When the Tunisian president blames the Jews for the protests and a prominent preacher in Kuwait calls them "pigs", there must be no tolerance for those who choose intimidation • Special column
Tunisian President Keys Said
Photography:
Reuters
Anti-Semitism is on the rise in parts of the Arab world.
From the recent remarks of the Tunisian president who blamed the unrest in the country and hung it on the "thieving Jews" to the senior Kuwaiti preacher Othman al-Khamis called the Jews "pigs and unbelievers" and argued that they should be avoided.
He also condemned the promotion of an interfaith center in the UAE where a church, mosque and synagogue would operate side by side, calling the plan "treacherous."
Al-Khamis was not satisfied with this, but also expressed shock at placing what he called the "distorted Bible" next to the Koran. In a video he uploaded to his public YouTube channel (dated December 23, 2020), he claimed: "The Jews - whom God turned into monkeys and pigs - died and nothing They will be resurrected, "giving new life to old antisemitic allegations.
One key question arises as to how states like Kuwait - considered a constitutional sovereign state with a semi-democratic political system - allow and give the Ottoman al-Khamis scholar what to attack the Jewish people and the Abrahamic Treaties so blatantly and disparagingly and through antisemitic language?
This, while the very same country continues to enlist the services of thousands of American military personnel and contractors, many of whom are Jews.
Anti-Semitism can manifest itself in many ways, from expressions of hatred or discrimination against individual Jews to pogroms organized by masses or state forces over entire Jewish communities.
That is where the Kuwaiti cleric's ottoman Othman al-Khamis strives.
The Jewish people have seen and experienced this kind of anti-Semitism and other types many times.
The Abrahamic Agreements came to try and change this situation.
In order to achieve true justice, one must not remain silent about anti-Jewish statements by radicals like the extremist cleric from Kuwait.
The first accusation leveled against Jews in the second century (false claims that blamed the Jews for Jesus' death) continued with the blood libels, the pogroms, the distribution of the fake document commonly called the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and the Nazi attempt to carry out what he defined as the "Final Solution.
The Tunisian president is trying to continue the line by actually blaming the Jews for the political unrest in his country, which is far from true.
The Tunisian president, Case Side, is an ally of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Anti-Semitism is no stranger to him and he combines it with strong anti-Israelism.
During his election campaign, he claimed that countries seeking to normalize their relations with Israel were betraying Islam in the most difficult way.
He is not alone.
Although it is very clear where the corona (in China) began, haters of the people of Israel in Iran, Gaza and Yemen have found a way to blame the Jews and the State of Israel for the outbreak of the plague.
Even in the Arab world one must understand that the right message at this time is a unity that is essential for all peoples.
There must be no drop of tolerance towards extremist preachers and leaders who choose to try to intimidate us or threaten us when we promote the connection.
We will lead to prosperity together with the Jewish State of Israel, against all the slanderers and racists.
This is the gospel and the difference that the agreements of Abraham brought with them.
The author is an Arab-British journalist living in Bahrain, author of the book "The Fraud of the Arab Spring", an expert on international relations and close to government officials in his country of residence.