A series where I bring to you news from the newspaper archives and historical documents to debunk common misconceptions about the Middle East conflict.
Co-operation between the Zionists and Nazis made headlines last year, after comments by former London Mayor “Red” Ken Livingstone regarding the Haavara agreement. And now The Forward has published a disgraceful piece about Zionist-Nazi cooperation. Livingstone and The Forward ignore the critical fact that any deals done by the Zionists were aimed at saving Jewish lives.
What is lesser known is cooperation between the Arabs in Palestine and the Nazis. Sure, much has been said about the Grand Mufti’s relations with, and support of, the Nazis. But the cooperation happened on a more micro level.
Newspapers from the time provide more insight into this. For instance, The Sentinel, Thursday, July 11, 1935, reported about the establishment of a Nazi club for Arab youths.
Nazis were also involved in the Arab revolts. Per The Sentinel, Thursday, June 04, 1936:
This suspicion was confirmed in The Sentinel, Thursday, August 07, 1941:
Note how the Mufti’s name appears again.
Clearly familiar with the art of the boycott of Jewish businesses, the Nazis encouraged the Arabs in Palestine to do so, as reported by The Sentinel, Thursday, March 21, 1935:
As well as elsewhere in the Arab world, such as Syria. Per The Sentinel, Thursday, December 09, 1937:
On the flipside, some Arab businesses tried to curry favor with the Nazis, as this report from The Sentinel, Thursday, January 18, 1934 indicates.
Thanks to Rachel Steinmetz for inspiring the idea for this post.
Previously on Israellycool: Know Your History: The German Nazi Templers Of Palestine
