“European media have latched on and won’t let go — headlines and analyses everywhere. It’s completely wild. Bibi [Netanyahu] has caused us grave damage,” a former Israeli ambassador to a major European capital said in despair, speaking on condition of anonymity on Oct. 22.

The former envoy, who monitors European media on a daily basis, sounded horrified. He described at length the pointed discussions being conducted abroad since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, was the one who planted the seed for Hitler’s Final Solution idea. This claim, which has been discredited by many historians, set off a huge storm, as expected. In Europe, and especially in Germany where Netanyahu landed Wednesday, Oct. 21, for an official visit, the discussions dealt with the essence of his comment and its significance. On the other hand, Israeli media, and especially the social networks, reported what he said and then immediately went on to the wholesale production of jokes at the prime minister’s expense.

Even before the Hitler and Mufti affair, Netanyahu was caught more than once in embarrassing historical gaffes. That is why the current one, which, if taken seriously, is dramatic by any means, did not surprise the Israeli public. They are familiar with Netanyahu’s “shticks” and tricks and exaggerations and falsehoods; this or that kind of comment does not really damage his credibility, because this, in any case, is not his strong suit. And so, after a full 24 hours laden with outraged historians and sarcastic comments by political opponents (Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog: “Even the son of a historian [reference to historian Benzion Netanyahu, the premier's father] should get his historical facts straight”), social media and websites were flooded with jokes and cute caricatures about the prime minister, who once again rewrote a historic event. The parodies about Netanyahu provided comic relief, a type of collective catharsis, for the tremendous tensions generated by the current wave of terror attacks.

A major Israeli news website, Walla, which is not considered hostile to the prime minister, provided one of the sharpest and most entertaining texts, headlined: “Not just the Holocaust: 28 additional historic events for which Haj Amin Al-Husseini is responsible.” For example: “Kurt Cobain planned to start work on a new album but Haj Amin Al-Husseini convinced him to commit suicide.”