Classic Christian-European anti-Semitism infiltrated the Ottoman Empire during the second half of the nineteenth century along with other modern European ideas. It was encouraged by diplomats, merchants and members of the priesthood, and spread mainly among Christian Arabs. ²However, only at the beginning of the twentieth century did Middle Eastern anti-Semitism gain momentum as a by-product of the nascent Zionist-Arab conflict . Ever since, it included classic anti-Semitic elements - as found and shown in many Christian medieval sources - which had been adopted by early adherents of the Arab nationalist movement. However, during the past two decades, with the rise of radical Islam , it has become unmistakably Islamic-oriented in nature .
²A concrete example can be found in the Damascus blood libel of 1840 (See the section dealing with Syria ).

One clear manifestation of anti-Semitism in the contemporary Middle East (and beyond), which corresponds to the aforementioned definition, is the large amount of anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist propaganda inundating the Middle Eastern countries , particularly Egypt. Such propaganda deliberately blurs the borders distinguishing the State of Israel [as a political entity] from Judaism [as a religion or faith] . To be sure, the widespread distribution of anti-Semitic material and the great demand for it shown by many Muslim Arabs is not new. However, the extent, nature, emphases, imagery and terminology of the vicious material developed and presented in accordance with changing political circumstances during recent years and mainly in the Middle East, have reached unprecedented and most worrying dimensions .

Contemporary anti-Semitism is generally directed both at Israel as a Zionist-Jewish independent state seen as a concrete enemy -- and at the Jewish people or nation (perceived as being permanently and irrevocably attached to the "Zionist/Israeli enemy,” and continuously nourishing it with political and financial support and waves of new immigrants). As a whole, anti-Semitism of Arab and Islamic nature is not translated into threats or violent actions against Jewish minority communities (which, in many Arab countries, no longer exist and therefore cannot be considered inimical ), and does not demand the annihilation of the entire Jewish people. On the other hand, the hatred directed against the State of Israel often calls for its destruction (or “liberation” from the Zionist-Israeli-Jewish "occupation") and is translated into terrorist activity by the Palestinian terrorist organizations.

In other words, the genocide of European Jewry turned Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism (mainly in the Middle East) into an orchestrated call for the destruction of the State of Israel - the political independent entity established by the Zionist-Jews in the historical Land of Israel. Moreover, the public reflection of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli violent confrontation (since late September 2000) - especially in the Arab media - had its obvious (and negative) effect on the sharp rise of expressions of anti-Semitism (including violent attacks against both the Israelis and the Diaspora Jews and Jewish institutions in the Middle East and beyond).

•  The past two decades have witnessed considerable increase in anti-Semitic expressions and manifestations rooted in Islam - to which a radical political interpretation was added - particularly since the Shiite Islamic Revolution in Iran, led by (the late) Ayatollah Khomeini (1979) and the spread of fanatical Sunni fundamentalist Islam, notably after the rout of the Soviet army in Afghanistan (1989). Also, the spread of Islamic anti-Semitism was accelerated by the Arab-Israeli peace process , which led to a sudden increase of Israeli exposure in Arab countries generating fear of massive Israeli infiltration and resulting from the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab (and Muslim) states.

•  Anti-Semitism based on deep Islamic roots -- led and inspired by contemporary radical Islamic movements – has been gaining ground mainly during the last two decades. In many cases the Middle Eastern regimes – even if secular-oriented -- support them (even indirectly) to show the populace that their (secular) leaders do foster Islam. One of the reasons for being widespread has been the Israeli-Palestinian violent confrontation, which remained in a state of crisis since late September 2000. During this ongoing crisis Israel has been portrayed as an “aggressive” and "evil" country ruled by “blood thirsty” prime ministers (especially but not exclusively the current prime minister, Ariel Sharon), who are bent on destroying the Palestinians altogether.

