Netanyahu Walks Back Holocaust Remarks

Unusually for an Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has had to clarify his position on who he thinks caused the Holocaust. In a Facebook post, Netanyahu backtracked from earlier remarks suggesting the extermination of European Jews was a Palestinian's idea, reports i24. "The decision to move from a policy of deporting Jews to the Final Solution was made by the Nazis and was not dependent on outside influence," said Netanyahu, though he stressed that Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini supported the Holocaust and collaborated with the Nazis.

"My remarks were intended to illustrate the murderous approach of the Mufti to the Jews in his lengthy contacts with the Nazi leadership," Netanyahu wrote. "The interpretation of my remarks as though I absolved the Nazis of even one ounce of responsibility for the Holocaust is absurd." The Israeli leader's Oct. 20 remarks were widely condemned by historians and the New York Times finds it odd that he waited until Friday afternoon, when the controversy had almost completely died down, to clarify them. (Netanyahu's remarks caused Germany to issue a statement saying the Holocaust was indeed Hitler's fault.)