Every day you get a new deck of cards
by Mordechai Nisan (June 2026)
Surprise, Surprise. Russia fell victim to the Nazi Barbarossa Operation when Germany initiated a surprise attack on June 22, 1941, to eradicate communism and occupy the western part of the country. The Soviet Union recovered and defeated Nazi Germany.
America, surprised by an impending attack by Japan on its Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, lost 2403 personnel on December 7, 1941. The United States recovered and defeated Imperial Japan.
Israel, caught unaware by a joint Egyptian—Syrian assault on October 6, 1973, lost 2656 soldiers in the course of the Yom Kippur War. Israel recovered and captured Arab territory.
Israel on October 7, 2023 was unprepared for an imminent attack by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, which resulted in over 1200 dead Israelis. Israel recovered and, as the scope of the war expanded, seized half of Gaza, parts of southern Lebanon and territory east of the Golan Heights in Syria – and executed devastating aerial attacks on Iran’s military installations and key regime personnel.
Surprise in war provides a great advantage to the attacker as part of a strategy for which a “stratagem implies a concealed intention,” wrote Clausewitz in On War. Victory is still not assured and depends on an array of factors, including leadership and resources—and good fortune.
A New Deck Every Day
Circumstances constantly change and an alert government must respond appropriately. Each day you hold a new deck, even then you may be holding the wrong deck.
President Reagan, in negotiating with Russia, coined the phrase “Trust but Verify” to acknowledge his suspicion of signing a nuclear agreement with America’s superpower rival. Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State for President Nixon, was explicit in his book Years of Renewal: “What penalty has there ever been for revoking a peace agreement or for disregarding a proclamation of non-belligerency?” International politics function in a world of chaos, no supra-government and no one to enforce law.
In an earlier period of history, British and French politicians believed that in absorbing Sudetenland Hitler would be satiated, and then leave the rest of Czechoslovakia alone. Churchill understood better, remarking in November 1938, “appeasement stimulates a more ferocious appetite.” Throwing a small state to the wolves is a callous capitulation that can end in war and dishonor.
Borders and War
Israel has not known one day of real peace and security, threatened from near and far, from Arabs, Iranians, and Turks, often abandoned by ostensible friends. Porous borders, vulnerable borders, indefensible borders, throw in relief a topographical handicap—especially before 1967—and geographic deficiency. Israel needs a strong national will, effective arms, and constant alertness—appallingly absent in October 1973 and October 2023—to compensate for the multiple disadvantages and challenges facing the Jewish state.
Israel found itself in a geo-political situation that was far from being ambivalent. Its initial territorial width of a mere 16 kilometers (9 miles) until 1967, and 70 kilometers (43 miles) width thereafter, was a strategic nightmare of unique dimensions. Admittedly, Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War provided territorial gains—the Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria, and the Sinai desert—that strengthened its military posture on all fronts. Yet its tiny size could never match the magnitude of the alarming peril all around and from within.
Axioms of War
Three Israeli military axioms justified the doctrine of the legitimate war:
- Fighting on enemy territory. This was the case in the 1956 Sinai Campaign, the June War of 1967, the Yom Kippur 1973 war, the 1982 War in Lebanon, and the Swords of Iron War in Gaza in 2023, with its spillover into Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Were war not carried into enemy territory, beyond Israel’s infinitesimal land base, mass death and massive destruction would strike the home front with horrific devastation.
– - Initiating wars. Israel did successfully initiate war in 1956, 1967, and 1982. So too the IDF carried out a major strike against Iran in June 2025, as both punishment for years of Iran financing and arming its axis proxies to attack Israel, and incessantly threatening Israel with nuclear annihilation. A preemptive offensive disabling enemy forces and denying them an effective second-strike capacity can be necessary to save the country from extinction.
– - Prosecuting short wars. Because the IDF is a small standing army, it relies on mobilizing reserve soldiers drawn from the civilian population especially in times of war. Israel’s wars should optimally be limited in time so that the country return to its full economic functioning. The short Six-Day War of 1967, like the Sinai Campaign in 1956, illustrated this principle. Appropriately, Israel battling the Egyptian army in the Sinai in 1973 lasted only 17 days.
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The war that opened in the western Negev and Gaza on October 7, 2023, expanding to other military theatres and extending to more than two and a half years, imposed a weighty responsibility on the reserve army many of whose soldiers served for hundreds of days. Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister and Defense Minister, misconstrued the needs of Israel, having earlier advocated for a small army while ruminating about peace. It would seem elemental that a small war-prone country like Israel requires a large army.
The Implications of Failed Deterrence
Two concepts drawn from the Cold War era, despite their dubious relevance for Israel, will help clarify its geo-political and military environment. America adopted the containment strategy toward the Soviet Union to block further territorial advancement or military aggression into the heart of Europe. America’s atomic bomb, conventional forces stationed in Europe, and the NATO alliance, were the combined tools to prevent Communist expansionism. Israel, however, lacks the size, resources, and the geo-political weight to engage in a policy of containment: a dwarf cannot contain a giant of vast territorial scope.
