Israeli scholars have blasted Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan congresswoman and Democrat, for her comments that her Palestinian ancestors provided a “safe haven” for Jews during the Holocaust.

"Rashida Tlaib is either completely ignorant of the history or is a deliberate liar," professor Benny Morris, a leading scholar of British Mandatory Palestine and the formation of the country of Israel, told Haaretz.

He added that Palestinians "did nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Jews at Nazi hands. Rather the opposite: The Arabs of [British Mandatory] Palestine, during the whole period — and supported by the neighboring Arab states — did all they could to prevent Jews trying to escape Nazi hands from reaching the (relatively safe) shores of Palestine."

Morris noted that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini "called for the massacre of Jews in the Arab world on Nazi radio stations — an anti-Jewish 'jihad' — and helped the Nazis recruit Muslims from the Balkans for the SS and Wehrmacht."

The transcripts of the meeting between Husseini and Adolf Hitler on Nov. 28, 1941 show that Husseini told Hitler: "The Arabs were Germany’s natural friends because they had the same enemies as had Germany, namely the English, the Jews and the Communists. Therefore they were prepared to cooperate with Germany with all their hearts and stood ready to participate in the war, not only negatively by the commission of acts of sabotage and the instigation of revolutions, but also positively by the formation of an Arab Legion."

Husseini also told Hitler that he was "admired by the entire Arab world" for his help with the "Palestinian cause."

Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, claimed in an interview published Saturday that her ancestors provided a “safe haven” for Jews during the Holocaust.

"There’s always kind of a calming feeling I tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some people's passports," Tlaib said on the Yahoo News’ podcast “Skullduggery.”

"And just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy, and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time. And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away, and it was forced on them,” Tlaib added.

[ Related: House Democrats rally behind embattled Tlaib]

Adel Manna, a Palestinian historian with Israeli citizenship, agreed with Morris that Palestinians provided no “safe haven” for Jews during the Holocaust, calling Tlaib’s comments “not true.”

“I don’t know what she meant,” Manna, a senior research fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, added. “It was natural that when the Palestinians thought that the danger to their existence was real, they started to resist the Zionist project,” Manna said.

Manna also pointed out Husseini supporting the Nazi government and said Tlaib's words were "unfortunate."

Tom Segev, an Israeli historian, said: "I really want to give her the benefit of the doubt that she really meant it, but to me — and maybe I’m cynical — it sounded like an attempt to be ironic or sarcastic."

The remarks from Tlaib drew rebukes from Republican leaders, but she hit back by blaming critics for taking her comments out of context.

“Policing my words, twisting & turning them to ignite vile attacks on me will not work. All of you who are trying to silence me will fail miserably. I will never allow you to take my words out of context to push your racist and hateful agenda. The truth will always win,” Tlaib said Monday on Twitter.

