The Real History Behind Netanyahu's Holocaust Comments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken flack for his comments this week that overstated the influence that Haj Amin al-Husseini had on Adolf Hitler, but a leading historian says that al-Husseini nevertheless played a key role in Hitler's plans outside of Europe.

Dr. Wolfgang G. Schwanitz's book, co-authored with the late Barry Rubin, on Hitler's relationship with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is being credited as the source of Netanyahu's belief that it was al-Husseini who convinced Hitler to exterminate the Jews rather than deport them from Europe.

Schwanitz says that Netanyahu "exaggerated" his claim but insists that the broader argument that there has been a "long-standing incitement of people against Jews" emanating from the Middle East since the 1920s is "certainly correct."

Netanyahu said that al-Husseini went to Hitler and told him that expelling the Jews from Europe was not an option, "If you expel [the Jews], they'll all come here." Al-Husseini then suggested that Hitler "burn them" instead, according to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu's remarks were accurate concerning al-Husseini's influence on Hitler's immigration policy, according to Schwanitz. ...