Israel nonetheless believed it has the military means and battle experience to exercise a policy of deterrence toward states that bear her ill. This became the strategic hallmark of Israel’s military posture over the years. However, the record of history was clear and cruel: the Arab enemy was determined to pursue the path of war regardless of Israel’s formidable military might. Israel failed to deter Egypt from launching the War of Attrition soon after the June 1967 war, and then again to deter Egypt from taking the lead in an offensive assault in October 1973. Sadat’s search for honor and his sophisticated use of military machinations duped the Israelis.
Arafat fooled Yitzhak Rabin in 1993 to think Israel would successfully deter future Palestinian warfare; as Nasrallah fooled Ehud Barak to think withdrawing from south Lebanon in 2000 would deter future Hezbollah warfare. The October 7 Hamas murderous invasion was painful proof that Israel’s vaunted policy of deterrence – to intimidate Hamas with money and jobs – proved vacuous.
The Islamic adage— “Muslims love to die and the Jews love to live” —captures the anomaly that Muslims are prepared to fight even when their cause is lost. This paradox negates the efficacy of deterrence as a reliable and robust deterrence posture over time.
War and Power
Let us recall wars different in scope but similar in spirit to Israel’s wars—like the United States in Vietnam and the Soviet Union in Afghanistan—where stronger powers succumbed to peoples weaker technologically but armed ideologically with an unbreakable iron will. Insurgency warriors suffered enormous losses, but capitulation was not in their lexicon. So too in Gaza and Lebanon, also in Judea and Samaria, where Israel faced seemingly indomitable enemies, and the war continued.
Israel possesses impressive elements of national power that enable it to prosecute war effectively over time, as since October 2023. These include sophisticated scientific and technological capabilities and assets, advanced military industries and an efficient military establishment. Israel’s air force demonstrated exceptional skills in the war against Iran beginning in June 2025. Gas fields in the sea are an essential component of national power for domestic use and exports, assuring the electricity power grid in all situations.
Perhaps the most significant qualitative element in Israel’s national arsenal is high morale, a patriotic spirit, a readiness to don military gear, and defend the country fearlessly. After 2,000 years of statelessness, the Jews understand that between existence and the abyss stands the Israeli army alone.
The Power Pariah
Israel, a small power, rose to middle power recognition, regarded now as a regional power in the Middle East. Israel’s extensive military campaign following the shock of October 7 caused devastation to Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, battering Iran and hitting Yemen, enabled by its state of the art intelligence capabilities and operational military professionalism of special, if not incomparable, dimensions. The decapitation of the most senior Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian leaders was a stunning achievement.
Indices rank Israel as a first-world country: with an average annual income above France and the United Kingdom, first-class medical services with high life expectancy placing her fourth in the world, and an economy growing at a faster rate, with extraordinary foreign investments, than almost all other countries. Israel emerged as top tier global AI hub, a leading start-up nation, and a foremost innovator and supplier of military products. Growing tomatoes in the desert, developing desalination technology, and building anti-missile defense systems, were indicative of Israel’s unique creativity—in the earth, on the water, and in the air. Israel proved impervious to any limitations and outclassed most advanced countries. Of special mention was Israel’s exceptional role in sending medical and humanitarian missions to assist countries hit by earthquakes—Haiti in 2010, Japan in 2011, Nepal in 2015, and Turkiye in 2023.
Although castigated as a political pariah, and the butt of political bullies in the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, Israel yet succeeded to ascend a trajectory to upgrade its place in the world.
Israel and the World
The Jewish people’s ancient historic identity rooted in nationality, religion, and language, was set on the Asian continent. This cultural milieu corresponds with Israel’s close ties with India, in the area of space, water, and weaponry, and epitomized by the friendship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Prime Minister Modi. Although political fluidity is constant in the political and diplomatic arenas, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines, have looked upon the Jewish state with favor.
Central Asia and westward to the Caucasus provide a field for positive Israeli ties with Muslim countries. Israel purchases oil from Kazakhstan and assists in farming; Azerbaijan provides gas and oil, buys weaponry, acquires cybersecurity technology, and engages in intelligence cooperation monitoring the Iranian border. Considering Eastern Europe, positive political ties, trade and tourism, bind Israel with, among others, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. Germany in Central Europe offers a relationship with satisfactory sides that include Israel selling the Arrow defense system for the astounding sum of $6.7 billion in 2025.
Serbia in the Balkans is a staunch friend of Israel, with co-production of drones a recent addition to their ties. Albania, a Muslim country, conducts ties with Israel and offers political support. Greece has strengthened military relations with Israel to the level of a strategic partnership, including air force and naval exercises, and the purchase of defense systems. Cooperation in the energy field includes the participation of Cyprus.
The broad vision of the proposed International Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) in 2003 conceived of trans-continental trade designed to connect Asia with Europe. From India to Saudi Arabia, with locations in Israel and Greece, shipping, rail, and road networks will challenge China’s Belt and Road Initiative. For Israel, it is successfully upgrading the range of her ties and enhancing her role in international affairs.
