38 No. 70 JUSTICE Admittedly, many Arab regimes have worked in recent years to promote a peace process and normalization of relations with Israel, recognizing the importance and potential benefits of such peace, and hoping that it would ensure stability and prosperity within their own countries. In many Arab countries, the peace process with Israel is accompanied by a nostalgic look at the Jewish past, that is, at the days when there were prosperous Jewish communities that lived a meaningful Jewish life in the respective Arab countries. But these days came to an end in the mid-20th century following the outbreak of the Israeli-Arab conflict and the establishment of the State of Israel. It must therefore be admitted that despite the advancement of the peace process with Israel, enmity and hatred for Israel and the Jews still flourishes and thrives in the streets, public opinion, and among the intellectual elites in the Arab world who continue to see Israel and the Jews as an enemy. All this virulent animosity continues to percolate while Arab leaders refrain from acting against these manifestations of hatred and antisemitism. It therefore seems that the peace and normalization processes, despite their importance, not only fail to curb these negative trends but actually perpetuate their use as a counter-argument to peace and reconciliation efforts. Hatred of Israel and Antisemitism Following October 7, 2023 The various strains of antisemitism that have been discussed in this article emerged with full force in the wake of the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war that Israel launched against Hamas in Gaza. Following the terrorist attack by Hamas, political leaders, intellectuals, media talking heads, and social media users across the Arab world praised Hamas's murderous attack and harshly attacked Israel, accusing it of committing genocide against the Palestinians. For example, in their response to October 7, al-Azhar, the leading religious institution in the Sunni world, said that it “salutes with absolute pride the resistance efforts of the Palestinian people and strengthens the hands of the proud Palestinian people who instilled in us spirit and confidence and gave us life back.”18 An opinion piece published in the Bahraini newspaper Akhbar al-Khalij, said that What the Palestinian people have endured for the past 75 years is a Holocaust of their own…surpassing the Zionist narratives and legends about the Jewish Holocaust. The Zionist entity has perpetrated severe crimes beyond anything seen worldwide, which makes the Palestinian Holocaust an atrocity a thousand times greater.19 Across the West, prestigious institutions and universities grappled with an extensive torrent of unabashed antisemitism. For example, the organization “Students for Justice in Palestine” (SJP), a network of pro-Palestinian student associations operating in academic institutions throughout the U.S. and Canada, called the Hamas attack on October 7, a historic victory for the Palestinian resistance and said that “this should be the meaning of a free Palestine: not just slogans and rallies, but an armed confrontation with the oppressors.”20 Conclusion Arab and Muslim antisemitism is not a marginal phenomenon, but rather a wide-ranging phenomenon among the general public in the Arab and Muslim world. It does not grow exclusively from the popular stratum, and it is not only the property of intellectuals, opposition elements or radical Islamic movements. Nor is the phenomenon limited to the countries of the Middle East; 18. Morr Link, “The ‘Gaza Holocaust’: The Outrageous Framing of the War by the Arab Media,” INSS (Oct. 25, 2023), available at https://www.inss.org.il/social_media/thegaza-holocaust-the-outrageous-framing-of-the-war-bythe-arab-media 19. Fawziyya Rashid, “The Holocaust and the Palestinian Holocaust” (Arabic), AL-KHALIJ AL-ARABI (Oct. 22, 2023), available at https://akhbar-alkhaleej.com/news/ article/1345747 20. Dr. Hayim Iserovich, “In the streets and social networks: the organizations that support Hamas and lead the antiIsrael demonstrations in the United States,” MEIR AMIT INTELLIGENCE AND TERRORISM INFORMATION CENTER AT THE ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE HERITAGE AND COMMEMORATION CENTER (Dec. 1, 2023), available at https://www.terrorism-info. org.il/en/in-the-streets-and-social-networks-theorganizations-that-support-hamas-and-lead-the-anti-israeldemonstrations-in-the-united-states; see also Randy Kessler, “Language around ‘Day of Resistance and Protest’ leaves Jews fearful,” SEATTLE TIMES (Oct. 18, 2023), available at https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/language-aroundday-of-resistance-and-protest-leaves-jews-fearful/
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