Egyptian Aide Slams Holocaust as Hoax

“The myth of the Holocaust is an industry that America invented,” said Fathi Shihab-Eddim, a senior figure close to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi responsible for appointing the editors of all state-run newspapers.

“U.S. intelligence agencies in cooperation with their counterparts in allied nations during World War II created [the Holocaust] to destroy the image of their opponents in Germany, and to justify war and massive destruction against military and civilian facilities of the Axis powers, and especially to hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the atomic bomb,” Shihab-Eddim said.

His remarks came Sunday as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Shihab-Eddim also added that he believes the 6 million Jews said killed in the Holocaust were not murdered by the Nazis at all, but were actually moved to the U.S. in an operation carried out by American intelligence. He said that all of the reports about the numbers of Jews killed are lies intended to damage Germany’s image during World War II and to allow the U.S. to split Germany with the former Soviet Union.

Efraim Zuroff, Israel director of the Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, whose mission is to defend against anti-Semitism and teach the lessons of the Holocaust to future generations, told FoxNews.com the remarks show a dangerous, but common, mindset.

“Obviously, if a person in that position makes that ridiculous claim it is of concern,” Zuroff said. “The sad truth is that these views are relatively common in the Arab world and are the result of ignorance on one hand and of government-sponsored Holocaust denial on the other hand.”

Zuroff told FoxNews.com that the sinister statements by a top Morsi aide should give other nations pause for thought in evaluating their relationships with the new government in Cairo.

“Government-sponsored Holocaust denial is the most dangerous … as opposed to attempts by individuals to convince people that the Holocaust did not take place,” Zuroff told Fox. “When it comes with a strict Islamic interpretation and one which is basically anti-Semitic, then it becomes much more dangerous.”