We complete our tour d’horizon with Africa and Latin America. Israel’s assistance to Black Africa covers agriculture and health services, extending to security and weaponry, while conducting relations with some 40 sub-Saharan countries. In South America, Israel has strengthened ties with Argentina under President Javier Milei, also with Paraguay, and with Bolivia and Chile renewing active diplomatic relations with Israel. Just as a European world order has long passed, a European-focused Israeli foreign policy as a corollary is now in abeyance, but not nullified.
Thus, Israel’s international reach has extended its scope to the Far East, the Indian sub-continent, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Mediterranean basin, to Africa and South America. The Abraham Accords, under the aegis of the United States, provided a diplomatic breakthrough for Israel to establish relations with four Muslim countries—Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf, with Sudan and Morocco in Africa. It has been able to exploit shared interests with a number of countries: India against Pakistan, Japan against China, and Greece against Turkiye. A recent addition to Israel’s strategic map is Somaliland on the Horn of Africa, located across the Red Sea waterway from Yemen, where Houti proxies fired missiles northward to the Israeli port of Eilat in 2023. Yemen renewed its launches toward Israel in March 2026.
Israel’s “minorities’ strategy,” another element in a creative policy, included ties or understandings, public and less public, with a number of peoples: Kurds in Iraq, Druze in Syria, Kabyles in Algeria, and Maronites in Lebanon. Israel is far from being isolated across the region, and beyond.
Israel and the Search for Balance
A political equilibrium or “balance of power” is a rational mechanism to achieve stability in a regional or international system. No single power should be able to threaten or overwhelm the rest of the political actors in a geographically defined space. Political coalitions form to offset a hegemonic menace from one power or alliance of powers. The balance will guarantee stability, with avoiding conflict and war being the sole imperative.
The great equalizer for Israel in the Arab—Israeli theatre of conflict has been the United States. Here is the deus ex machina balancer from afar. Washington has provided military weaponry, technological cooperation, economic assistance, and diplomatic support, over time. The United States served as a balancer augmenting Israel’s power facing Arab countries. Were America to stop supporting Israel, or adopt a hostile policy, the balance of power equation would unravel and the likelihood of war would increase. America the balancer is a force for stability in the Middle East.
Notwithstanding the Peace Treaty of 1979, a Cold War defines Israel’s political relations with Egypt, which never abandoned a war option and whose massive arms procurements and military drills in Sinai were blatantly provocative. Of all Arab countries, Egypt is the primary—or sole—strategic threat to Israel, and this is reason enough for the Jewish state to bolster the balance by collaborating with regional partners. One such candidate is the United Arab Emirates, considering that Israel provided Abu Dhabi with its Iron Dome shield to intercept incoming Iranian missile attacks. The wheel of change was turning as Israelis assisted Sunni Arabs against Shiite Iranians, as evidence that in the Middle East you should never be surprised at anything.
Ineluctably the Arab—Israeli conflict and the malignant Palestinian Question persist. Time and circumstances have rendered complete and true reconciliation beyond the ken of reality. October 7 exploded the myth and paradigm of a two-state solution. Palestinians of all political and ideological stripes, and their Jew-hating fans across the world, remain committed to a one-state solution: Palestine, without Israel.
On the Israeli side, Prime Ministers Rabin, Barak, and Sharon, presided over territorial withdrawals as self-styled visionary peacemakers. Just as you do not win a war by withdrawing, you also do not generally achieve peace by withdrawing. America learned this from a distance in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Has Israel learned this lesson in Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, and Gaza? Withdrawal carries the ignominy of retreat and the shame of capitulation. No one should gamble with the future of the state of Israel, or take steps that render the quest for a balance of power futile and counter-productive.
For the most part, peace is a human invention while war is the commanding reality. As Barbara Tuchman showed in her magisterial volume, The March of Folly (1984): robbed of reason, men create their own doom.
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Table of Contents
Mordechai Nisan, who wrote extensively on politics and history, taught Middle East Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
7 Responses
Strong analysis. What’s left is to embrace your conclusions. Well done.
Am Yisrael Chai
Well written and informative
Obsessive Amanpour Sidesteps Aoun’s Indictment of Iran and Hezbollah.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun points the finger at Iran and its Hezbolah but malicious Amanpour pressures him against Israel. She injects “Faza”, but brace Aoun held fast.
See the transcript.
[transcripts.cnn.com/show/ampr/date/2026-06-05/segment/01]
F.Y.I.
