Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin
August, 5 2002

PALESTINIAN MEDIA WATCH
phone: 972- 2- 625-4140 fax: 972-2- 624-2803
visit our website, click here: http://www.pmw.org.il
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material may be quoted, citing PMW as the source

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]