the last Israeli elections:
It was the mufti who rented the buses that took Arabs to the polls in droves
Max Blumenthal points out that Netanyahu has peddled this theory before, in 2009 speech. Netanyahu:
Eichmann’s deputy, Dieter Wisliceny, provided the following chilling testimony at Nuremberg: “The Mufti played a role in the decision to destroy the Jews of Europe. The importance of his role cannot be ignored. The Mufti repeatedly proposed to the authorities with whom he was in contact, first and foremost Hitler, Ribbentrop and Himmler, to destroy the European Jews. He saw in that an appropriate solution to the Palestinian question”. Wisliceny even provided hearsay evidence that the Mufti was directly involved in the Final Solution. “The Mufti was one of the initiators of the methodical destruction of the Jews of Europe and was a partner and consultant to Eichmann and Hitler on how to execute the plan. He was one of Eichmann’s best friends and constantly pushed him to speed up the destruction. With my own ears,” he said, “I heard him say that he visited the gas chambers of Auschwitz anonymously in the company of Eichmann”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As opposed to the things being said by Iran’s representatives and others, the Zionist leaders did not use the Holocaust to destroy the Palestinian national movement. On the contrary, the most senior Palestinian leader at the time, the Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini preached and acted to implement the Holocaust in order to destroy the Zionist movement. It almost worked.
The Times of Israel quotes Tom Segev disputing Netanyahu’s history:
the notion that Hitler needed to be convinced to exterminate the Jews was “entirely absurd.” He stressed that “one can surely say that [Husseini] was a war criminal, but one cannot say Hitler needed his advice.”
Segev, born in Jerusalem to parents who escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, further stressed that by the time Husseini and Hitler met in 1941, the annihilation of the Jews had already begun. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Jews had been killed by the Nazis and their collaborators by the time of the meeting.
Here is another sign of how the speech is blowing up in Netanyahu’s face. From the Huffington Post’s Jessica Schulberg, on Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer’s claim:
Dermer says if US spent 1/10 the time worrying about Palestinian incitement as “Jews building apartments in Jerusalem” things would be diff
Israelis are trying to change the subject.
My intention was not to absolve Hitler of his responsibility, but rather to show that the forefathers of the Palestinian nation, without a country and without the so-called ‘occupation’, without land and without settlements, even then aspired to systematic incitement to exterminate the Jews.
Meanwhile, Germany says it has no idea what Netanyahu is talking about.
Here is the speech to the World Zionist Organization, in which Netanyahu relates the ten biggest lies told about Israel. One lie is that Israel intends to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. He says this lie has a long pedigree, going back to the mufti. The relevant portion begins at 2:55.
Here’s the passage:
My grandfather came to this land in 1920 and he landed in Jaffa, and very shortly after he landed he went to the immigration office in Jaffa. And a few months later it was burned down by marauders. These attackers, Arab attackers, murdered several Jews, including our celebrated writer Brenner.
And this attack and other attacks on the Jewish community in 1920, 1921, 1929, were instigated by a call of the Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who was later sought for war crimes in the Nuremberg trials because he had a central role in fomenting the final solution. He flew to Berlin. Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews. And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, “If you expel them, they’ll all come here.” “So what should I do with them?” he asked. He said, “Burn them.” And he was sought in, during the Nuremberg trials for prosecution. He escaped it and later died of cancer, after the war, died of cancer in Cairo. But this is what Haj Amin al-Husseini said. He said, “The Jews seek to destroy… the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The remarks are a huge embarrassment. Even Israeli leaders are characterizing them as “shameful,” according to the Times of Israel.
An overwhelming majority of Holocaust historians reject the notion that Husseini planted the idea of a “Final Solution” for Europe’s Jews in Hitler’s mind.
The Guardian says the speech has drawn a storm of criticism with many saying that Netanyahu is trivializing the Holocaust.
India Today says the speech has stirred up trouble for Netanyahu, and quotes Saeb Erekat:
It is a sad day in history when the leader of the Israeli government hates his neighbour so much that he is willing to absolve the most notorious war criminal in history, Adolf Hitler, of the murder of six million Jews,” Saeb Erekat, the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s secretary general, said.
“Mr Netanyahu should stop using this human tragedy to score points for his political end,” said Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator with the Israelis.
Ali Abunimah says that Netanyahu is practicing Holocaust denial and seeking to “whitewash Hitler.”