Most “Palestinians” are grandchildren of Arab immigrants (Hamas’ F. Hammad: “Half of the Palestinians are Egyptians and the other half are Saudis”. 3.23.12. Rivka Shpak Lissak, “When and How the Arabs and Muslims Immigrated to the Land of Israel-Period of British Rule, 1918-1948”). 1948: much of Israel’s territory came from former Ottoman, British Mandate public lands (JVL: ‘Israel Society & Culture: Israel Lands – Privatization or National Ownership?’), split between Jews & Arabs, w/ some Arab property abandoned during the war. Ex-Mufti ‘ordered the Arabs of Palestine to abandon their homes so as not to encumber the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon coming to attack’ the Jews (JPost, 12.20.20); ‘1948 Exodus Uncovered: Arab Media Reveals Leaders Advised Departure’ (JVL, 5.16.24). Arab rejection of a Jewish state was always about Arab racism. As explained by Nazi helper (1941 Iraq coup) Jamal Husseini in 1947, that it would interrupt “Arab race homogeneity” (SAPIR, 4.25.23). The same Islamist-Arab racism pushed almost a million Jews out of Arab lands (T.o.I., 11.30.25).
Most ‘Palestinian’ Arabs cheered for Hitler:
“Hitler whom the Arabs admire very much” — Emil Ghuri 7.7.34, in ‘Arab Federation’ (Palestine Post, 7.16.34); 1934: calls to boycott Jews, with swastikas (Detroit Jewish Chronicle, 3.23.34), Arab Nazi club founded (JTA, 6.3.34); “Red Moon” Arab-Nazi club in Haifa (JTA, 7.1.35); 1936-8: “Nazi flags and pictures of Hitler were prominently displayed in store windows. Booklets explaining Nazi methods of forcing Jews from the Reich were distributed freely… The shout of ‘Heil Hitler’ became a catchword which rang insolently over all Palestine,” (Ziff, 1938:417,430) – swastikas expressed “Arab feelings” (Lossin, 1983:221); German Consul in 1937: “Arabs admire our Führer” (Ynet, 5.6.06); 1937, “All Arabs Celebrate” Muhammad’s “Birthday.. in Fete Unprecedented in Palestine–Hitler and Duce Cheered” (NYT, 5.23.37); J. Gunther in 1939: “The greatest contemporary Arab hero is — Adolf Hitler” (Inside Asia, 6.29.39); March 16, 1940 – “Palestine’s Arabs admire Hitler for his Jew-baiting” (Pathfinder Magazine, vol. 47. Town Journal, 1940:40); B. Ziff in 1942: “Throughout the Arab world an unappeasable pro-Hitler rage has existed for years” (S. Joseph Gazette, 9.22.42); Aug-42 report by OSS: “majority of the Arabs in Palestine are fiercely ‘anti-Jewish’… the radicals, who form a majority, see in the approach of Rommel an ideal opportunity to murder all Jews and seize their property” (Herf, 2009:139); Feb/1941 Sari Sakakini poll: 88% pro-Axis (Morris, 2008:21); A. Shuqayri [Shukeiri] in a 1969 book, “our sympathies were with the Axis being led by Hitler”; De Gaulle: “Those Jewish youngsters were wonderful. They fought on our side, while the Arabs… supported the other side” (Cohen, Samy. 1974:30); PLO’s F. Kaddoumi (RT 12/7/13 interview): that they supported the Nazis for both were against Zionism; Jaffa Arab activist Muhammad Abu Sarari reacalls: “Most of the Arabs .. were in favor of Nazi Germany” (in bio. in Heb., 2000:19); Arab Pal. leader pre Six-Day war: “We Arabs supported Hitler to get the British out of Palestine & to keep the Jews from taking it over” (Sat. Review, 1970:32); [re Mand. Palestine] Canadian Inst. of Intl. Affairs: “in the darkest moments of 1940-41, a majority of the Arabs.. supported Hitler on account of his anti-Jewish policy..” (1948, vols. 8-10, pp.15-16).
1946: Jamal Husseini and A. Shukeiri justify the Holocaust (B’nai B’rith, 7.12.46). 1947–48: Arabs recruit ex-Nazis to fight Palestinian Jews (JTA, 2.22.48, 4.23.48; JCFA, 3.31.16, JPost, 5.23.24).
