There have been explicit or implicit expressions, statements, and rhetoric made by individuals, political entities, and factions within Arab, and Islamic discourse advocating for the elimination of the State of Israel as a political entity. These calls often involve the use of strong language, genocidal threats, [1] [2] or declarations aiming at the complete eradication of Israel. Such expressions may be manifested in official statements, speeches, charters, or public discourse, reflecting a position that denies the legitimacy of Israel's existence and seeks its destruction through various means, including military or other forms of political and ideological action. [3] [2]
The history of calls for the destruction of Israel is rooted in the prelude to its establishment. Leaders such as Azzam Pasha of the Arab League warned of a "war of extermination" in the event that a Jewish state was established, although the interpretation of this quotation is disputed. Prior to the 1967 Six Day War, there was a nearly unanimous consensus among Arab nations aimed at the obliteration of Israel. [4] Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser reiterated calls for the annulment of Israel's existence in the lead-up to the war.
Islamist Palestinian organizations like Hamas [5] and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad [5] advocate for Israel's destruction. [6] Instances of media and propaganda within Palestinian discourse also contribute to expressions advocating for the destruction of Israel. The political slogan "From the river to the sea" has been characterized by some commentators as a call for Israel's destruction.
Before and after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, leaders of Arab states and Palestinian Arab leaders expressed the sentiment of eliminating the newly formed nation. Historian Benny Morris has described those calls as reflecting an "expulsionist or eliminationist mindset". [7] In late 1947, King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia corresponded with U.S. President Harry Truman:
The Arabs have definitely decided to oppose [the] establishment of a Jewish state... Even if it is supposed that the Jews will succeed in gaining support... by their oppressive and tyrannous means and their money, such a state must perish in a short time. The Arab will isolate such a state from the world and will lay siege until it dies by famine... Its end will be the same as that of [the] Crusader states. [7]
Around the same time, in response to the UNSCOP report, Azzam Pasha, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, stated that a war with the proposed Jewish state would lead to "a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacre and the Crusades." Ephraim Karsh and David Barnett characterized this statement as a genocidal threat, while Tom Segev contested this interpretation. [8]
In the early months of 1948, Matiel Mughannam, an Arab Christian born in Lebanon and the leader of the Arab Women's Organization, stated:
[A Jewish state] has no chance to survive now that the 'Holy War' has been declared. All the Jews will eventually be massacred. [7]
When Israel created its National Water Carrier in the 1960s, the project was opposed by the Arab League in a 1964 summit, since it would make it more difficult for the Arab states to achieve "the final liquidation of Israel." This was the first time that the Arab collective officially declared in an official document that their ultimate aim was the destruction of the State of Israel. [9] [10]
Calls for the destruction of Israel by Arab leaders, notably by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, were repeated in the prelude to the 1967 Six Day War. Addressing the UN General Assembly in September 1960, Nasser expressed, "The only solution to Palestine is that matters should return to the condition prevailing before the error was committed, i.e., the annulment of Israel's existence." In 1964, he vowed, "We swear to God that we shall not rest until we restore the Arab nation to Palestine and Palestine to the Arab nation. There is no room for imperialism and there is no room for Britain in our country, just as there is no room for Israel within the Arab nation." In 1965, he declared, "We shall not enter Palestine with its soil covered in sand, we shall enter it with its soil saturated in blood." [11]
The aftermath of the Six-Day War intensified sentiments among certain Palestinian groups. This period witnessed heightened calls for the eradication of Israel as part of the Palestinian cause. In July 1968, amendments were made to the Palestinian National Charter. Article 15 of the charter at that time stated: "The liberation of Palestine... aims at the elimination of Zionism in Palestine”. Article 22 stated that “the liberation of Palestine will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence and will contribute to the establishment of peace in the Middle East". [7] Until the early 1990s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officially pursued the goal of destroying Israel. [12]
The return of Palestinian refugees to their ancestral homes, is considered by some to be "a euphemism for the destruction of Israel". [13] Many Israelis reason that allowing Palestinian refugees would increase the Arab population in Israel, potentially making Israel into a binational state (instead of Jewish state), hence it is considered something that will destroy Israel as a Jewish state. [14]
In 1977, Israel submitted to the United Nations, that "The Arab demand for the return of the refugees to Israel, coupled with proposals for the establishment of a Palestinian State, is calculated to bring about the destruction of Israel." [15] In 1993, former Israeli president Shimon Peres said that the Palestinian right of return "would wipe out" the character of Israel. [14]
In 2018, David Horovitz said that Palestinian "March of Return", whereby Palestinian refugees attempt to return to Israel, was "nothing less than a call for the destruction of Israel". Horovitz added "Suicide bombers, rockets, and tunnels have failed. So now it’s mass marches on the border". [16]
Political figures and factions within Islamic, Arab and Palestinian discourse have employed rhetoric that includes explicit or implicit calls for the end of Israel's existence. Certain extremist ideologies, both within and outside the Palestinian territories, have propagated the idea of eliminating Israel as part of their agenda.
