Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, April 28, 2025

A brief list of Arab and Muslim attacks on Jews between Mohammed and the 20th century

Every once in a while I stumble upon an article in Arabic like this one by Dr. Salem Katbi in Elaph:

Can antisemitism be considered a primarily European phenomenon that spread to the Arab and Islamic world through systematic mechanisms? Was historical coexistence between Jews and Arabs the norm before anti-Semitic ideas infiltrated Europe? A fundamental question arises here: What are the false narratives that have contributed to fueling hatred against the Jewish component in our region?

When we examine the historical landscape in depth, we find that antisemitism, in its organized and systematic sense, is indeed a European phenomenon that originated and developed on the Old Continent over centuries, before infiltrating the Arab and Islamic world during the twentieth century.

Perhaps what confirms this fact is that the relationship between Jews and Arab and Islamic societies was characterized by relative coexistence for long periods, and that organized hatred against Jews was not an integral part of our cultural and social fabric.

This is a myth that Arabs and Muslims like to tell themselves and the world. It is not true.

I have documented how the very word "Jew" was considered the worst insult any Arab could hurl at another pre-20th century.

But there were also quite a few major physical attacks on Jews as Jews in the Arab and Muslim worlds throughout the centuries. (This list was generated by AI.)

7th Century: Jizya and Dhimmi Status Imposed

Description: Following the Muslim conquests, Jews in newly conquered territories (e.g., Egypt, Syria, Iraq) were designated as dhimmis (“protected” non-Muslims) under the Pact of Umar. They were required to pay the jizya tax, often in humiliating public ceremonies, and faced restrictions on building synagogues, bearing arms, or holding public office. In some cases, Jews were forced to wear distinguishing badges or clothing (e.g., yellow badges in 9th-century Baghdad under Caliph al-Mutawakkil).
Context: Dhimmi status offered relative security compared to Christian Europe’s pogroms, but it institutionalized inferiority. Non-compliance could lead to persecution or violence. The yellow badge precedent in Baghdad was later echoed in medieval Europe and Nazi Germany.
Location: Across the Arab world (e.g., Iraq, Egypt, Syria).

8th Century: Massacres in Morocco

Description: Under Muslim ruler Idris I, entire Jewish communities in Morocco were wiped out, particularly in the early 8th century. Specific details are sparse, but these acts were part of consolidating power in newly conquered territories.
Context: These massacres reflect the volatility of Jewish life under early Islamic rule, where local rulers’ policies could shift from tolerance to violence based on political needs.
Location: Morocco.

1014, 1293–4, 1301–2: Decrees to Destroy Synagogues

Description: Rulers in Egypt and Syria issued decrees ordering the destruction of synagogues, violating the dhimmi protections outlined in Islamic law. These acts were often justified by claims that Jews had built new synagogues, which was forbidden under certain interpretations of Islamic law.
Context: Such decrees were sporadic but disrupted Jewish communal life and signaled the precariousness of their status.
Location: Egypt, Syria.

1033: Fez Massacre (Morocco)

Description: A Muslim mob attacked the Jewish quarter in Fez, killing an estimated 6,000 Jews. The violence was sparked by tensions over Jewish influence or perceived violations of dhimmi restrictions.
Context: This massacre is one of the earliest large-scale pogroms in the Arab world, contradicting claims of uninterrupted coexistence. It highlights how economic or political tensions could escalate into violence.
Location: Fez, Morocco.

1066: Granada Massacre (Spain under Muslim Rule)

Description: On December 30, 1066, an Arab mob in Granada crucified Joseph HaNagid, a Jewish vizier, and massacred the Jewish quarter, killing approximately 5,000 Jews. The attack was fueled by resentment over HaNagid’s high position and perceived Jewish influence.
Context: While Muslim-ruled Spain (Al-Andalus) is often cited as a “Golden Age” for Jews, this event underscores that tolerance was conditional and could give way to violent backlash when Jews were seen as too prominent.
Location: Granada, Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

12th Century: Forced Conversions in North Africa

Description: Under the Almohad dynasty (1146–1232), Jewish communities in North Africa (e.g., Morocco, Tunisia) faced forced conversions or extermination. Many Jews were killed, and others fled or outwardly converted while secretly practicing Judaism.
Context: The Almohads’ strict interpretation of Islamic law rejected the dhimmi system, leading to severe persecution. This period marked a significant decline in Jewish populations in the region.
Location: Morocco, Tunisia.

