Paving the way for a possible attack on Turkey and for an invasion through Turkey into Syria and Palestine, both Germany and Italy today loosed a barrage of anti-Jewish propaganda in Arabic from their broadcasting stations in Zeesen, Athens and Bari.
The Axis broadcasts were all directed to the Arabs in Syria and Palestine. They alleged that England intends to incorporate Syria in a Jewish State and to provide preferential treatment for Jewish traders both in Syria and in Palestine. The Athens station went so far as to revive the Damascus blood libel of 1840 in order “to prove the criminal tendencies of the Jews and their love for bloodshed.”
Announcing that today’s broadcast “is the first of a series on Jewish criminal activities,” the Athens radio station went into great details concerning the notorious Damascus Affair and stated that some of the Arab leaders in Palestine who support England in the present war are descendants of the Jewish families who were involved in the Damascus case. It warned the Arabs in Palestine and Syria not to permit themselves to be influenced by these “Moslem converts who aim to enslave the Arab people.”
The belief was expressed here today that the new note of anti-Jewish incitement in the Axis broadcasts to the Arabs is a result of a wide propaganda program for the Arab world now prepared by the Jerusalem ex-Mufti in Berlin. Further intensification of anti-Jewish talks to the Arabs from German and Italian radio stations is expected. It is thought that some of these talks may be delivered by the ex-Mufti himself, it was said here today. The Germans believe, it was asserted, that the voice of the ex-Mufti over the radio will greatly impress the Arabs in Palestine, Syria and Transjordan where listening to Axis broadcasts is not prohibited.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
