An Al Jazeera video which accused Israel of exploiting the Holocaust to carry out a Nazi-like policy of “annihilation” against the Palestinians has been deleted following accusations of anti-Semitism.
Posted on the Arabic version of Al Jazeera’s popular current events channel, AJ+, the short commentary video argued that while the Holocaust did in fact happen, the total number of Jews killed by the Nazis was “inflated by the Zionist movement” to create international support for the creation of Israel.
“The annihilation of any people because of their race, sex or religion is an unacceptable thing that deserves to be strongly denounced. Denouncing the Holocaust is a moral obligation,” video’s presenter, Muna Hawwa, said. “But Israel is the biggest winner from the Holocaust, and it uses the same Nazi justifications as a launching pad for the racial cleansing and annihilation of the Palestinians.”
2/2 Holocaust Denial on Al-Jazeera Network: Israel Is Biggest Winner from Holocaust; It Uses the Same Justification to Annihilate the Palestinians pic.twitter.com/BMb25DYFTY
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 19, 2019
The video continued: “The main ideology of the ‘State of Israel’ is based on religious, national and geographic concepts that suckled from the Nazi spirit and its main notions.”
Social media users lined up to condemn the video, with some claiming that the commentary reveals a side of Al Jazeera that most Westerners never see. A tweet comparing the incendiary, Arabic-language take on the Holocaust to how AJ+’s English channel presents the tragedy received more than 7,000 likes.
https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa/status/1129814571357790209
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Emmanuel Nahshon wrote on Twitter Saturday that the AJ+ video “is the worst kind of pernicious evil” and that Al Jazeera “brainwashes young people in the Arab world” and “perpetuates hatred of Israel and the Jews.”
This @ajplusarabi “explanation “ of the Holocaust is the worst kind of pernicious evil. That’s how @AlJazeera brainwashes young people in the Arab world and perpetuates hatred of Israel and the Jews. Lies and evil propagated by the ideological descendants of “ Der Stürmer”. https://t.co/8mqRINZP2i
— Emmanuel Nahshon (@EmmanuelNahshon) May 18, 2019
A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the video as “anti-Semitic” and accused Al Jazeera of “spreading lies” about the Holocaust and Israel in order to “incite the masses.”
@ajplusarabi aired an anti-Semitic video on the #Holocaust, spreading lies about it & about Israel, specifically on #Ramadan in order to incite the masses.
It's been removed. We'll keep fighting anti-Semitism on Arab media, including on @AJArabic-an inciting propaganda machine. pic.twitter.com/IYIVztW8mC
— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) May 18, 2019
The network quickly pulled the video, claiming that it had been deleted because it “violated the editorial standards of the network.” Two journalists were also suspended on Sunday. The commentary amassed 1.1 million views on Facebook and Twitter before it was taken down, according to Haaretz.
Al Jazeera Media Network deleted a video produced by AJ+ Arabic because it violated the editorial standards of the Network.
— Al Jazeera PR (@AlJazeera) May 18, 2019
While many expressed outrage over the video, others used the opportunity to share memes about Qatar-funded Al Jazeera and its curious editorial policies.
AJ is an old, bad joke. Western illiberals love it though. pic.twitter.com/81Sd2m0fFQ
— Even_Balance (@BalanceEven) May 19, 2019
https://www.rt.com/news/459735-holocaust-al-jazeera-israel-video/
“… Al Jazeera “brainwashes young people in the Arab world” and “perpetuates hatred of Israel and the Jews.”
ISRAHELL & THE STINKING jEWS FOMENT MORE HATRED AGAINST THEMSELVES THAN ANYONE ELSE EVER POSSIBLY COULD!!!
EVIL, SATANIC SCUM-OF-THE-EARTH!!!!!
To know who you can’t gripe about is to know who is “in charge”.
I’d ground them f’ers out and enjoy the sparks show!