Israeli PM's contemptible slur and falsehood

Coming from no lesser a person than the PM of Israel, Netanyahu's outburst in attributing the Holocaust to a Palestinian is not only bizarre and false, but utterly contemptible. Even The New York Times, not known for anything but being partisan to Israel, editorialises how the PM has been outrageous.

"The claim by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that a Palestinian persuaded Adolf Hitler to exterminate the Jews of Europe is outrageous.

It is outrageous because the Holocaust is far too terrible a crime to be exploited for political ends, especially in the state linked so closely to the tragedy of the Jewish people. It is outrageous because the only apparent purpose is to demonize the Palestinians and the current leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and to give the impression that their resistance is based solely on a longstanding hatred of the Jews, and not on their occupation by Israel or any other grievance. And it comes at a time of renewed tension in Israel, with a wave of lone-wolf attacks on Jews by knife-wielding Palestinians."

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"Mr. Netanyahu has made some efforts at damage control since the speech, but all have only reinforced the impression of a cynical effort to distort history in order to draw a straight line between Mr. Husseini’s Nazi views and the current Palestinian leadership. The Holocaust is not a history to tamper with, and now that he has heard the anguished outcry from people who understand that, Mr. Netanyahu should have the decency to acknowledge that he was wrong and out of line."

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