Scott Roth characterizes this as an ad hoc historical theory.
The philosophical underpinnings of Israel r intellectually & morally bankrupt. This is why we see these sort of ad hoc historical theories.
CJ Werleman cracks:
Netanyahu blames Palestinians – not Nazis – for Holocaust. Somewhere in Hell, Hitler high-fives the Devil.
Knesset member Ahmad Tibi had perhaps the best line in reference to Netanyahu’s race baiting before the last Israeli elections:
It was the mufti who rented the buses that took Arabs to the polls in droves
Max Blumenthal points out that Netanyahu has peddled this theory before, in 2009 speech. Netanyahu:
Eichmann’s deputy, Dieter Wisliceny, provided the following chilling testimony at Nuremberg: “The Mufti played a role in the decision to destroy the Jews of Europe. The importance of his role cannot be ignored. The Mufti repeatedly proposed to the authorities with whom he was in contact, first and foremost Hitler, Ribbentrop and Himmler, to destroy the European Jews. He saw in that an appropriate solution to the Palestinian question”. Wisliceny even provided hearsay evidence that the Mufti was directly involved in the Final Solution. “The Mufti was one of the initiators of the methodical destruction of the Jews of Europe and was a partner and consultant to Eichmann and Hitler on how to execute the plan. He was one of Eichmann’s best friends and constantly pushed him to speed up the destruction. With my own ears,” he said, “I heard him say that he visited the gas chambers of Auschwitz anonymously in the company of Eichmann”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As opposed to the things being said by Iran’s representatives and others, the Zionist leaders did not use the Holocaust to destroy the Palestinian national movement. On the contrary, the most senior Palestinian leader at the time, the Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini preached and acted to implement the Holocaust in order to destroy the Zionist movement. It almost worked.
The Times of Israel quotes Tom Segev disputing Netanyahu’s history:
the notion that Hitler needed to be convinced to exterminate the Jews was “entirely absurd.” He stressed that “one can surely say that [Husseini] was a war criminal, but one cannot say Hitler needed his advice.”
Segev, born in Jerusalem to parents who escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, further stressed that by the time Husseini and Hitler met in 1941, the annihilation of the Jews had already begun. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Jews had been killed by the Nazis and their collaborators by the time of the meeting.
Here is another sign of how the speech is blowing up in Netanyahu’s face. From the Huffington Post’s Jessica Schulberg, on Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer’s claim:
Dermer says if US spent 1/10 the time worrying about Palestinian incitement as “Jews building apartments in Jerusalem” things would be diff
Israelis are trying to change the subject.
3 sept 2015
Iranian parliament head adviser, Hasan Shaykh al-Islam, said Iran cannot approve a visit by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to Tehran, saying there is nothing good in his visit.
The PIC reporter in Tehran revealed that Shaykh al-Islam accused, in a colloquy on Tuesday, Abbas of seeking to achieve Israeli goals by his visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Shaykh al-Islam, who heads a conference in support of the Palestinian Intifada, also said, “due to Abbas’s bad positions against Palestinian resistance, his visit to Tehran does not constitute any opportunity for us, as it runs contrary to our supportive standings for resistance against the Israeli occupation”.
He underlined that Tehran is not interested in choosing between him and his antagonists like Mohammad Dahlan and Yaser Abed Rabbu as they all are against the Palestinian resistance approach.
The PIC reporter in Tehran revealed that Shaykh al-Islam accused, in a colloquy on Tuesday, Abbas of seeking to achieve Israeli goals by his visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Shaykh al-Islam, who heads a conference in support of the Palestinian Intifada, also said, “due to Abbas’s bad positions against Palestinian resistance, his visit to Tehran does not constitute any opportunity for us, as it runs contrary to our supportive standings for resistance against the Israeli occupation”.
He underlined that Tehran is not interested in choosing between him and his antagonists like Mohammad Dahlan and Yaser Abed Rabbu as they all are against the Palestinian resistance approach.
21 aug 2015
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano has denied media reports claiming the agency will allow Iran to carry out its own nuclear inspections as part of the nuclear agreement reached last month in Vienna.
“Such statements misrepresent the way in which we will undertake this important verification work,” Amano said.
The statement follows claims by the Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday that the draft version of a side agreement indicates that Iran could use its own inspectors to investigate the Parchin military base south of Tehran.
