The Influence Of National Socialist Ideology On The Worldview Of Hamas (pt. 2)-David Patterson

In his presentation at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), Professor Patterson discusses how the Nazi ideology of national socialism has influenced Islamic Jihadism, particularly Hamas. Even before World War II and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, Nazi ideology was spreading to the Middle East. Major modern Jihadist ideologues are admirers of national socialism and the Nazis - swastikas and pictures of Hitler were seen throughout the Middle East, even in Jerusalem.

Professor Patterson explains how the primary influence of of Nazi ideology was a shift in thinking about the Jew and the nature of Jew hatred. He illustrates how Nazi hatred of the Jews is very different due to its very different notion of race. For the Nazis, race is not just based on colour, it is based on essence, soul and thought. This situates the Jews in a metaphysical category - a spiritual contagion. The Jews had to be exterminated because every Jew is a carrier of the disease, placing them in a category that is unredeemable (Jews cannot be saved/rehabilitated/converted). Therefore it is not about scapegoating, poverty, xenophobia, or the Treaty of Versailles, it is the innate nature of the Jew.