August
5, 2002
Nazi ally, Hajj Amin Al Husseini, is Arafat’s
“hero”.
By Itamar Marcus
Introduction:
In an interview this week Arafat called the
Arab leader and Nazi ally, Hajj Amin Al Husseini, “our hero”. Arafat referred to
“our hero Al Husseini" as a symbol of withstanding world pressure, having
remained an Arab leader in spite of demands to have him replaced because of his
Nazi ties. This he compared to Palestinian withstanding of world pressure
for reform of the Palestinian Authority today, which includes the American
demand to replace Arafat.
Background:
“Hajj Amin Al Husseini
(1895-1974) was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem... He supported the Nazis, and
especially their program for the mass murder of the Jews. He visited numerous
death camps and encouraged Hitler to extend the "Final Solution" to the Jews of
North Africa and Palestine. In 1946 he escaped to Egypt.” [Simon Wiesenthal
Center Web Site]
Husseini with Nazi
soldiers and with Hitler
The following is the text from the
interview:
Interviewer: “I have heard voices from within the
[Palestinian] Authority in the past few weeks, saying that the reforms are
coordinated according to American whims…”
Arafat: “We are not
Afghanistan…We are the Mighty People. Were they able to replace our hero Hajj
Amin al-Husseini? ... There were a number of attempts to get rid of Hajj Amin,
whom they considered an ally of the Nazis. But even so, he lived in Cairo, and
participated in the 1948 war, and I was one of his troops.”
[Al Sharq al
Awsat, a London Arabic daily, reprinted in the Palestinian daily Al Quds, Aug,
2, 2002]
