MEMRI Translates Antisemitic Video On Al-Jazeera Network Stating Israel Is Biggest Winner From Holocaust And Uses 'Same Justification' To Annihilate The Palestinians; Following Broad Media Coverage, Including Crediting MEMRI, Al-Jazeera Fires Journalists, Announces 'Bias And Sensitivity Training'

On May 18, 2019, AJ+ Arabic, an online media platform run by the Qatari Al-Jazeera Network, posted a video it described as "the story of the Holocaust" on Twitter and Facebook. The video, titled "The Gas Chambers Killed Millions of Jews – That's How the Story Goes. What Is the Truth behind the Holocaust and How Did the Zionist Movement Benefit from It?" was narrated by Muna Hawwa, a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian who lives in Qatar and works as a producer for the Al-Jazeera Network.

In the video, Hawwa claimed that the number of Jewish Holocaust victims remains "one of the most prominent historical debates to this day," and added that some people believe that Hitler supported Zionist ideology. The "much-regurgitated narrative of the Holocaust sorrows," she said, paved the way for Jewish immigration to Palestine. Although she stressed that "denouncing the Holocaust is a moral obligation," Hawwa added that Israel is the biggest "winner" from the Holocaust and that it uses the "same justification" as a "launching pad for the racial cleansing and annihilation of the Palestinians." She went on to note that the ideology behind the State of Israel had "suckled from the Nazi spirit," and concluded: "So how can a Palestinian denounce a crime that has become the flip side of his own tragedy?" Shortly after its publication, the video could no longer be accessed on Facebook.

On May 19, media, including in the Arab world,[1] began reporting that Al-Jazeera had suspended two journalists over the video, but not before it had garnered 1.1 million views on Facebook and Twitter,[2] and that the video "drew strong criticism after the US-based non-profit Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) tweeted an English translation."[3]  Al-Jazeera said that  it had suspended two journalists over the video and that the video had "contravened its editorial standards." According to Al-Jazeera, Yaser Bishr, executive director of its digital division, said the network "completely disowns the offensive content in question" and would not tolerate such material on any of the network's platforms, and that he had also announced a mandatory bias and sensitivity training program.[4] The following is a transcript of the clip.

To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below.

"More Than Nine Million Jews Lived In Europe Before World War II... After The Holocaust, The Zionist Movement Claimed That Two Out Of Every Three Jews Were Killed"

Muna Hawwa: "The narrative that six million Jews were killed by the Nazi movement was adopted by the Zionist movement, and it is being reiterated every year on the so-called 'Holocaust Memorial Day.' Let us tell you about the story of the Holocaust.

[...]

"More than nine million Jews lived in Europe before World War II, most of them in the countries that would later be taken over by the Nazis. After the Holocaust, the Zionist movement claimed that two out of every three Jews were killed.

[...]

"The Nazis targeted anyone they considered to be 'human surplus' – either because they were 'racially inferior,' or because they were not accepted politically. This means that the Jews were not the only victims of that era. The Nazis targeted the Romani, the Slavic nations, and some Arabs, as well as other groups like communists, socialists, trade unions, homosexuals, and the handicapped."

[...]

"People Are Divided Between Those Who Deny The Annihilation... And Others Yet Who Accuse The Zionist Movement Of Blowing It Out Of Proportion In The Service Of The Plan To Establish What Would Later Be Known As The 'State Of Israel'"

"Along with others, the Jews faced a policy of systematic persecution, which culminated in the 'Final Solution,' or annihilation. Their books were burned, they were fired from their jobs, their property was confiscated, and they were torn from their homes, in order to live in the secluded ghetto neighborhoods. They were forced to wear a special badge on their clothes. They were sent to detention centers, and they were worked to death in forced labor. The victims of the Nazis – who were following Hitler's orders – exceeded 20 million people. The Jews were part of them. So why is there a focus only on them?

"The Jewish groups had financial resources, media institutions, research centers, and academic voices that managed to put a special spotlight on the Jewish victims of the Nazis.

"Nevertheless, the number of victims of the Holocaust remains one of the most prominent historical debates to this day. People are divided between those who deny the annihilation, others who think that the outcome was exaggerated, and others yet who accuse the Zionist movement of blowing it out of proportion in the service of the plan to establish what would later be known as the 'State of Israel.' Let us take a pause here. How did Israel benefit from the Holocaust? In the first months following the Nazis' rise to power, an agreement was signed between Nazi Germany and the Jewish Agency, the purpose of which was to make it easy for the Jews to immigrate to Palestine, in exchange for surrendering their property to Germany.

[...]

"This agreement, along with other documents, made some people believe that Hitler supported Zionism. Former Mayor of London [Ken Livingstone] publicly declared this belief, and he was suspended from the Labour Party because of this. The persecution and the suffering – the much-regurgitated narrative of the Holocaust sorrows – paved the way for the Jewish immigration to Palestine."

[...]

"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"

"[Germany] is still paying huge reparations for what happened in World War II to a state that did not even exist at the time of the annihilation. Greece, the Serbs, Yugoslavia, and the Romani people have all suffered, but the German reparations to those victims cannot be compared to the payments to Israel, which, in turn, devoured the reparations of all the Jewish victims of Nazism. The Holocaust never stops to be a tragic event. Several countries denounce it as a crime. Dozens of institutions sponsor large museums in various capitals in the world commemorating the tragedy of the Jews. This provoked great interest in this incident, even though similar crimes, no less heinous, are still being perpetrated against other peoples.

"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, 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. The main ideology behind the 'State of Israel' is based on religious, national, and geographic concepts that suckled from the Nazi spirit and its main notions. So how can a Palestinian denounce a crime that has become the flip side of his own tragedy?"