Since the Iranian Revolution, political figures in the Islamic Republic of Iran have consistently advocated for what some see as the "destruction of Israel". Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has clarified that Iran wishes to abolish the "Israeli regime" but has no problem with the Jewish people. [17] He said "thugs like Netanyahu" should be ousted, and all Muslim, Christian and Jewish residents should be able to choose their government. [17] Iran has rejected the two-state solution, in which Israel would exist, in favor of supporting a one-state solution that gives equal voting rights to people of all religions. [18] [19] Iranian discourse also encompasses the demonization of Jews, the use of antisemitic tropes, and the denial of the Holocaust. [20]
Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, stated in 2000 that "the cancerous tumor called Israel must be uprooted from the region", and in 2001 that "the perpetual subject of Iran is the elimination of Israel from the region". [21] [22] In 2013 he labeled Israel a country "doomed to failure and annihilation," deeming it an "illegitimate regime" led by "untouchable rabid dogs" who "cannot be called human beings." He later outlined a nine-point plan for Israel's elimination in 2014. [23]
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who served as president of Iran from 2005 to 2013, has consistently called for the elimination of Israel. [24] [25] In a 2005 conference titled "A World Without Zionism", he stated: "Our dear Imam (Khomeini) ordered that this Jerusalem occupying regime must be erased from the page of time," and that Iran would "wipe Israel off the map", [23] [26] [27] In 2006, he said: "Israel heading towards annihilation", and in another statement, "The Zionist regime will be wiped out, and humanity will be liberated". Similar calls were also voiced by Iranian parliament members, philosophers and journalists. [28] [2]
During a speech in May 2012, the Chief of Staff of Iran's Ministry articulated the Iranian nation's steadfast commitment to its cause, which is the complete annihilation of Israel. Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Shirazi, serving as the representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserted on October 2, 2012, that Iran needed a 24 hours to eliminate Israel. He further alleged that Israel was in close proximity to annihilation. [29]
In 2017, protesters in Iran unveiled a new public clock in Palestine Square known as the "countdown to Israel's annihilation clock," which calculates the days remaining until Israel's predicted destruction by September 9, 2040. This is based on a declaration by Khamenei on September 9, 2015, that Israel would not survive another 25 years. [30] [31]
On 24 May 2024, Khamenei stated that "the divine promise to eliminate the Zionist entity will be fulfilled and we will see the day when Palestine will rise from the river to the sea." He also noted his surprise at demonstrations in Japan where the slogan "Death to Israel' was chanted in Persian. [32]
Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist political and military organization has advocated for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state. [33] The 1988 Hamas Charter has been characterized as antisemitic and genocidal. [1] [34] The 2017 Hamas charter accepted the idea of a Palestinian state being established along the 1967 borders. [35]
Expressions advocating for the destruction of Israel have been articulated by several figures associated with Hamas. Ahmad Yassin, a Palestinian politician and imam who played a pivotal role in the establishment of Hamas, forecasted the annihilation of Israel by the year 2027, employing the traditional Islamic concept of a 40-year historical cycle. Yassin correlated these cycles with significant events, positing that the initial cycle commenced in 1947 with the UN Partition of Palestine and concluded with the 1987 First Intifada. In this framework, the second cycle is anticipated to culminate in the destruction of Israel. [33]
Imam Khalid Tafish, a prominent Hamas figure in Gaza, asserted a belief derived from the Quran, contending that "Jews must be destroyed twice in terrible wars." [33] Amid the Israel–Hamas war, Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's political bureau, proclaimed that the surprise attack on 7 October, resulting in the loss of approximately 1,200 Israeli lives, mostly civilians, is but the initial phase in an ongoing series of assaults. Hamad expressed the organization's readiness to endure the consequences, underscoring their determination to persist with these attacks until the complete elimination of Israel. [6]
According to The Economist, referring to Hamas' 1988 charter advocating Israel's eradication and the UN genocide definition, Hamas can be characterized as a genocidal organization. In line with this analysis, "Hamas fighters who burst into Israel on October 7th and killed more than 1,400 Israelis (and other nationalities) were carrying out the letter of their genocidal law." [36]
From the inception of Hezbollah to the present, [37] [38] the elimination of the State of Israel has been one of Hezbollah's primary goals. Some translations of Hezbollah's 1985 Arabic-language manifesto state that "our struggle will end only when this entity [Israel] is obliterated". [37] According to Hezbollah's Deputy-General, Naim Qassem, the struggle against Israel is a core belief of Hezbollah and the central rationale of Hezbollah's existence. [39]
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) explicitly aims for the violent destruction of the State of Israel, and rejects the option of a peaceful settlement with Israel. Israel's eradication is viewed as an essential prerequisite for addressing the challenges facing the Muslim world. [40] The PIJ advocates for the use of guerrilla groups to execute terrorist attacks, intending to weaken Israel. It envisions laying the groundwork for a future scenario in which a significant Islamic Arabic army engages in military confrontation to achieve Israel's destruction. The PIJ has been accountable for some of the deadliest suicide attacks in Israel. [40] [41]
