Hostility toward Jews does not become something different simply by changing its label. Hatred of Jews, antisemitism, demonization of Israel, and so-called “anti-Zionism” that portrays Israel as evil or satanic are not separate phenomena, they are different expressions of the same underlying animosity. These terms are used interchangeably or strategically, but they serve a common purpose: to legitimize hostility toward Jews, and, ultimately, to justify or incite violence against them.
For more than seven decades, whenever conflict escalates in the Middle East, Jews around the world, far removed from the battlefield, become targets. Jews are singled out globally for events tied to Israel.
The circulation of myths, falsehoods, and conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel is not random or harmless, it is directed. These narratives converge toward a single objective: to dehumanize Jews and make hostility toward them appear justified. The result is targeting of Jews anywhere, regardless of their nationality or connection to Israel.
Throughout history, countless lies have been spread about Jews. In the modern era, one of the most consequential examples is The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fabricated text first published in Russia in 1903. It is widely regarded as one of the most infamous forgeries ever produced, a deliberate attempt to portray Jews as a global, malevolent force.
Although the document was thoroughly exposed as a forgery, including a 1921 investigation by The Times of London, its influence did not disappear. On the contrary, it was revived and amplified. In the Arab world, for example, the regime of Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser translated and widely distributed the text, embedding its narratives into public discourse.
As someone who has closely followed Arab media for decades, I can attest that these ideas did not remain on the margins. They became normalized. In fact, I can identify at least ten recurring and deeply harmful falsehoods about Jews and Israel that have been repeatedly circulated in Egyptian media, lies that continue to shape public perception to this day.
The First Lie: “The Blood Pie, or the Blood Libel.”
This malicious lie alleges that the Jews have the habit of slaughtering children (often Christians) to use their blood for baking Passover matzoh or other rituals. Such a false notion started first in Europe and then became popular in the Middle East. I have read that story many times in Egyptian newspapers and it is mentioned in several television series and programs. The Jewish creed prohibits in an absolute way the shedding of blood. Imagine the negative effects of this type of lies on the psyche of readers, and how they would be perceiving of a Jewish savagery.
The Second Lie: Israel Does Not Want to Have Permanent Borders.
I have entered many discussions with Arabs where I stressed the fact that Israel wants to draw its borders with the Arab countries in ways like it did it with Egypt. This was evident when it withdrew completely from Sinai whose size is triple that of the State of Israel and gave up the Taba sliver of land when it consented to international arbitration. Israel as well demarcated its border with Jordan and has been demanding for several years now to define its boundaries with Lebanon under the conditions of signing a peace treaty or a non-aggression pact. How can a state seek peace treaties or draw final borders with its neighbors who always accuse her of being not willing to setting up its borders?
The Third Lie: “From the Nile to the Euphrates.”
It is the allegation that Israel strives to occupy the Arab countries. This false accusation is now being made alleging that after the end of Israel’s war against Iran, Greater Israel will commence to be extended from the Nile to the Euphrates. Israel cannot colonize the Middle East as they charge. This is confirmed by the rules of geography, the postulates of logic, the facts of religion, the realities of politics, the norms of culture, and the sheer numbers of population. Israel is a democratic state whose transparency makes everything well known. There are no plans on the part of Israel to colonize these states.
The Fourth Lie: The Jews Did Not Go to the World Trade Center on September 11…
because they were aware of the timing of the attack against the two towers. This is a vicious lie accusing the Jews of being accomplices in the crime of hitting the towers. This suggests that their knowledge of the onslaught is their betrayal of America, and that they did not report to the authorities what they knew. However, statistics confirm that many Jews were killed in the September 11 terror strike. Usama Bin Laden himself confessed that he and his terrorist group Al Qaeda were the perpetrators of this terror assault.
The Fifth Lie: Israel is the Cause of the Backwardness of the Region…
and is the reason beyond everything that goes bad in the Middle East. This is part of how authoritarian regimes escape their responsibilities by being the root of backwardness and destruction. They direct their official media to spread these false claims. Nevertheless, I have published earlier that the number of those Arabs killed in inter-Arab wars and Arab civil wars is one hundred times more than the total number of Arabs who were killed in all the Arab-Israeli wars.