“I am disturbed by statements suggesting that the IAEA has given responsibility for nuclear inspections to Iran. Such statements misrepresent the way in which we will undertake this important verification work,” he added.
Despite limits on what he can reveal about the agreement, Amano stressed that “the arrangements are technically sound and consistent with our long-established practices. They do not compromise our safety standards in any way.”
Iran and the world powers reached on an agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme on 14 July after more than ten years of intermittent negotiations.
The agreement gives UN inspectors the right to monitor and inspect some Iranian military installations, and imposes a ban on arms imports for five years in return for lifting of economic and trade sanctions imposed on Tehran.
“Such statements misrepresent the way in which we will undertake this important verification work,” Amano said.
The statement follows claims by the Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday that the draft version of a side agreement indicates that Iran could use its own inspectors to investigate the Parchin military base south of Tehran.
“I am disturbed by statements suggesting that the IAEA has given responsibility for nuclear inspections to Iran. Such statements misrepresent the way in which we will undertake this important verification work,” he added.
Despite limits on what he can reveal about the agreement, Amano stressed that “the arrangements are technically sound and consistent with our long-established practices. They do not compromise our safety standards in any way.”
Iran and the world powers reached on an agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme on 14 July after more than ten years of intermittent negotiations.
The agreement gives UN inspectors the right to monitor and inspect some Iranian military installations, and imposes a ban on arms imports for five years in return for lifting of economic and trade sanctions imposed on Tehran.
20 aug 2015
Mousa Abu Marzouk, member of Hamas political bureau, said the state of tension in the relations with Iran on one hand and his Movement and Islamic Jihad on the other hand is fabricated.
Abu Marzouk said, on his Facebook page, the nuclear deal between Iran and the United States will change the region’s map especially with the American transform in relations toward Iran as a partner in settling conflicts overcoming its previous policies of considering Iran as a patron of “terrorism” especially in Palestine.
He pointed out that the Palestinian Authority read these changes in an opportunist way by sending member of the PLO Executive Committee Ahmad Majdalani to visit Tehran and arrange for a visit by Abbas to Iran. He also referred to PA's call on Tehran to appoint the Iranian ambassador to Amman in Jordan as a non-resident ambassador to Ramallah.
The Hamas leader Abu Marzouk said changes have been taking place in the region rapidly, stressing that the constant is the Palestinian right of liberation and return.
Abu Marzouk said, on his Facebook page, the nuclear deal between Iran and the United States will change the region’s map especially with the American transform in relations toward Iran as a partner in settling conflicts overcoming its previous policies of considering Iran as a patron of “terrorism” especially in Palestine.
He pointed out that the Palestinian Authority read these changes in an opportunist way by sending member of the PLO Executive Committee Ahmad Majdalani to visit Tehran and arrange for a visit by Abbas to Iran. He also referred to PA's call on Tehran to appoint the Iranian ambassador to Amman in Jordan as a non-resident ambassador to Ramallah.
The Hamas leader Abu Marzouk said changes have been taking place in the region rapidly, stressing that the constant is the Palestinian right of liberation and return.
A top aide to an Iranian parliamentary official said on Wednesday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's request to visit Tehran has been rejected by Iran.
Hossein Sheikh al-Islam, the Adviser for International Affairs to the Iranian Shura Council’s Speaker, said reports of Abbas's imminent trip to Iran to meet with top officials "are false".
The PA leadership has asked to visit Iran on a number of occasions but its requests were denied. Its most recent request also was rejected, Islam said.
Islam told al-Reslah Palestinian newspaper that Tehran's relations with Hamas are "strategic", stressing that Iran and Hamas had put their differences aside with regard to the position on the crisis in Syria.
The official added that Tehran "welcomes any visit by Hamas officials", pointing out that efforts are underway to schedule a visit in the near future.
The Iranian adviser also stressed that his government "continues to support resistance organizations", but confirmed that the financial support had been reduced. He said this is due to the country's financial crisis and is unrelated to political issues.
He denied that his country agreed on recognizing Israel saying, “This is one of the reasons why we do not have relations with the Palestinian Authority”.
Hossein Sheikh al-Islam, the Adviser for International Affairs to the Iranian Shura Council’s Speaker, said reports of Abbas's imminent trip to Iran to meet with top officials "are false".
