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The Extent of Palestinian-Nazi Collaboration
(Medium) Adin Haykin - On March 31, 1933, two months after Hitler came to power, Haj Amin al-Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, called on Heinrich Wolff, head of the German Consulate in Jerusalem. Wolff reported that Husseini said: "Muslims inside and outside Palestine welcome the new regime in Germany and hope for the spread of fascist, antidemocratic state leadership to other countries." In March 1935 the Husseinis formed the Palestinian Arab Party. Its president, Jamal Husseini, boasted that it was inspired by German Nazism. It included the "Al-Futuwwa" youth, modeled on the Hitler Youth, and for a while was actually called the "Nazi Scouts." In February 1941, 88% of Arab Palestinians polled expressed support for Germany, while only 9% supported England. According to the Jewish Sentinel of June 1, 1941, "Axis agents stationed in Syria and Iraq have been smuggling large quantities of weapons and ammunition to renegade Arab tribes in the desert and mountains of Palestine." In addition, Nazi war planes taking off from Iraq dropped leaflets inciting the Arabs for a "holy war" against the British and the Jews. According to a CIA report from August 1942, a majority of the Palestinian Arabs was fiercely "anti-Jewish" and saw in the approach of Rommel an ideal opportunity to murder all Jews and seize their property.