Arab admission on general Arab population: 1956: “in contrast to Europe, Hitler occupied an honoured place in the Arab world. His name awakened in Arab hearts feelings of love & enthusiasm.” (Al Manar, 8.17.56); Pan-Arab leader, PLO creator, A. Nasser on 5.1.64 to neo-Nazi magazine: “Our sympathies were with the Germans” [ridicules the Holocaust] (Wiener Library Bulletin, 1978:4; U.S. Congressional Record, 7.8.65); 6.26.74: Syria’s H. Assad says, the Arabs “remembered Hitler in a positive way”, K. Jumblatt agreed: “At least he saved us from the Zionists… National Socialism should be revered a bit.” (Lewis, 1999:162); on 10.9.19, Z. Hamzeh, Jordanian ex-minister: Arabs supported Hitler because he hated Jews (JPost, 11.12.19);
[Majority of the 9,000 Arabs joining the Allies — financed by Jews (Besa Center, 12.9.19) — economically motivated (JPost, 6.19.19), and most deserted (Ynet, 5.15.22). Citing their newspapers during the war years means nothing, as they were censored under the British (Kabaha, Caspi 2011:58–59), yet, up to WWII and immediately after, major newspapers such as ‘Falastin’, ‘a-Difaa’, and ‘Al Jamia al Islamia’, except for the smaller Mirat al-Shark, all praised Hitler and the Nazis (Davar, 5.24.33; Erlich, 2002:80-81), including glorifying hanged Nazis, elevating Nazism ideology (Palestine Post 10.31.45, 10.18.46). Racist G. Achcar, who is promoted on Wikipedia as a supposed “source,” expressed in 2009 wishing Israel “should lose” to genocidal Hamas, and on Oct. 8, 2023, dared to compare the genocidal-attempt “Palestinian” Oct. 7 attacks to the Warsaw Uprising. (Johnson, Fathom, June/2024)]
Nov. 1945: as the Arab world became aware of the Mufti’s Nazi record, Arab leadership’s and the masses’ enthusiasm only grew: “Haj Amin’s popularity among the Palestinian Arabs and within the Arab states actually increased more than ever during his period with the Nazis. When he returned to the Middle East from Europe, Arab leaders hurried to greet him, and the masses welcomed him enthusiastically.” (Elpeleg, 2012:180); “Husseini’s wartime actions contributed to his appeal in the postwar years” (Herf, 2009:241); “the waves of enthusiasm that shook the Arab world on his arrival in Egypt” (Gensicke, 2011:182); “pro-Nazi past was a source of pride, not shame” (Lewis, 1999:160); Edward Said: “the AHC; it functioned … particularly since 1946.. chaired by Palestine’s national leader, Hajj Amin al-Hussaini, represented the Palestinian Arab national consensus, had the backing of the Palestinian political parties that functioned in Palestine, and recognized in some form by Arab governments as the voice of the Palestinian people, until the P.L.O….” (in his book ‘A profile…’ 1983:7).
__
* The Mufi’s man, Issa Nakhleh, who, as correspondent for ‘Falastin’, in 1939, had justified the Arab propaganda office in Nazi Berlin, in the 1950s glorified Nazi Germany in his ‘America y Oriente’ as Arab Leagu’s attaché. And for decades: 1960s-1980s has worked with neo-Nazis.
* 1960-1980s “Palestinian” terrorists links with nro Nazis — well documented. (Tablet Mag., 6.17.19).
* Current Nazi admiration is well documented by PMW (palwatch.org).
The name ‘Hitler’; expressions by officials; by PA linked clerics, etc.
* Palestinian Authority’s Abbas’ long record of denying, trivializing and “explaining” the Holocaust – well known.
* ‘Swastika Palestine’, themes, Hitler glorification is wide spread in organized “protests”. Especially post Oct 7 atrocities.
* ‘Poll: 93% of Palestinians hold anti-Jewish beliefs’. (T.o.I., 5.13.14)
* ‘Polls: It’s not just Hamas – it’s all Palestinians. 98% said Oct. 7 events “made them proud”.’ (Palwatch, 10.7.24).
From Just sayin’
Neo-Nazi Links with Arab Palestinian OrganizationNeo-Nazi Links with Arab Palestinian Extremist Organizations François Genoud: Financier Linking Nazi and Palestinian Militant Networks François Genoud (1915–1996) was a Swiss Nazi sympathizer, financier, and political activist who served as an important intermediary between former Nazis, European far-right networks, and Palestinian militant organizations during the Cold War. Rather than acting as a militant himself, Genoud used financial, legal, and political connections to support causes he viewed as aligned with his anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli worldview (Aarons & Loftus, 1991; Lee, 1998). Early Connections to Arab Nationalist and Pro-Nazi Networks Genoud’s involvement with Arab nationalist causes predated the emergence of modern Palestinian militant organizations. During and after the Second World War, he maintained ties to supporters of Amin al-Husseini, the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who collaborated with Nazi Germany and maintained relationships with senior Nazi leaders, including Adolf Hitler. Historians have described Genoud as an admirer of al-Husseini and as part of postwar networks that connected former Nazis, Arab nationalists, and anti-Zionist activists (Herf, 2009; Küntzel, 2015). Support for Arab Palestinian Organizations Genoud maintained close relationships with Palestinian nationalist and militant groups, including factions within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). He reportedly assisted with fundraising, legal defense efforts, and financial transactions benefiting Palestinian militants during the 1960s–1980s (Aarons & Loftus, 1991; Lee, 1998). He developed a close association with Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (“Carlos the Jackal”), financing aspects of his legal defense following his arrest and maintaining personal ties with networks connected to Palestinian militant organizations (Lee, 1998). Genoud also maintained relationships with senior Palestinian