Telegram from Heinrich Himmler to Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, 1943. Image by National Library of Israel

A telegram from Heinrich Himmler to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in 1943 was found in the archives of the National Library of Israel this week. In the telegram, Himmler, a high-ranking Nazi party official and head of the SS, offered the Mufti support in his struggle against “Jewish intruders.”

“The joint recognition of the enemy and the struggle together against it are what build the solid basis between the National Socialists of Greater Germany and freedom-loving Muslims of the world,” Himmler wrote, according to a translation by Times of Israel.

Haj Amin Al-Husseini was appointed as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, a religious position, by the British during the mandate period. He, along with other Arab leaders, revolted against the British in 1936 in a bid for Palestinian self-determination. In 1937, the British officially revoked his title as Grand Mufti and he fled to Lebanon.

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Husseini met with Hitler in Germany in 1941 to ask for German support of Arab independence from the colonial powers that ruled the Middle East at the time.

Contact Shira Hanau at [email protected]

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