The hostility against Jews is a deeply rooted phenomenon in Muslim societies — anti-Semitism is often described as among the oldest forms of hatred in recorded history, though there is no meaningful comparison between the two communities in scale. Jews constitute only around 0.2 percent of the world’s population, while the global Muslim population exceeds two billion. Despite this vast demographic imbalance, anti-Jewish sentiment remains widespread in many Muslim societies.

Approximately half of the world’s Jewish population — around six million people — resides in Israel, while most of the remainder lives in the United States and parts of Europe. In nearly every country, Jews are a minority except in Israel itself. This raises an important question: why does such intense hostility toward Jews persist in many parts of the Muslim world, despite Jews being regarded in Islam as “People of the Book,” and despite Muslims invoking blessings upon the family of Prophet Abraham in their daily prayers?

Jewish communities have made extraordinary contributions to modern science, technology, and intellectual advancement. Jews have received a disproportionately high share of Nobel Prizes and have played major roles in medicine, physics, economics, and innovation. By contrast, many Muslim-majority societies continue to lag in scientific and educational development. The treatment of Nobel laureates such as Malala Yousafzai and Dr. Abdus Salam illustrates how intellectual achievement is sometimes met with suspicion or hostility rather than appreciation — particularly in Pakistan.

A significant portion of Muslims fail to adequately condemn the Holocaust and, in some cases, even glorify Adolf Hitler despite the genocide of six million Jews. There is a profound moral inconsistency in mourning Palestinian suffering while simultaneously dismissing or minimizing Jewish suffering during the Holocaust. One root cause is the absence of balanced education in countries such as Pakistan, where school curricula have historically portrayed Jews, Hindus, and Christians as adversaries rather than neighbors.

Several Muslim-majority countries restrict travel and diplomatic relations with Israel, despite Israel possessing one of the world’s strongest passports and most advanced economies. Thirteen of the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped countries — struggling with hunger and poverty — have banned entry to those holding Israeli passports. These include Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Libya, Brunei, Bangladesh, and Yemen.

Consider the paradox: these nations are banning a country whose passport ranks among the top fifteen in the world — one whose citizens enjoy visa-free access to over 170 countries. Does this not suggest that these nations are suffering not only from material poverty, but from intellectual and political stagnation? This reflects economic weakness compounded by ideological rigidity that ultimately harms their own citizens most of all.

Regarding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, many people discuss the issue without sufficient historical grounding. The land holds deep historical and religious significance for Judaism — biblical prophets emerged from that region across millennia. While Germany publicly acknowledged and repented for the crimes of the Holocaust after the Second World War, Muslim societies have not similarly reflected upon anti-Jewish prejudice within their own communities and traditions.

The 1947–48 United Nations partition plan proposed the creation of separate Jewish and Arab states in Mandatory Palestine. Jewish leaders accepted the partition despite reservations, while many Arab leaders and Palestinian representatives rejected it outright. This rejection, followed by armed conflict, resulted in the displacement of large numbers of Palestinians. At the same time, large numbers of Jews were expelled or forced to flee from Arab countries and later settled in Israel. Now, Muslim countries including Pakistan and Palestinian leadership demand that the situation before 1967 be accepted — yet they had rejected precisely that formula decades ago. After rejecting the 1948 verdict and waging decades of violence, they have arrived at the same point once more.

In recent years, interfaith organizations such as AMMWEC, Sharaka, and CAM have worked to bridge the Arab-Israeli divide through dialogue and cultural engagement. Some Pakistani journalists have visited Israel — one of whom was recently killed, a testament to the intolerance among certain factions unwilling to accept even peaceful engagement with the other side.

Through the Abraham Accords — a series of bilateral agreements brokered by the United States — Israel normalized diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties with several Arab nations. The United Arab Emirates normalized relations with Israel and has benefited economically from the partnership. Saudi Arabia might have followed a similar path had regional tensions not escalated sharply following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

Despite decades of war, conflict, and hostility from surrounding states and armed groups, Israel developed into a technologically advanced and economically powerful nation. Meanwhile, many Muslim-majority countries continue to struggle with poverty, instability, authoritarianism, and underdevelopment. Ideological hostility and political extremism have prevented meaningful progress in parts of the Muslim world — a self-inflicted wound that no foreign adversary could have engineered more effectively.