Al-Qaeda also repeatedly calls for Israel's destruction, with Osama bin Laden asserting that "the creation of Israel is a crime that must be erased," and Muslims have a religious duty to combat Jews in Israel and worldwide. [42]
The slogan of the Houthi movement, an Islamist political and militant group in Yemen, reads: "God is the greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews, Victory to Islam" [43] [44]
During the Israel–Hamas war, the Houthi movement stated their intent to continue attacking Israel until they achieve the "demise of Israel". [45]
According to a report from Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the BDS's 2005 founding manifesto, which calls for an end to the "occupation and colonization of all Arab lands," is interpreted as a direct demand for "the end to the existence of Israel as a state." The report asserts that BDS views its boycott of Israel as a step towards the elimination of Israel as a sovereign state. [46] [47] [48]
In April 2024, Essa Al-Nassr, a brigadier general at the Emiri Guard and member of Qatar's legislative body referred to the 7 October attacks as a "prelude to the annihilation of the corruption of the 'second Zionist entity' upon earth". [49]
Anti-Israeli protests in many Middle Eastern countries frequently involve the burning of Israeli flags and chants like "Death to Israel" or "Death to the Jewish infidels." [50] The chant of the slogan has extended beyond Muslim countries. In Paris, demonstrators, often of North African origin, have frequently uttered cries of "death to the Jews, death to Israel". [51]
During Quds Day held in Iran and other countries, extensive rallies and marches take place, where senior leaders deliver speeches that frequently result in chants of "Death to Israel, Death to America." [52] [53] Crowds have trampled and burned Israeli flag, and mock-ups of ballistic missiles have slogans like "Death to Israel". [52] [53]
The slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" is often heard in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. It symbolizes Palestinian nationalist aspirations, covering the geographical span from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, an area encompassing Israel and the Palestinian territories. [55] Historically associated with calls for a Palestinian state in lieu of Israel and the Palestinian territories, it may imply the replacement of Israel, as initially outlined in the Palestine Liberation Organization's charter. This stance has evolved following the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. [56] The slogan has been adopted by groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who have been accused of war crimes and designated terrorist organisations by several Israel-aligned nations, and this has been used by critics of the slogan to portray it as antisemitic and hate speech. [57] [58] Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, some moderates who have used the slogan in some Western countries have faced vilification, censorship, employment discrimination, protest bans, and potentially criminal charges. [59] [60] On 16 April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a resolution condemning the phrase as antisemitic. [61]
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source .(April 2024) |
Irwin Cotler coined the term "genocidal antisemitism" to describe public calls and incitements to destroy Israel. This includes state-sanctioned genocidal antisemitism in Ahmadinejad's Iran, where official promotion of anti-Israel sentiments involves parading missiles. A second manifestation involves the ideologies of groups like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda, advocating for Israel's destruction and endorsing acts of terror to achieve this goal. The last manifestation is seen in religious fatwas and execution writs framing genocidal calls against Israelis as religious obligations, portraying Israel as a collective enemy. [62]
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas, is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist political organisation with a military wing called the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. It has governed the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007.
Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century and aimed for the establishment of a Jewish state through the colonization of a land outside Europe. With the rejection of alternative proposals for a Jewish state, it focused on the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, a region corresponding to the Land of Israel in Judaism, and of central importance in Jewish history. Zionists wanted to create a Jewish state in Palestine with as much land, as many Jews, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible. Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Zionism became Israel's national or state ideology.
Neturei Karta is a Haredi Jewish group.
Scholars have studied and debated Muslim attitudes towards Jews, as well as the treatment of Jews in Islamic thought and societies throughout the history of Islam. Parts of the Islamic literary sources give mention to certain Jewish groups present in the past or present, which has led to debates. Some of this overlaps with Islamic remarks on non-Muslim religious groups in general.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was President of Iran from 3 August 2005 to 3 August 2013, and during that time had repeatedly made contentious speeches and statements against Israel. Ahmadinejad refused to call Israel by name, instead calling it the “Zionist regime”. He has called for the "elimination of the Zionist regime". Ahmadinejad took part in a protest called "The World Without Zionism" and has derided Israel on numerous occasions. He has urged regional powers to cut diplomatic and economic ties with Israel and halt oil sales. Tensions have risen over Iran's nuclear program. He has also provided funding, training and arms to Hezbollah and Hamas.