figures, including George Habash, founder of the PFLP, and Ali Hassan Salameh, a founder of Black September. Near the end of his life, Genoud acknowledged to journalist Pierre Péan that he had personally delivered ransom communications during the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 649, reinforcing longstanding allegations regarding his logistical support for Palestinian militant operations (Péan, 1994; Izzo, 2019). Connections to Nazi Networks A lifelong admirer of National Socialism, Genoud acquired literary rights associated with Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Martin Bormann, using portions of the resulting income to support far-right causes and legal defenses for former Nazis (Aarons & Loftus, 1991). Researchers have also linked Genoud to postwar support networks that assisted Nazi fugitives and funded legal defenses for figures such as Adolf Eichmann and Klaus Barbie (Aarons & Loftus, 1991; Lee, 1998). The “Euro-Arab” Connection According to historians, Genoud viewed Palestinian nationalism as a continuation of the struggle against Israel and Zionism that had previously animated Nazi ideology. Through financial and political networking, he helped facilitate contacts between European far-right activists and Palestinian militant organizations, contributing to what some scholars describe as a pragmatic extremist alliance (Lee, 1998; Küntzel, 2015). Ideological and Personnel Links Between Palestinian Militants and Former Nazis Historians have noted that cooperation between some Palestinian militant organizations and European neo-Nazis extended beyond financing and logistics into ideological and personnel relationships. Elements within Fatah and the PLO cultivated relationships with former Nazis and far-right activists during the Cold War period (Wistrich, 2010). Mein Kampf circulated as recommended reading in some Fatah training camps, and several former Nazis were recruited as advisers, trainers, or operatives. Among those identified were Erich Altern, a former official connected to the Gestapo’s Jewish Affairs section, and Willy Berner, a former SS officer who served at the Mauthausen concentration camp (Wistrich, 2010). Otto Albrecht (German neo-Nazi activist) Karl van der Put (Belgian far-right figure) Jean Tireault, secretary of the fascist publication La Nation Européenne These relationships have been cited by historians as evidence that portions of the European far right and Palestinian militant movements were willing to cooperate despite substantial ideological differences, particularly when united by hostility toward Israel and Zionism (Wistrich, 2010; Herf, 2009).
References.
Aarons, M., & Loftus, J. (1991). Unholy Trinity: The Vatican, the Nazis, and the Swiss Banks. St. Martin’s Press.
[Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Wehrsportgruppe Hoffmann)](bpb.de)
Herf, J. (2009). Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World. Yale University Press.
Izzo, S. (2019, June 18). Karl-Heinz Hoffmann’s Secret History Links Neo-Nazis With Palestinian Terror. Tablet Magazine.
Küntzel, M. (2015). Nazis, Islamic Antisemitism and the Middle East: The 1948 Arab War Against Israel and the Aftershocks of World War II. Routledge.
Lee, M. A. (1998). The Beast Reawakens. Little, Brown and Company.
Latsch, G., & Wiegrefe, K. (2012a, June 17). Files Show Neo-Nazis Helped Palestinian Terrorists in Munich 1972 Massacre. Der Spiegel.
Latsch, G., & Wiegrefe, K. (2012b, June 17). München 1972: Deutsche Neonazis halfen Olympia-Attentätern. Der Spiegel.
Péan, P. (1994). Une jeunesse française: François Mitterrand, 1934–1947. Fayard.
Wistrich, R. S. (2010). A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad. Random House. (Chapter 21, “The Liberation of Palestine”).s François Genoud: Financier Linking Nazi and Palestinian Militant Networks François Genoud (1915–1996) was a Swiss Nazi sympathizer, financier, and political activist who served as an important intermediary between former Nazis, European far-right networks, and Palestinian militant organizations during the Cold War. Rather than acting as a militant himself, Genoud used financial, legal, and political connections to support causes he viewed as aligned with his anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli worldview (Aarons & Loftus, 1991; Lee, 1998). Early Connections to Arab Nationalist and Pro-Nazi Networks Genoud’s involvement with Arab nationalist causes predated the emergence of modern Palestinian militant organizations. During and after the Second World War, he maintained ties to supporters of Amin al-Husseini, the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who collaborated with Nazi Germany and maintained relationships with senior Nazi leaders, including Adolf Hitler. Historians have described Genoud as an admirer of al-Husseini and as part of postwar networks that connected former Nazis, Arab nationalists, and anti-Zionist activists (Herf, 2009; Küntzel, 2015). Support for Arab Palestinian Organizations Genoud maintained close relationships with Palestinian nationalist and militant groups, including factions within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). He reportedly assisted with fundraising, legal defense efforts, and financial transactions benefiting Palestinian militants during the 1960s–1980s (Aarons & Loftus, 1991; Lee, 1998). He developed a close association with Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (“Carlos the Jackal”), financing aspects of his legal defense following his arrest and maintaining personal ties with networks connected to Palestinian militant organizations (Lee, 1998). Genoud also maintained relationships with senior Palestinian figures, including