Newly discovered telegram from Heinrich Himmler to Arab leader on anniversary of Balfour Declaration

Telegram from Heinrich Himmler to Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin-Al Husseini in 1943.

A “newly-discovered” 1943 telegram from Nazi commander Heinrich Himmler to the Mufti of Jerusalem was found in the archives of the National Library of Israel this week. It read:

"The National-Socialist movement of the great Germany has made its fight against world Jewry a guiding principle since its very beginning. For that reason, it has been closely following the battle of freedom-seeking Arabs - and especially in Palestine - against the Jewish invaders.

“The joint recognition of the enemy and the struggle together against it are what build the solid basis between the National Socialists of Greater Germany and freedom-loving Muslims of the world.” (translation by Times of Israel)

The telegram concludes with the SS chief sending the mufti his warm greetings on the “unhappy” anniversary of the Balfour Declaration [Nov. 2] and best wishes for the continuation of the struggle. It was found on March 29, 2017.

Haj Amin Al-Husseini was appointed as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, a religious position, by the British during the mandate period. He, along with other Arab leaders, revolted against the British in 1936 in a bid for Palestinian self-determination. In 1937, the British officially revoked his title as Grand Mufti and he fled to Lebanon.

Husseini met with Hitler in Germany in 1941 to ask for German support of Arab independence from the colonial powers that ruled the Middle East at the time. The mufti also wanted a promise that Germany would not send anymore Jews to Palestine. But he was not successful in his efforts to agitate the Arabs of the Middle East against their colonial rulers during the war.