Anti-Jewish Expulsions and Antisemitism in the Arab World
Rioters during the antisemitic pogrom in Baghdad, Iraq, known as the ‘Farhud,’ June 1, 1941. Photo: Twitter.
A series of stories over the past few weeks have highlighted the end of the Jewish communities in various Muslim and Arab nations.
There are reportedly only a handful of Jews left in Iraq, none of whom wish to be identified. There used to be 150,000. Only a tiny number of Jews remain in Yemen, after 13 Jews were forced out recently — even though they were reportedly staunchly against moving to Israel. There used to be over 60,000.
According to one story, the last Jew in Afghanistan is leaving; he kept watch over the empty synagogue, which will now close forever. That community dates back to the 7th century CE. According to reports, there are only a few elderly Jews left in Egypt (from 75,000 in 1948). And there are tiny amounts or no Jews left in Algeria (140,000 in 1948), Lebanon (24,000), Syria (30,000), Libya (38,000), and Jordan.
Morocco, which is celebrated for its tolerance towards Jews, reportedly only has about 3,000 Jews remaining, from a community that used to number 250,000. Similarly, Tunisia’s Jewish population has plummeted from over 100,000 to reportedly 1,500, and the country is considered to be friendly to Jews as well. Iran trumpets its tolerance towards Jews, but 75% of Jews fled after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
The relationship between Muslim antisemitism and friendliness towards Israel is impossible to ignore. Some Muslim countries that have warm relations with Israel, like Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, also have thriving Jewish communities. The Jewish communities in the Gulf are starting to re-emerge publicly after the signing of the Abraham Accords.
I am seeing articles that are sympathetic to Jews occasionally being published in places like Iraq and Egypt, something that was unthinkable not too long ago. Even so, the relationship between how Muslim countries treat their Jews and how they look at Israel is too strong to be ignored.
The people who like to pretend that there is no antisemitism in the Arab and Muslim world only have to look at how the Jewish communities have fared in that world to see the truth.