New York, NY, October 12, 2023 – The world is coming together to support Israel’s firm and measured response to the massacre.
Along with the major nations of the world that back Israel’s right to take a decisive action, we are also watching early signs of the Arab public opinion taking a second look at a Palestinian militant group that holds Gaza hostage and imposes an unprovoked war on Israel and the region. I am heartened to report to you that some of Israel’s new and potential friends and partners in the Arab and Muslim nations across the Middle East are speaking up.
This is unprecedented.
As someone who has spent years leading and participating in wider efforts to help build these relationships, I want to briefly update you on this. I am sharing this with you because it is a first; it provides some hope; it puts pressure on Hamas and Iran, and it may be a message to Israel’s enemies like Hezbollah and Syria.
Morocco and the United Arab Emirates have condemned the escalation by Hamas terror group and amplified the targeting of Israeli civilians. Saudi Arabia has separated militants from Palestinians for the first time, a welcome step toward delegitimizing Gaza terror groups. Pakistan’s prime minister said he is “heartbroken” after the carnage. And Qatar, which has maintained a mediation channel with Hamas, made statements supportive of Israel. These messages and others might be lost behind diplomatic nuances, and so I list some of them below in this update. It is important for Americans and for Israelis to understand that we are not alone.
This is time for Israel’s friends in the Middle East and everywhere to speak up. In the words of President Biden, there is “a need for all countries to unequivocally condemn Hamas’s brutal atrocities.”
FRESH POLL: HAMAS LOSING ARAB SUPPORT
Hamas is losing support in Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, according to a poll by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy released this week. The poll covers a period starting from 2014 and shows a decline in Hamas’ reputation. In Jordan, for example, which has a large chunk of citizens of Palestinian descent, 72% supported Hamas in 2014. That figure dropped to 44% in Nov. 2020. See figures by country here.
IRANIANS STAND WITH ISRAEL
Iranian communities worldwide rallied to support Israel this week. They came out in the U.S., London, Paris, and in Australia, and inside Iran. They also went online to make ‘Iranians Stand With Israel’ a top trending hashtag worldwide on X platform for three consecutive days after the Hamas attack. [see this report]. Inside Iran, during a soccer match, brave Iranians scuttled the regime’s attempt to raise a flag in support of Hamas. See the video.
Here’s a screenshot of a video of Iranians in the U.S. rallying for Israel:
Iranians trended #IraniansStandWithIsrael again on Oct. 10 and 11, 2023.
GET THIS: PAKISTANIS STAND WITH ISRAEL
Pakistanis launched their own ‘Pakistan Stands With Israel’ hashtag on X platform. The country does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. It is wracked by extremist violence. The IRGC and Taliban often meddle from next-door Iran and Afghanistan. Yet many Pakistanis took to social media to support Israel after the Hamas slaughter, including this group of Pakistani college students who run ‘Pakistani Youth For Israel’:
Pakistani journalist Arzoo Kazmi criticized a cricketer of Pakistan’s national team who made a personal gesture of support for Hamas during a sporting event, reminding him that the militia killed children and the elderly.
And a senior Pakistani cleric who heads a religious council, Peer Mudassar Shah, based in Islamabad, Pakistan, denounced Hamas as un-Islamic and condemned the attack on Israel.
EX-KUWAIT MINISTER
Former Kuwaiti information minister Sami Al-Nesf posted on social media a statement after the Hamas attack on Israel where he said that the Palestinian cause that Hamas and Gaza militants espouse “does not represent me.” Al-Nesf has a large following in the Arab world and his interviews on YouTube support normalization with Israel.
ARAB INFLUENCERS
Arab influencers are taking the lead in changing Arab public opinion through shock therapy. Egyptian Mohamed Shalabi has said Palestinians are captives of Iran. U.S.-born Afghan Omar Qudrat posted a message calling on “fellow Muslims” to stop bothsideism and clearly condemn Hamas terrorism. Prominent Egyptian entrepreneur Karim Farid posted a clip of Hamas terrorists shouting Allah Akbar allegedly with the naked dead body of a young Israeli woman and wrote, “I’m an Egyptian, Arab and Muslim and I strongly condemn these actions.” Saudi journalist Abdulaziz Alkhames wrote an appeal to Muslims everywhere to condemn Hamas.
The list is long, and some of the things said are unprecedented for Arabs to say in defense of Israel against a Palestinian group. If these voices are a minority, they are pushing hard and acting bravely.
MOROCCO, UAE, SAUDI ARABIA, TURKEY, PAKISTAN
The United Arab Emirates openly blamed Hamas for the escalation and said “attacks by Hamas against Israeli towns and villages near the Gaza strip, including the firing of thousands of rockets at population centers, are a serious and grave escalation.” Turkey prioritized Israel in its statement and “strongly condemned the loss of civilian lives.” Saudi Arabia repeated the decades-long official position on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, but a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to “a number of Palestinian factions,” in a subtle distinction between the militants and the Palestinian issue. Morocco voiced “deep concern,” condemned attacks on civilians “wherever they are,” and stressed on dialogue instead of violence. And Pakistan’s interim premier said he was “heartbroken” in a post on X platform that repeated the official position but refrained from condemning Israel, unlike recent statements by his predecessors. Qatar has reached out to American and Israeli media to explain it protects its role as a mediator by maintaining contacts with Hamas, that it is in contact with Israel and the United States on the hostage crisis, and that it wants peace for both Israel and Gaza.
We thank our friends and partners in the Middle East and understand the complex situation of each country in a difficult region. But more can be done. The American Jewish Congress believes this is a moment that Arab and Muslim nations should join major world powers in taking a stand against violent extremism that hijacks conflicts and land for proxy agendas and terrorism.
JACK ROSEN
President, American Jewish Congress