•  The radical Islamic movements deliberately go to extremes to demonize Israel. They use Islamic terminology , particularly verses from the Qur'an and Islamic tradition (Hadith) familiar to Arab and Muslim audiences and reinterpret them in terms of the radical political Islam which they advocate, turning them into an all-out radical ideology de-legitimizing Zionism, the State of Israel and the Jewish people (or nation) and Justifying their annihilation . Accordingly, the Israeli-Palestinian violent struggle (usually niza' in Arabic) is not national and territorial in nature and cannot have a mediated diplomatic resolution. Rather, it is an all-inclusive or multi-faceted struggle (usually Sira' in Arabic ) between Judaism and Islam, and the stakes are historical, cultural and for the continued existence of either (but not both) of them .

•  The historical (and traumatic) meeting between the Jewish tribes living in the Arabian Peninsula and the prophet Mohammed (who, along with his first supporters, tried unsuccessfully to convert them to Islam) has been thoroughly exploited. It has been used to prove that the conflict between Islam and the Jews is timeless, and in particular it has been adopted as the preferred model for the nature of the Israeli-Palestinian/Arab conflict. Israel, in that context, is presented and perceived as unwilling to admit the superiority of Islam and as having unlawfully established a sovereign state in the heart of the sacred Muslim territory (wakf) of “Palestine” (it should be noted that Arafat often uses Islamic terminology and quotes the Qur'an to justify the ongoing violent Palestinian insurrection against Israel.).

Contemporary anti-Israeli Arab and Muslim (mainly in the Middle East) propaganda demonizes the State of Israel and its leaders by using classic anti-Semitic Christian-oriented motifs (for instance, the use of blood in Jewish religious rituals). In addition, it has no hesitation about openly preaching the infliction of physical harm on Israelis, making no distinction between soldiers and civilians (including women, children and the aged). Using the Islamic interpretations of the Qatari-based, popular radical Muslim religious scholar, Yusuf al-Kardawi , the claim is made that there is no real difference between soldiers and civilians because they all belong to the Israeli “militaristic society” of "occupiers", and that the violent insurrection against them is therefore justified. It is a claim that has echoed throughout the Arab media (including the establishment media), and can be found in the proclamations of the leaders of the Palestinian terrorist organizations as well. ^4
4Establishment Arab media, especially in countries like Egypt and Syria, continually present suicide bombing attacks perpetrated against Israeli citizens as legitimate. Thus, for example, the Egyptian establishment daily newspaper Al-Masaa' recently (February 2, 2004) published an editorial praising the suicide bombing attacks against Israel, including those perpetrated by Muslim women . Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanon-based, Islamic-oriented Hezbollah terrorist organization, stated (in December 2001) that “the actions [suicide bombing attacks] were entirely legitimate because there were no [innocent] citizens in Israel, only occupiers and collaborators in crime and slaughter.”

Contemporary Anti-Semitism is used to legitimize terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews , as noted. Both the Palestinian terrorist organizations and global extremist Islamic bodies (with Al-Qaeda in the forefront) regard Jews in every country in the world, and in Israel in particular , as the eternal enemy, and claim that a n incessant holy war must be fought against them until they are destroyed forever. That is true both in the Israeli-Palestinian context and the war waged by radical Islam (mainly al-Qaeda) against the United States and the West (Israel is viewed as a Western ally implanted as an “alien growth”, or as a "malignant cancer", in the Middle East). As of this writing (April 2004), the Palestinian terrorist organizations pursuing radical Islamic tendencies (particularly Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad) focus their activities on Israel .

However, the various organizations supporting the “global [Islamic] jihad” (especially Al-Qaeda) also view the destruction of the Zionist-Jewish State of Israel as part of Islam's permanent struggle against “the infidels” [i.e., the Israeli-Jews] . Despite the fact that Judaism is a monotheistic religion absorbed by Islam, the Jews are considered a target for enforced conversion to Islam. Therefore, in view of their radical worldview, Islamic terrorist organizations have been focusing their energies in perpetrating terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets as well as against purely Western ones, especially during the last two years.

