Eichmann’s glass booth installed in Knesset exhibit
Parliament opens new exhibit commemorating 50 years since Adolf Eichmann’s trial.
By LAHAV HARKOV
The Knesset opened a new exhibit commemorating 50 years since Adolf Eichmann’s trial on Monday, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu highlighting Eichmann’s connection to the Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin el Husseini.The exhibit features the bulletproof glass booth in which Eichmann, one of the major organizers of the Holocaust, sat during his trial, as well as other items involved in his capture from Argentina, including the keys to Eichmann’s famous house on Garibaldi Street and gloves worn by the Mossad agents who captured him.The items will be on display in the Knesset’s entrance hall for three weeks, before they are moved to the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv.Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and Minister-without- Portfolio Yossi Peled participated in the dedication.Former minister Rafi Eitan was also present, as he was instrumental in capturing Eichmann, one of the major organizers of the Holocaust.Speaking at the exhibit’s dedication, and later in a Likud faction meeting, Netanyahu said that he had not known previously that Eichmann traveled to Israel, then mandatory Palestine, in 1937, and together with Husseini convinced Hitler not to allow Jews to leave Europe for Palestine.“If I had to pick two people who were most instrumental in pushing the Final Solution, after seeing this exhibit, I would say it was the Mufti and Eichmann,” Netanyahu said.“Eichmann and the Mufti demanded that Jews not be brought to Palestine, but that they burn in Europe.“We came here anyway, and did justice. Whoever murders millions will pay the price – the State of Israel has a long arm. There will always be new challenges, but the lessons learned in the Eichmann trial will be remembered forever,” he added.Netanyahu ended his speech by saying “Am Yisrael Chai” – the nation of Israel lives on.Peled, who was born in Belgium and adopted by a Christian family during the Holocaust, thanked Netanyahu for asking him to organize the exhibit, calling the Eichmann trial “an event that changed the face of the State of Israel.”
Rivlin said that the exhibit symbolizes the moral imperative to remember the Holocaust and defend the Jewish people.“This sends a message to the world, that those who threaten our existence and want to bring about our destruction will have a bitter end,” he stated.