George Habash, founder of the PFLP, and Ali Hassan Salameh, a founder of Black September. Near the end of his life, Genoud acknowledged to journalist Pierre Péan that he had personally delivered ransom communications during the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 649, reinforcing longstanding allegations regarding his logistical support for Palestinian militant operations (Péan, 1994; Izzo, 2019). Connections to Nazi Networks A lifelong admirer of National Socialism, Genoud acquired literary rights associated with Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Martin Bormann, using portions of the resulting income to support far-right causes and legal defenses for former Nazis (Aarons & Loftus, 1991). Researchers have also linked Genoud to postwar support networks that assisted Nazi fugitives and funded legal defenses for figures such as Adolf Eichmann and Klaus Barbie (Aarons & Loftus, 1991; Lee, 1998). The “Euro-Arab” Connection According to historians, Genoud viewed Palestinian nationalism as a continuation of the struggle against Israel and Zionism that had previously animated Nazi ideology. Through financial and political networking, he helped facilitate contacts between European far-right activists and Palestinian militant organizations, contributing to what some scholars describe as a pragmatic extremist alliance (Lee, 1998; Küntzel, 2015). Ideological and Personnel Links Between Palestinian Militants and Former Nazis Historians have noted that cooperation between some Palestinian militant organizations and European neo-Nazis extended beyond financing and logistics into ideological and personnel relationships. Elements within Fatah and the PLO cultivated relationships with former Nazis and far-right activists during the Cold War period (Wistrich, 2010). Mein Kampf circulated as recommended reading in some Fatah training camps, and several former Nazis were recruited as advisers, trainers, or operatives. Among those identified were Erich Altern, a former official connected to the Gestapo’s Jewish Affairs section, and Willy Berner, a former SS officer who served at the Mauthausen concentration camp (Wistrich, 2010). Otto Albrecht (German neo-Nazi activist) Karl van der Put (Belgian far-right figure) Jean Tireault, secretary of the fascist publication La Nation Européenne These relationships have been cited by historians as evidence that portions of the European far right and Palestinian militant movements were willing to cooperate despite substantial ideological differences, particularly when united by hostility toward Israel and Zionism (Wistrich, 2010; Herf, 2009).
References.
Aarons, M., & Loftus, J. (1991). Unholy Trinity: The Vatican, the Nazis, and the Swiss Banks. St. Martin’s Press.
[Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Wehrsportgruppe Hoffmann)](bpb.de)
Herf, J. (2009). Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World. Yale University Press.
Izzo, S. (2019, June 18). Karl-Heinz Hoffmann’s Secret History Links Neo-Nazis With Palestinian Terror. Tablet Magazine.
Küntzel, M. (2015). Nazis, Islamic Antisemitism and the Middle East: The 1948 Arab War Against Israel and the Aftershocks of World War II. Routledge.
Lee, M. A. (1998). The Beast Reawakens. Little, Brown and Company.
Latsch, G., & Wiegrefe, K. (2012a, June 17). Files Show Neo-Nazis Helped Palestinian Terrorists in Munich 1972 Massacre. Der Spiegel.
Latsch, G., & Wiegrefe, K. (2012b, June 17). München 1972: Deutsche Neonazis halfen Olympia-Attentätern. Der Spiegel.
Péan, P. (1994). Une jeunesse française: François Mitterrand, 1934–1947. Fayard.
Wistrich, R. S. (2010). A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad. Random House. (Chapter 21, “The Liberation of Palestine”).
Arab-Palestinian Neo Nazi links – Part II
Ahmad Shukeiri, the Palestine Arab Delegation (PAD), and Issa Nakhleh
Ahmad Shukeiri and the Early PAD
The Palestine Arab Delegation (PAD) was initially managed by Ahmad Shukeiri (Shukairy).
Several sources cited by critics associate Shukeiri with wartime and postwar propaganda activities. These include references describing him as a supporter of Nazi propaganda and as a figure who, together with Jamal Husseini, sought to justify aspects of the Holocaust aftermath:
Farbstein, L. (1965, February 26). Remarks in the Congressional Record. Congressional Record, Vol. XX, p. 455.
https://books.google.com/books?id=3Yah_o9r5V4C&pg=SL1-PA455
“Behind the British Conspiracy,” B’nai B’rith Messenger, July 12, 1946.
https://www.nli.org.il/en/newspapers/bbh/1946/07/12/01/article/47
Praise for the Tacuara Movement
On October 30, 1962, Ahmad Shukeiri, then serving as Saudi Arabia’s representative to the United Nations, became the subject of controversy after publicly praising and saluting the Tacuara Nationalist Movement, an Argentine nationalist organization frequently described as antisemitic and neo-Nazi.
“Recall of Arab Delegate from U.N. is Sought; ‘Saluted’ Tacuara,” December 3, 1962.
https://www.jta.org/archive/recall-of-arab-delegate-from-u-n-is-sought-saluted-tacuara
Kathleen Teltsch, “Israeli Accuses Arabs of Nazism; U.N. Envoy Sees Link to Modern Fascist Groups,”
New York Times, December 7, 1962.
https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/07/archives/israeli-accuses-arabs-of-nazism-un-envoy-sees-link-to-modern.html
Israel in the Third World, Michael Curtis and Susan Aurelia Gitelson, pp. 157–158.
https://books.google.com/books?id=vLZHUlI6GmoC&pg=PA157
Israeli-Latin American Relations, Edy Kaufman, Yoram Shapira and Joel Barromi, p. 87.
https://books.google.com/books?id=X40T9b0SwUEC&pg=PA87
Issa Nakhleh and the PAD
By approximately 1963, the PAD was managed by Issa Nakhleh and Omar Azzouni.