The PA leadership has asked to visit Iran on a number of occasions but its requests were denied. Its most recent request also was rejected, Islam said.
Islam told al-Reslah Palestinian newspaper that Tehran's relations with Hamas are "strategic", stressing that Iran and Hamas had put their differences aside with regard to the position on the crisis in Syria.
The official added that Tehran "welcomes any visit by Hamas officials", pointing out that efforts are underway to schedule a visit in the near future.
The Iranian adviser also stressed that his government "continues to support resistance organizations", but confirmed that the financial support had been reduced. He said this is due to the country's financial crisis and is unrelated to political issues.
He denied that his country agreed on recognizing Israel saying, “This is one of the reasons why we do not have relations with the Palestinian Authority”.
18 aug 2015
Rabbis seek to challange assertion that US Jewry is united in its opposition to the deal as Iran said to acquire Russian air-defense missiles in new agreement.
More than 300 American rabbis wrote members of Congress Monday, urging them to support the international nuclear deal with Iran, signalling the US Jewish community is split over the historic but controversial accord.
The religious leaders come from across the spectrum, but hail overwhelmingly from Judaism's Conservative and Reform streams as well as other progressive Jewish movements, a spokesperson said. "We encourage the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives to endorse this agreement," the 340 rabbis wrote in the letter to Congress distributed by Ameinu, a progressive charitable Jewish organization.
"We are deeply concerned with the impression that the leadership of the American Jewish community is united in opposition to the agreement," the rabbis added. "We, along with many other Jewish leaders, fully support this historic nuclear accord." The agreement, finalized last month after more than a year of intense negotiations, would roll back Iran's nuclear program in exchange for an easing of crippling economic sanctions.
Russian missiles in Iran
Meanwhile, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Tuesday morning that Russia is poised to sign a deal with the Islamic Republic for sale of the S-300 air-defense missile next week, and that the weapons would be delivered shortly thereafter.
Dehghan said that Iran wouldn't accept any restrictions on its defensive ballistic missile capabilities and that they are not designed or purposed for carrying nuclear warhead.
Israel has expressed concern in the past over Iran's attempts at purchasing the S-300, as the advanced system would make any military attempt at disabling the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities even more difficult that before.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Russia on Monday for talks with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, dealing mostly with finding solutions to the continuing crisis in Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is strongly opposed to the deal signed with Iran. He argues it will fail to block Iran's path to nuclear weapons that could be used to target the Jewish state.
Two weeks ago Netanyahu personally called on US Jewish groups to thwart the White House-backed deal. He made his appeal on a webcast hosted by Jewish American groups, which said it reached some 10,000 people.
More than 300 American rabbis wrote members of Congress Monday, urging them to support the international nuclear deal with Iran, signalling the US Jewish community is split over the historic but controversial accord.
The religious leaders come from across the spectrum, but hail overwhelmingly from Judaism's Conservative and Reform streams as well as other progressive Jewish movements, a spokesperson said. "We encourage the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives to endorse this agreement," the 340 rabbis wrote in the letter to Congress distributed by Ameinu, a progressive charitable Jewish organization.
"We are deeply concerned with the impression that the leadership of the American Jewish community is united in opposition to the agreement," the rabbis added. "We, along with many other Jewish leaders, fully support this historic nuclear accord." The agreement, finalized last month after more than a year of intense negotiations, would roll back Iran's nuclear program in exchange for an easing of crippling economic sanctions.
Russian missiles in Iran
Meanwhile, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Tuesday morning that Russia is poised to sign a deal with the Islamic Republic for sale of the S-300 air-defense missile next week, and that the weapons would be delivered shortly thereafter.
Dehghan said that Iran wouldn't accept any restrictions on its defensive ballistic missile capabilities and that they are not designed or purposed for carrying nuclear warhead.
Israel has expressed concern in the past over Iran's attempts at purchasing the S-300, as the advanced system would make any military attempt at disabling the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities even more difficult that before.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Russia on Monday for talks with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, dealing mostly with finding solutions to the continuing crisis in Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is strongly opposed to the deal signed with Iran. He argues it will fail to block Iran's path to nuclear weapons that could be used to target the Jewish state.
Two weeks ago Netanyahu personally called on US Jewish groups to thwart the White House-backed deal. He made his appeal on a webcast hosted by Jewish American groups, which said it reached some 10,000 people.