1165, 1678: Forced Conversions in Yemen

Description: Jewish communities in Yemen were coerced into converting to Islam or faced death. These policies were enforced by local rulers, disrupting centuries-old Jewish settlements.
Context: Yemen’s Jewish community faced periodic persecution, with forced conversions reflecting the use of religious policy to assert dominance.
Location: Yemen.

1232: Marrakech Massacre (Morocco)

Description: A massacre of Jews in Marrakech resulted in significant loss of life, driven by local tensions or political instability. Exact casualty figures are uncertain but indicate a major disruption to the Jewish community.
Context: This event is part of a pattern of periodic violence in Morocco, where Jewish communities were vulnerable to mob attacks.
Location: Marrakech, Morocco.

1290: Massacre of Jews in Baghdad

Description: The Jewish community in Baghdad was massacred, with significant loss of life. The violence was likely tied to political or economic grievances, though specific triggers are debated.
Context: Baghdad, once a center of Jewish intellectual life, saw increasing instability for Jews as Mongol invasions and local power struggles disrupted earlier coexistence.
Location: Baghdad, Iraq.

1301: Forced Conversions in Egypt

Description: Egyptian Jews faced forced conversions under Mamluk rule, with some communities compelled to abandon Judaism or face death.
Context: Mamluk policies oscillated between tolerance and repression, with forced conversions reflecting religious zeal or political expediency.
Location: Egypt.

1333, 1344: Forced Conversions in Baghdad

Description: Jews in Baghdad were again subjected to forced conversions, with decrees requiring them to adopt Islam or face severe consequences.
Context: These incidents reflect the intermittent enforcement of strict religious policies, often tied to local rulers’ need to assert authority.
Location: Baghdad, Iraq.

1679: Mawza Exile (Yemen)

Description: The Jewish community in Yemen was expelled to the desolate Mawza region, leading to significant hardship and loss of life. Many died due to harsh conditions before being allowed to return.
Context: This exile was ordered by the Zaydi imam, reflecting religious and political motivations to marginalize Jews.
Location: Yemen.

1785: Tripolitania Pogrom (Libya)

Description: Ali Burzi Pasha massacred hundreds of Jews in Tripoli, targeting the Jewish community amid political instability or economic grievances.
Context: This pogrom highlights the vulnerability of Libyan Jews to arbitrary violence by local rulers.
Location: Tripoli, Libya.

1805, 1815, 1830: Massacres in Algiers

Description: Jewish communities in Algiers faced repeated massacres, with significant loss of life and property. These attacks were often tied to local power struggles or economic tensions.
Context: Algeria’s Jewish population endured frequent violence, reflecting the instability of Ottoman rule and local anti-Jewish sentiment.
Location: Algiers, Algeria.

1850: Damascus Affair (Syria)

Description: In Damascus, Jews were falsely accused of ritual murder (blood libel) after a Christian monk disappeared. Several Jewish leaders were arrested, tortured, and killed, and the Jewish quarter was attacked. The incident gained international attention, with European Jewish advocates securing the release of survivors.
Context: The blood libel, a European antisemitic trope, was imported into the Arab world, possibly via Christian minorities or European influence. The affair fueled anti-Jewish sentiment and popularized blood libel in Arab literature.
Location: Damascus, Syria.

1864–1880: Marrakech Massacres (Morocco)

Description: Over 300 Jews were murdered in Marrakech in a series of attacks, driven by local tensions, economic resentment, or accusations of apostasy.
Context: Morocco’s Jewish community faced increasing violence in the 19th century, with ghettos and discriminatory practices exacerbating their vulnerability.
Location: Marrakech, Morocco.

