In Germany, Benjamin Netanyahu Backs Away From Blaming Muslims for Holocaust
Image by Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped back from his earlier claim that the grand mufti of Jerusalem convinced Hitler to exterminate Jews.
At a news conference Wednesday in Germany with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Netanyahu modified comments made a day earlier in Jerusalem concerning Haj Amin al-Husseini, Haaretz reported.
Netanyahu emphasized that Hitler bore responsibility for the Holocaust, but stood by his previous assertion that the mufti encouraged Hitler to murder European Jewry. Al-Husseini, who served as grand mufti from 1921 to 1937, is considered to be one of the founders of Palestinian nationalism. He enjoyed warm relations with Nazi Germany and met with Hitler in December 1941.
Merkel, who spoke before Netanyahu, said that “Germany is clear on its responsibility for the Holocaust.” At the news conference, she also said that building Jewish settlements in the West Bank is “counterproductive,” and called on both Israel and the Palestinians to take steps to calm the current violence, according to Reuters.
She noted, however, that Israel has an “obligation” to protect its own citizens and said the Palestinians must condemn “everything constituting the support of terror,” according to The Associated Press.
Netanyahu and Merkel met prior to the news conference.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
