On December 27, 2011, the Palestinian-Lebanese historian Bayan Nuwayhed Al-Hout published an article in the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which dealt, among other things, with The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and their connection to Judaism, the Zionist movement and the state of Israel.[1]
In her article, Al-Hout claims that the Protocols are an exact reflection of the Zionist idea and Jewish thought, and that their true essence is a Jewish aspiration to rule the world by various means. Therefore, "the question of the Protocols' authenticity is no longer relevant."
Al-Hout writes: "Those who judge the Protocols by the literal text might find that they [resemble] an imaginary and impractical tale more than a political program. However, those who judge the Protocols by their general spirit and essence will find that they are an exact reproduction of statements and writings by Zionist leaders past and present, and of the principles of the Zionist movement."
According to Al-Hout, "The Zionist idea and the Zionist plans up until the time of Herzl, let alone those that followed, such as [the plans of] Ben Gurion and Begin, are permeated with the spirit of the Protocols and their general essence. Harming democracy and praising dictatorship are cornerstones of the state [envisioned by] Herzl; use of money for political purposes is [this country's] only method. The media, or "the press" in the language of the Protocols, was utilized by Herzl and Zionism, just as [the Protocols instruct]... Western media, and particularly the American media, which is currently controlled by Zionism, is proof of this."
Regarding the link between Judaism and the Protocols, Al-Hout writes: "[The Protocols] completely correspond to [the words of] the great Rabbis throughout the ages, and to the Talmud itself. The Chosen People is a basic Talmudic concept, meaning the people who were chosen to rule and dictate."
Al-Hout made similar statements in her book Palestine: The Cause, the People, and the Culture, published in 1991. Her present article comes as a response to As'ad Abu Khalil, a Political Science professor at California State University, who recently published an article criticizing Gilbert Achcar's book The Arabs and the Holocaust. His article also touched on Al-Hout's book.[2]
In his criticism, Abu Khalil accused Al-Hout of basing her thesis on the Protocols, whose authenticity is in doubt, and added that she was following in the footsteps of her father, 'Ajjaj Nuwayhed, who was also an enthusiastic fan of the Protocols. It should be mentioned that 'Ajjaj Nuwayhed was the first to translate the Protocols into Arabic as part of his book The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: The Texts, the Leaders, and their Talmudic Foundations. His daughter, Al-Hout, writes in her article that "he was one of the first to expose the racist nature of Zionism."
'Ajjaj Nuwayhed was known for his strong relations with Mufti Hajj Amin Al-Husseini, who appointed him Secretary-General of the High Islamic Council and the General Inspector of the Shari'a Courts in Palestine. Al-Nuwayhed was also a member of the Palestinian delegation, headed by Al-Husseini, to the Arab World Summit in Mecca in 1924. He was arrested several times by the British Mandate authorities due to his nationalistic views and his books.