1870: Istanbul Pogrom (Ottoman Empire)

Description: A pogrom in Istanbul targeted the Jewish community, resulting in deaths and destruction of property. The violence was sparked by local grievances or religious tensions.
Context: While the Ottoman Empire often provided relative stability for Jews, localized violence occurred, particularly in periods of political or economic strain.
Location: Istanbul (modern Turkey).

Better than Europe? Perhaps. But co-existence? That's a hard no.

Buy EoZ's books on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

Once again, @PeterBeinart in the @NYTimes supports those who violate Jewish rights on campus

Peter Beinart writes in the New York Times with an article originally titled "You Want to Protect Jewish Students? What About Jewish Student Protesters? and later "Trump Doesn’t Want to Protect All Jewish Students — Just Those on His Team."

You can already see where this is going:

On April 29, 2024, Tess Segal, a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Florida, joined her fellow activists at a prominent plaza on campus calling on the university to divest from weapons manufacturers and boycott academic institutions in Israel. Some protesters studied or played cards. Later they read obituaries of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip.

Then law enforcement moved in. And although Ms. Segal says she did not resist arrest, she was handcuffed and taken to jail, where she was held overnight.

....In an era in which students without U.S. citizenship are snatched off the street by federal agents, Ms. Segal’s punishment may seem comparatively mild. But her case contains a special irony. Ms. Segal is Jewish.

I didn't spend any time researching this specific case, but it is obvious from Beinart's description that Tess Segal was not arrested or discriminated against because of her Jewishness or her support for the Jewish state. On the contrary, she was part of a campus mob protesting against Jewish rights and to make an exception for academic freedom for Jewish Zionist students who may want to study in Israel or collaborate with their Israeli counterparts.

Beinart can argue all he wants for free speech rights for anti-Zionists, but pretending that Jews are being targeted on campus for anti-Zionist speech and require special protection as Jewish Zionist students do is peak Beinart-style deception.

His deceit extends to other examples in the article:

Since Oct. 7, at least four universities have temporarily suspended or placed on probation their chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace.

He doesn't mention that it was because they violated campus policies. Should Jewish students be allowed to violate policies because they are Jewish? Only if they agree with Beinart's anti-Zionist politics, it seems.

At a pro-Israel event at Rockland Community College at the State University of New York on Oct. 12, 2023, a Jewish student who briefly shouted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Jews for Palestine” was reportedly suspended for the rest of the academic year.

This was an indoor event, a "Unity Gathering in Support of Israel," held while the kibbutzim were still smoldering. Most colleges recognize that disrupting an event is not free speech - it is a violation of the free speech rights of the organizers of the event. In fact, many of the college suspensions of anti-Israel protesters are for that exact reason - there is no inherent right to disrupt normal activities on campus.

Beinart is claiming, in effect, that pro-Zionist Jews do not have the right to have their own events free from being interrupted, disrupted and shut down by protesters. He is against free speech when that speech goes against his hateful "principles."

In May 2024, a Jewish tenured professor in anthropology at Muhlenberg College said she was fired after she reposted an Instagram post that declared, in part: “Do not cower to Zionists. Shame them. Do not welcome them in your spaces. Do not make them feel comfortable.”

First of all, the post by Maura Finkelstein also said "Why should these genocide loving fascists be treated any different than any other flat out racist." She is directly saying that 90% of Jews - on campus or anywhere - should not have the same rights as anyone else and calling them fascists. Can anyone who attends her classes feel comfortable?

They don't. Beinart omits the other reason she was fired - because within a week of October 7 she taught two classes of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas propaganda. In her own words, on October 12, "I had dedicated both of my classes to contextualizing the events unfolding in Gaza and giving my students space to ask questions. ...In our first meeting, the provost told me that several Title VI complaints had come to her through the college’s Title IX office; “Multiple students felt you created an unsafe atmosphere and that you have been targeting and harassing them.”