The Islamic Republic of Iran officially recognises Palestine as a state. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, rejects a two-state solution and implies that Palestine is inseparable, while Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for a free referendum for the entire Palestinian population, including Arab citizens of Israel, to determine the type of government in the future Palestinian State, while reiterating that establishment of a Palestinian State alongside Israel would "never mean an endorsement of the Israeli occupation".
Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political and militant group based in Lebanon, is driven by an ideology that combines religious, political, and social elements. Founded in the early 1980s, Hezbollah's ideology is deeply rooted in Shia Islam and influenced by the Iranian Revolution. Central to its ideology is opposition to Western influence and Israeli occupation, which it frames as a struggle for justice and liberation, while also positioning Islam as a comprehensive solution to social and political issues. Hezbollah's ideological framework is articulated through its foundational documents, such as the 1985 "Open Letter" and the 2009 "New Manifesto," which emphasize themes of anti-Zionism, anti-Americanism, and the establishment of an Islamic state governed by Sharia. The movement also advocates for pan-Islamism and pan-Arabism, promoting unity among Muslims and Arabs while supporting Iran as a model of sovereignty.
Yisroel Dovid Weiss is an American Jewish anti-Zionist and spokesman for the worldwide religious group Neturei Karta. Residing in Monsey, New York, he believes that Jews should peacefully oppose the existence of the Israeli state: "It would be forbidden for us to have a State, even if it would be in a land that is desolate and uninhabited." He emphasized the need for a complete return of land to Palestinians, rejecting the '67 borders and advocating coexistence.
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine—a region partly coinciding with the biblical Land of Israel—was flawed or unjust in some way.
While anti-Zionism usually utilizes ethnic and political arguments against the existence or policies of the state of Israel, anti-Zionism has also been expressed within religious contexts which have, at times, colluded and collided with the ethnopolitical arguments over Israel's legitimacy. Outside of the liberal and socialist fields of anti-Zionist currents, the religious arguments tend to predominate as the driving ideological power within the incumbent movements and organizations, and usually target the Israeli state's relationship with Judaism.
The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, referred to as the Hamas Covenant or Hamas Charter, was issued by Hamas on 18 August 1988 and outlines the organization's founding identity, positions, and aims. In 2017, Hamas unveiled a revised charter, without explicitly revoking the 1988 charter.
Racism in the Palestinian territories encompasses all forms and manifestations of racism experienced in the Palestinian Territories, of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, irrespective of the religion, colour, creed, or ethnic origin of the perpetrator and victim, or their citizenship, residency, or visitor status. It may refer to Jewish settler attitudes regarding Palestinians as well as Palestinian attitudes to Jews and the settlement enterprise undertaken in their name.
The Axis of Resistance is an informal Iranian-led political and military coalition in the Middle East.
"Khaybar, Khaybar, ya yahud! Jaish Muhammad soufa yaʿoud!" is an Arabic-language rallying slogan referencing the Battle of Khaybar of 628 CE, which began after Muhammad marched with a large Muslim army and besieged Khaybar, an oasis in present-day Saudi Arabia that was home to a notable Jewish community.
Comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany occur frequently in the political discourse of anti-Zionism. Given the legacy of the Holocaust, the legitimacy of and intent behind these accusations are a matter of debate, particularly with regard to their potential nature as a manifestation of antisemitism. Historically, figures like British historian Arnold J. Toynbee have drawn parallels or alleged a relationship between Zionism and Nazism; British professor David Feldman suggests that these comparisons are often rhetorical tools without specific antisemitic intent. French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy argues that such comparisons not only lack historical and moral equivalence, but also risk inciting anti-Jewish sentiment.
"From the river to the sea" is a political phrase that refers geographically to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, an area historically called Palestine, which today includes Israel and the Palestinian territories of the occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip. The phrase and similar phrases have been used both by Palestinian and Israeli politicians to mean that the area should consist of one state.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Wikipedia articles available about the Israel–Hamas war. It is an evolving list.
Within Our Lifetime - United For Palestine (WOL), is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist organization primarily active in New York City. The group, which expresses support for Hamas and Palestinian political violence against Israel, has been one of the key organizers in the city's ongoing Israel-Hamas war protests.
Jews and Israelis as animals in Palestinian discourse refers to the language and imagery that are encountered in Palestinian narratives that zoomorphically portray Jews and Israelis as members of non-human species that are considered lowly or loathsome. This kind of dehumanization is commonplace on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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