Facts, Vol. 17, Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith (1966),
“The Palestine Arab Delegation (PAD).”
https://books.google.com/books?id=4zxDAQAAIAAJ&q=%22%20pad%20nakhleh
Association with the Arab Higher Committee
Issa Nakhleh served as a representative and adviser connected to the Arab Higher Committee for Palestine.
Sabath, A. J. (1947, June 9). Congressional Record, 93, 2819–2821.
J. H. Richards, “The Mufti’s Henchmen,” Nation, Vol. 164 (1947), p. 561.
https://books.google.com/books?id=2qvzeqji9kEC&q=that+the+Mufti+not+only+was+an+Axis+agent+throughout+the+war+but+was+himself+largely+responsible+for+the+Nazi+policy+of
Congressional Record reference.
https://books.google.com/books?id=U3G7YfwJ0zcC&pg=SL1-PA2820
Activities in Britain (1930s)
As London correspondent for Falastin, Nakhleh defended the Arab propaganda center in Nazi Germany.
The Palestine Post, January 14, 1938, p. 2.
The Palestine Post, July 13, 1939, p. 6.
Activities in Argentina (1950s)
Nakhleh served as a representative of the Arab League in Argentina and edited America y Oriente.
A 1958 report described the publication as a vehicle for Arab nationalist propaganda and alleged anti-Jewish agitation, noting circulation among nationalist and Nazi-oriented circles in Argentina.
Anti-Jewish Activities of the Arabs in Argentina (1958), Chapter V,
“The Arab League in Argentina.”
PDF
Israel in the Third World, pp. 157–158.
https://books.google.com/books?id=vLZHUlI6GmoC&pg=PA157
“Attitudes Towards Jews in Argentina” (1975).
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4466890
“Remapping the Cold War: Argentine-Arab World Transnationalism, 1946–1973.”
PDF
Directed the PAD (1961+) and soon passed on Mufti’s “explaining” Nazis’ hatred
‘October 1961: The Palestine Arab Delegation sent to all U.N. delegations a formal statement of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem declaring:
“The enmity of Nazis to Jews…”‘
“Nasser’s Anti-Jewish Propaganda.” Publication Date: July 8, 1965, CIA.
https://web.archive.org/web/20210809191150/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp67b00446r000400170011-8
Sirhan Sirhan and the PAD (1968)
Following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, reports stated that the Arab Higher Committee instructed its New York representatives to provide legal assistance to Sirhan Sirhan. The PAD representatives identified in the report were Issa Nakhleh and Omar Azzouni.
“Justice Department Keeps Watch on Arab Students Group As Sirhan Probe Continues,”
June 24, 1968.
https://www.jta.org/1968/06/24/archive/justice-department-keeps-watch-on-arab-students-group-as-sirhan-probe-continues
Holocaust Denial and Neo-Nazi Cooperation
Multiple sources show Nakhleh’s Holocaust denial and document his participation in conferences and publications associated with Holocaust denial organizations, including the Institute for Historical Review (IHR).
Patterns of Prejudice (1970), “Anti-Zionists and Antisemites.”
https://doi.org/10.1080/0031322X.1970.9968931
The American Spectator (1986).
https://books.google.com/books?id=hPUSAQAAMAAJ&q=nakhleh+hitler
Gill Seidel, The Holocaust Denial: Antisemitism, Racism and the New Right (1986).
https://books.google.com/books?id=VMksAQAAIAAJ&q=nakhleh
Kenneth S. Stern, Holocaust Denial (1993), pp. 170–171.
PDF
David Dalin, Icon of Evil (2017).
https://books.google.com/books?id=sSEuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT224
Nizkor archive entry.
http://www.nizkor.com/ftp.cgi?orgs/american/ihr//nakhleh
Writings on Nazism, Zionism, and the Holocaust
Several cited sources discuss Nakhleh’s writings that advanced conspiracy theories concerning World War II and against accounts of the Holocaust.
Meir Litvak and Esther Webman,
“Perceptions of the Holocaust in Palestinian Public Discourse,”
Israel Studies (2003), p. 127.
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/53826
Eric Rozenman, “One Land, Two People, and Dozens of Errors” (2004).
https://www.camera.org/article/one-land-two-people-and-dozens-of-errors/
National Lampoon reference quoting Nakhleh’s statements regarding Holocaust victim numbers.
https://books.google.com/books?id=wk0oAQAAMAAJ&q=issa+nakhleh+hitler
Dr Nissan
I very much enjoyed reading your clear reasoned and very convining analysis of the state of affairs in the Middle East. I hope that the “powers that be” also read it and are influenced by your conclusions (I hope but doubt that it will happen!)