Beinart, skillfully posting half-truths and omitting context about college policies and the events he is describing, is pretending that Jewish students and faculty are being targeted when in most cases they were violating the rights of Jewish students whose opinions they disagree with. On campuses where free speech is supposedly a sacred right, Beinart is supporting those who want to quash it - in one direction.

His last example is even more absurd:

Even when protest has taken the form of Jewish religious observance, it often has been shut down. Last fall, when Jewish students opposing the war during the holiday of Sukkot built Gaza solidarity sukkahs, temporary boothlike structures in which Jews eat, learn and sleep during the holiday, at least eight universities forcibly dismantled them, or required the students to do so, or canceled approval for their construction. (The universities said that the groups were not allowed to erect structures on campus.)

These groups obviously tried to use sukkahs as a way to get around existing regulations against building encampments or other structures by pretending that they are for a religious purpose. They clearly weren't - none of the people who built them would ever build a sukkah for religious purposes. They pervert Judaism for politics, and Beinart pretends that they were just practicing their religion - much like those who blow shofars at any "Jewish anti-Zionist" occasion and pretend that this is a religious obligation.

No one is saying that anti-Israel students, Jewish or not, do not have the right for protests and speech that do not violate campus policies. Beinart is claiming that anti-Zionists, uniquely, have the right to violate campus policies.

This is not a defense of free speech. It is a demand for privileged speech – for one side only.

By selectively presenting facts, omitting crucial context, and portraying violators of others' rights as victims, Peter Beinart is not merely misleading. He is manufacturing antisemitic propaganda: turning those who seek to destroy Jewish communal life on campus into the new “Jewish victims.” And the New York Times eagerly provides him the platform, without even basic fact-checking.

It’s not just deception. It’s complicity.

Buy EoZ's books on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

Leaked 1970 recording: Nasser told Gaddafi that Egypt washed its hands of the Palestinian issue, predicted Black September

Nasser meeting Gaddafi at airport August 3, 1970 (screenshot)

Arabic media is buzzing about a newly released recording of an August 3, 1970 meeting between Egyptian president Gamal Abdul Nasser and Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.

The recording was made only days before Egypt accepted the Rogers plan for a cease fire with Israel, and Nasser seems to explain his pragmatism while Gaddafi wants more war with Israel. Nasser expressed frustration that Egypt is bearing the brunt of wars with Israel and the Arab countries were not contributing their share, so he said Egypt only wants the Sinai back and let everyone else try to defeat Israel, which will not happen because "the Jews are smart."

Nasser also said that he was willing to lose 10 Egyptian soldiers for every Jew they kill.

Here is the part of the recording being transcribed in Arabic media:

Nasser’s Statement on Fighting and the Palestine Issue:
“If someone wants to fight, let them fight. If someone wants to struggle, let them struggle. But today, they say either all of Palestine from the river to the sea or nothing. What the Iraqis are saying means we’re giving the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza to the Jews, and within a year or two, all these areas will be Judaized. America supports Israel with its money and weapons. How will Iraq liberate [Palestine] with a budget of 70 million pounds? It would’ve been easier, my brother Muammar. And don’t think I accepted this decision for personal gain. I know the fedayeen might come to kill me, or some Palestinians might say about this issue that Abdel Nasser betrayed and surrendered on the Palestine issue. Even some Egyptians might believe this talk. I know what I’m doing. The Iraqis might incite people and say Abdel Nasser betrayed the cause, surrendered on Palestine, and recognized Israel’s existence, like what Hardan said, or like in 1954 when they said I betrayed in the evacuation agreement with the British because I gave them the right to keep a base for seven years. Someone shot at me back then, and Mohammed Naguib and others stood against the agreement. But the point was that the British were leaving the country, and here, personal matters don’t matter at all.”
Nasser on the Risk of Repeating 1948:
“Those who say we’ll liberate, we won’t liberate, and it’ll happen like in 1948. This is bitter talk, but who will liberate the West Bank? This means we’re giving the rest of Palestine to the Jews. Is that what’s wanted? Despite this, I say a peaceful solution is far off, meaning there needs to be a serious international situation to push America to pressure Israel, because America is the one in control of the matter to pressure Israel to withdraw. But a withdrawal without concessions? I don’t think that will happen.”
Nasser’s Call for Others to Fight:
“Those who want fighting and liberation, go ahead. Algeria, Syria, Iraq, Yasser Arafat, and George Habash, go ahead, meet, and we’ll boycott the meeting. Fight, and I’m ready to give you 50 million pounds in aid. Leave us alone, let us focus on our western front and Sinai.”
Nasser on the Global Challenge:
“My problem is I want to liberate the West Bank, to take back the land we lost in 1967, and then work to take back the land we lost in 1948. But to reach Tel Aviv against all the great powers, especially America, Russia, France, England, and the whole world that says Israel must keep this land because Israel is threatened by Arab aggression—that’s an international stance. It means we’d be fighting the whole world.”
Gaddafi’s Response and Nasser’s Counter:
Gaddafi responded: “So what, we’ll fight the whole world, and if we can’t survive, so be it.” Nasser replied: “No, the Jews are smarter than us. The Jews planned for 25 years. They took all of Palestine. In 1947, they took the partition; in 1948, they took more than the partition; in 1956, they took Sinai and annexed it, then gave it back to us; and in 1967, they took the rest of Palestine entirely and now say they must continue and take from the Nile to the Euphrates. We, as Arabs, always say either we do it today or it’s useless. We sit and plan, and my opinion now is if we can take this part, we take it regardless, and then we create situations to recover the rest. But how do you liberate Tel Aviv? The Jews are superior to us on land and in the air, despite all we’ve done and all we’ve spent. I’m not saying this because I’m defeatist. I’m saying if we want to achieve a goal, we must be realistic and know how to achieve it.”
Gaddafi on Military Mobilization and Nasser’s Response:
Gaddafi said: “We achieve it by mobilizing military force.” Nasser replied: “Mobilize, I’m not stopping anyone from mobilizing their military force. The two military forces that can mobilize are Iraq and [Algerian president] Boumediene, and they can spend. Mobilize these forces and give us 16 planes. I don’t want planes, I told Boumediene I don’t want planes, I want pilots. At the Rabat conference, I told them I want money and pilots. I need money to buy weapons; I have contracts, I’ll pay 25 million. I have planes that need pilots. He said, ‘I can’t give you pilots.’ We went to the Soviet Union, and they gave us pilots for the MiG-21s, the F13s. They said they’d give us 40, they gave us 16. Do you know how many planes we’ve lost from 1967 until now? 102 in training and battles. There’s no one-sided attrition; there’s attrition and counter-attrition. When I come to wear you down today, you also have to keep saying you’ll wear me down. When we decided on attrition, we knew the Jews would counter with attrition. We calculated and said we’d accept counter-attrition up to this: 10 Egyptians for one Jewish soldier, and that means we’re winning. Even if we kill one Jew and they kill 10 Egyptians, we’re satisfied with that. No one in the world sacrifices like this. But I could’ve sat like the Iraqis and not had a ceasefire. They all complained about the number of dead and wounded on the Canal front. Talk is very easy, saying we’ll mobilize our forces. We’ve been talking about this since 1948, it’s not the first time, and no one has done anything. I have a suggestion: go to Baghdad and try. We’re staying out of it, we’re the ones for the defeatist peaceful solution, and I can bear that with a clear conscience. Go ahead, those who want to fight, let them fight. Aren’t you saying this is an Arab battle?”
Nasser on Egypt’s Focus on Sinai:
“We won’t act on anything, and we’ll agree to talk only about Sinai. We have no business with the Palestine issue, secure borders, or anything else. We’ll talk only about Sinai. Let them leave Sinai and the borders, and whatever help you want from us, we’ll help you with. It’s like throwing him into the sea and saying, ‘Don’t get wet.’ You hold us, throw us into the sea, and say, ‘Don’t get wet.’ Now the situation is like this: we’re the only ones fighting, and you tell us, ‘Go ahead, fight.’ You’ll fight the Jews, they’ll hit you, and then you’ll fight us along with the Jews.”