The Sixth Lie: Free Masonry was Established by the Jews in Order to Conspire Against the Whole World.
Most of the members of free masonry clubs in the West are Christians who grew up in Christian environments, and they had among their famous members figures such as General George Washington and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Free Masonry associations had their existence before the coup of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and among their members was the ruler of Egypt Khedive Tawfik, in addition to the most prominent Islamic cleric during Tawfik’s reign, namely Sheikh Muhammad Abdou.
The Seventh Lie: There is a World Management Council Chaired by the Jews to Control the Entire Globe…
and to command the economy and the media all over the world and to stage crises. This is an abhorrent lie pushed forward to resist the excellent leadership of the Jews in the areas of science and business, which are enthusiastic pursuits by the Jews. They exert a tremendous effort to be successful. This is why this imaginary thing was fabricated to demonize the Jews. There is no such thing as a World Management Council, and no meetings take place among suspicious people to plan for controlling and governing the world. All these are lies and they lack evidence.
The Eighth Lie: Israel is Planted in the Arab World to Disintegrate It.
The size of Israel is 0.14% of the whole space of the Arab countries. The number of the Jews inside Israel is 1.5% of the numbers of the Arabs in the Middle East. All of Israel’s wars have been its efforts to safeguard its small size against the attempts by the Arabs to annihilate it. The Arab and Islamic literature always predict the inevitable demise of the State of Israel. However, we have not heard nor seen one single Israeli who talks about the certain termination and ruin of the Arab countries. But they keep propagating these lies and fallacies about Israel.
The Ninth Lie : All the Wars in the Middle East Were the Creations of Israel, and all the Crises are the Plots of Jews!!
This lie persists even though all the wars against Israel were initiated from the side of the Arabs. This was the case in 1948, and it was the case of the June 1967 War when President Nasser of Egypt closed the Strait of Tiran and Saafir to isolate Israel, under the assumption that his army could occupy Tel Aviv. In 1973, it was Egypt which started the war. All the wars in Gaza were initiated by Hamas. Since 1979 in Iran, and according to the teachings of Vilayat Al Faqih, it made its official slogan “Death to Israel,” and it has been calling for its end. How could Israel be the mastermind of all these wars? What about the Arab civil wars, and the inter-Arab strifes, are they caused by Israel too? Was the war between Iraq and Iran which lasted for eight years the doing of Israel? Did Israel urge Saddam to occupy Kuwait? Was it Israel or Yasser Arafat who inflamed the Lebanese civil wars? Who ruined Syria for thirteen years, was it Iran, Hezbollah, Bashar Al Assad, or Israel? Who is agitating the conflicts in Sudan, Yemen, and Libya? Are not they the Arabs? Did the Jews tell Putin to wage a war against Ukraine. It is a long list...
The Tenth Lie: Israel is Persecuting the Christians Who Live Within its Borders.
This is a new lie which began following the Israeli war against Hamas right after the October 7 attack. It is now being extended to the war going on with Iran. Those who adhere to this allegation are exploiting a quotation attributed to historian William Durant. It is a quotation depicting Jesus Christ as the embodiment of ultimate goodness and Genghis Khan as the representative of maximum evil.
The purpose of what historian Durant wrote was to illustrate how goodness must defend its values on order to protect innocent people. Otherwise, evil will prevail. This is the very exact meaning of what Saint Augustine wrote in his famous book, The City of God. They also took advantage of the policy of limiting the number of worshipers inside churches for security reasons during the current war. This policy applies to all places of worship mainly due to the war and it is not directed against Christians exclusively.
Those who accuse Israel of persecuting Christians know for sure that the rights of Christians inside Israel are the most respected in the whole region. The restrictions on religion in the whole region of the Middle East cannot be comparable to the religious freedoms found in Israel. While the numbers of Christians in most of the countries in the Middle East are decreasing, their figures in Israel are increasing.
At the end, all these lies portray the Jews as a hidden enemy conspiring against the world and that their goal is to get rid of Islam. They aspire to control the United Nations, and they are in control of the debts owned by states. They plot wicked schemes against the whole globe. The goals of disseminating these accusations are to spread hate and justify violence against the Jews. This has occurred many times throughout history.
Maghdi Khalil is a fellow at the Ideological Defense Institute.
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Excellent! The Truth must be told!