Anti-Semitism is supported by the establishment in Arab and Muslim countries . Anti-Semitism in the Middle East (and beyond) is not merely a grassroots movement , nor is it the exclusive province of intellectuals or radical Islamic movements or of opposition parties. On the contrary, it is supported by Arab and Islamic regimes in the Middle East (and beyond), whether Islamic-oriented or secular (except for Turkey) , whether those regimes signed peace treaties with Israel or fight the peace process. That is the case in countries like Egypt, Syria and Iran, where the communications media, literature and cultural life are subject to government domination, inspection and control, and are censored according to the regime's particular political orientation. While a number of Arab states have begun taking the first steps toward transmitting moderate Islamic messages to their general populations, they do so to counteract the threat radical Islam poses to the stability of their own regimes and as a response to Western (mainly American) pressures. However, those messages are not translated into effective measures to curb anti-Semitism . ^5
5Pro-Western Arab countries, such as Egypt, are sensitive to American and Western criticism of anti-Semitic propaganda and to offset charges of anti-Semitism, often make pin-pointed attempts to counter it. For example, the Egyptians, in the wake of the criticism leveled against the anti-Semitic TV series called “Rider without a Horse” broadcast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan (October 2002), and taking the changing regional agenda into consideration, lowered the hostile tone of their references to Israel and Jews. Accordingly during last Ramadan (October-November 2003) the television stage was left open to the Syrians and Lebanese (Hezbollah) anti-Semitic propaganda broadcasts. However , such steps in no way reflect a readiness to make a genuine change in attitude .

Holocaust denial and the use of Nazi images and terminology are an integral part of contemporary Middle Eastern anti-Semitism. Most of the material rejects the Holocaust or attempts to reduce its dimensions and significance; the rhetoric is taken from Western neo-Nazi literature and media and includes the use of Stűrmer-like caricatures . There is a clearly reciprocal relationship between Holocaust denial in the West and its use in the Arab and Muslim world . The logic behind denying the Holocaust or minimizing its unique Jewish character is that by so doing, it is possible to deny and undermine the claim of the Jewish victims (i.e., that they had the right to establish a Jewish state in the historic Land of Israel to rescue and provide a safe homeland for Jewish refugees), thus to destroy the legitimacy of Zionism and the state of Israel .

•  Radical Islamist anti-Semitism frequently claims that the struggle between Judaism and Islam is an integral part of a much greater confrontation, that between Islam and the Western world (to which Israel belongs). The claims are made in the spirit of Osama bin Laden, who unites the struggle against the “ Crusaders ” (the United States and the Western countries) with the struggle against their “allies”, implicitly Israel and the Jews. True, so far he has given priority to the struggle against the United States and the Western countries . It must nevertheless be remembered that during the past two years, al-Qaeda's most spectacular attacks, outside of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, were aimed at targets which were obviously Jewish (Istanbul Turkey, Casablanca Morocco , and Djerba in Tunisia) and Israeli (Mombasa in Kenya) .

•  In the past, classic anti-Semitic (Christian) propaganda traveled in only one direction, from the West to the Arab and Muslim world. There, the negative mythology was adopted, either because it was genuinely believed to be true or because it was cynically exploited for purposes of political indoctrination and anti-Israeli, anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish propaganda.

•  Nowadays, however, anti-Semitic propaganda is exported from the Middle East (and beyond) to Muslim communities around the world (particularly in the West) where it kindles anti-Semitism and leads to radical and hostile reactions both toward Israel and Diaspora Jews .

•  In recent years, a flourishing industry of original anti-Semitic propaganda, mostly written in Arabic, has developed and grown to unprecedented and frightening dimensions . It is often subsidized by Arab countries and radical Islamist groups. The overwhelming majority of such propaganda literature is issued by “respectable” publishing houses, which usually print books and newspapers supported by Arab and Muslim regimes .