Palestinian Fedayeen and Jordan’s Crisis (not in Arabic media)

Nasser predicted the Black September uprising in Jordan the next month: “They’re planning now to stage a coup in Jordan. I wish, I wish the fedayeen would take responsibility in Jordan. Of course, they’ll clash with King Hussein, but if they took power, they’d be people facing reality, with responsibilities ahead of them. How would they liberate the West Bank?”

In 1967, some 15,000 Egyptian soldiers were killed, compared to about 800 Israelis, of whom maybe 500-600 were killed on the Egyptian front, so the ratio was way beyond the 10-1 ratio that Egypt would have been happy with - closer to 20-1.

Nasser's claim of losing 102 aircraft only refers to the War of Attrition after the Six Day War, since Egypt lost about 400 planes during that war. Israel lost about 25 planes during the War of Attrition.

The recording seems legitimate, since Nasser's son says it is and he published it on his own news site. The rest of his family say that Nasser never abandoned his support for Palestinians.

There appear to be some other details from the recording not mentioned in Arab media. Nasser also expressed concern that Israel considers the West Bank to be Israeli land, not occupied: "“The Jews in Sinai can’t take anything from it. The West Bank, I mean, there are more than a million people in the West Bank, they’ll be finished. And the Arab land in Jerusalem, Tel Qarm, Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem, all this talk, it’s all different. And the Israelis’ words, I read their statements, they want this land, they consider it their homeland, not occupied land. One of them stood up and said,‘We can’t say this is occupied land, this is our land,’ and those who say it’s occupied are liars.'”

Buy EoZ's books on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

04/27 Links: How Israeli Military Technology Continues to Improve the US Military; Gaza war papers reveal secret planning with Iran, Hezbollah; Qatar sabotaged hostage deal for Hamas

From Ian:

Ruthie Blum: Saluting the IDF for reminding us of the broader mission

A video of troops in Gaza is broadcast, as is a clip of the honorees on a field trip to the area of the terrorist invasion barely more than a year and a half ago.

Every recipient is announced individually, with a description of his or her unique contribution to the war effort. A picture of each is displayed on a massive screen as he/she walks to the podium, salutes and receives a plaque.

The applause is loud. Genuine. But it is nearly deafening when an officer in the new haredi brigade is presented with a commendation.

The roaring reflects an understanding that encouragement and praise are better for ultra-Orthodox enlistment than hostile coercion. It also illustrates a kind of societal unity purported by the press and protest movement to be non-existent.

Cohesiveness comes across, as well, in the closing address by the commander of the ground forces. He speaks of a collective responsibility for the Jewish homeland, weaving a thread through Zionist history to the present.

He pays tribute to the memory of the Six Million and to all those who fell or were wounded defending the country, including during the current multi-front battle. His remarks are delivered between Yom Hashoah, the commemoration of the Nazi genocide, and Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism—the eve of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day.

His words hold special significance for the men and women at the gathering who are returning to fight in Gaza. Yet, given the nature and extent of the ongoing war against the Jews, they should be repeated and resonate far beyond the confines of a conference hall.

This necessity becomes particularly apparent when leaving the premises, after standing to sing “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem. The mood gradually shifts from celebratory to pragmatic—a resumption of the usual daily grind, accompanied by a pervasive gnawing anxiety about the future.

Ben Shapiro: Defending Israel simply means telling the truth

In the year and a half since Israel experienced the darkest day in its history, Ben Shapiro, a Jewish-American publicist, author, and thought leader, has become a fixture in Israeli public discourse. He hasn't left the information battlefront for a moment: debating journalists who know nothing about Israel but are quick to attack it, answering critics in the media, and fighting back on every possible front.

Shapiro's uncompromising advocacy for Israel has earned him many enemies worldwide. This week, when it was announced he had been chosen to light a torch at the Independence Day ceremony, it surprisingly became apparent that he has critics in Israel as well. A vocal minority from the left attacked Shapiro and those who selected him, attempting to portray him as "controversial" – a familiar tactic used whenever Israel decides to honor someone who fights relentlessly for the country without self-pity or selfish calculation, but doesn't belong to the "correct" left-wing circles.

Shapiro remains unfazed by attempts to smear him as "backwards" regarding homosexuality, abortion, and transgender issues. "I've seen many attempts to distort my actual positions from many on the Israeli left, particularly in the media," he says in an exclusive interview with "Israel Hayom." "It's not particularly surprising – their way of distortion is well-known. I have never said homosexuality is a mental illness, nor do I believe that. Here are my actual positions: I believe in the traditional definition of marriage, and that the state should offer benefits to such marriages because it's in the state's inherent interest to support father-mother-children nuclear families. I do not believe in the regulation of same-sex relationships. I am entirely pro-life because I believe unborn human beings deserve to live. I believe men cannot become women, that there are only two sexes (male and female), and that men with gender dysphoria remain men."

But more than anything, he doesn't understand what connection his positions on these and other issues, whether someone likes them or not, have to the underhanded attempt to disqualify his selection to light the Independence Day torch – and along with him, the vast majority of Israelis don't understand either: "After all, even those who disagree with me on these issues should celebrate and honor the establishment of the State of Israel, which represents the fulfillment of God's promise to the Jewish people and stands as a bulwark against enemies of the West. While I'm always happy to discuss my views and do so daily – for instance on my podcast, which is listened to by millions of people – what's far more important, particularly at this time in history, is recognizing that despite all our disagreements, we must not undermine the unity of celebrating Israel's Independence Day."

In this unifying message, he is right. Few know better than he how to distinguish between the essential and the trivial, between allies and enemies. It's no wonder that due to his willingness to defend Israel in every forum and at all times, he's often called "Israel's defender."

'I saw what radical Islam looks like': Saudi blogger Loay Alshareef dismantles Hamas' lies

"I've received death threats online, thank God they haven't translated into actual death threats yet," Loay Alshareef, the Saudi blogger who has become one of the prominent Arab voices defending Israel, shared. "But you know what? I used to be on the opposite side. I saw what radical Islam looks like. I know how it poisons the heads, minds, and hearts of Muslims, and I'm not going to be intimidated in any way."

This is Alshareef's third visit to Israel, following a brief 24-hour visit during Ramadan. This time, invited by the Jewish Statesmanship Center, he came to explain to the institute's graduates how to address the burning issues in the Arab world, in the new order in the Middle East after a year and a half of war that has completely transformed the region.

Alshareef, wearing a tailored suit and speaking with a distinct Arabic accent, has been one of the leading voices supporting Israel since the outbreak of Operation Strength and Sword. For his hundreds of thousands of social media followers, he explains in both Arabic and English how anti-Zionist activists and terrorist organizations, led by Hamas, inject propaganda and hatred of Israel into public discourse, flooding networks with what he calls "the big lie" about Israel.

"Until I was 20, I was the quintessential mainstream Arab-Muslim in the Muslim world – radical against Jews, anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, anti-everything related to most non-Muslims, especially Jews and Christians," Alshareef recounted. "The indoctrination in schools throughout the Middle East was so radical that it completely shaped my worldview."

"Did everyone think like you?" I asked. "Most did," he responded. "Thank God things have now changed dramatically in Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates also has a wonderful ministry of tolerance. Many people have left radicalism behind, but it still maintains its influence on so many people across the region."

Alshareef's current visit lasted five days, during which he toured the City of David, where Jerusalem became the capital of the people of Israel, and Masada, where Jews fought to the death for their faith and nation. "Masada is proof of how Jews survived and fought back against those who wanted to destroy them. It's very important that people know the history of Masada and the Jewish rebellion against those who wanted to take the most important thing about the Jewish people – their identity."