According to news reports from across the Arab world, the sermon dealt with the prophet Muhammad's first days in Mecca and the ties he formed with members of other religions, particularly Jews. The bottom line was that Muslims must practice religious tolerance, especially toward Jews.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"We must clean and purify Islam from the doubt and superstition that has stuck to it," the imam said, referring to the hatred for members of other religions espoused by some members of radical schools of Islam.

In the past, Sudais has spoken to foreign news outlets about tolerance and accepting others, but the timing of this weekend's sermon, in which he clearly referenced Jews, caused many media outlets to treat the sermon as a call for normalization.

While Saudi Arabia is insisting that it will establish diplomatic ties with Israel only after the latter signs a peace deal with the Palestinians, Riyadh welcomed normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and even helped the process by allowing Israeli flights to the UAE to cross Saudi airspace.

Social media was especially atwitter with discussion of the sermon. The Moroccan news site Morocco World News published a selection of comments from Moroccan social media users who criticized the Saudi imam.

"He speaks like a rabbi, not an imam," one user wrote. Another said, "The Zionists are tweeting praise of the Mecca imam."

Still, Sudais has made blatantly anti-Semitic comments in the past. In 2002, he called the Jews "the sickness of the world … rats ... sons of monkeys and pigs." As a result of these comments, he was banned from the US and Canada.

Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Has a Saudi imam called for normalization with Israel? appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The book, by Yael Mishali and Yehuda Atlas, was published 21 years ago. It describes a family with single-sex parents, a family in which divorced parents remarry, and families raised by single parents, as well as other variations on the "traditional" nuclear family.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

However, the Noam post backfired. Most of the commenters said they were happy to learn that the book existed, and many said that they intended to purchase it. Other posters asked where it was being sold. Authors suggested that Noam might object to their own books, thus boosting sales.

The Noam post excoriated the book for portraying LGBTQ families, mixed Jewish-Arab families, and families of foreign workers in Israel.

"This is what [the Education Ministry] has been giving our children for years. It's time to put a stop to it. In the next Knesset, Noam will remove this book from kindergartens. We need a strong Noam party!" it reads.

In addition, a number of posters asked for the book to be translated into other languages.

Atlas, a respected author, credited Mishali with coming up for the idea of the book and writing it.

"I didn't know Yael until she called me one day and said, 'I've written a children's book in rhyme, and I want to send it to you so you can give me your opinion.' Because I get a lot of requests like that, I considered telling her I couldn't do that, but then I asked her, 'What's the book about?' She answered: 'About pluralism in families – about how there are all kinds of families, not just mom-dad-kids.'"

"She [Yael] sent me the manuscript, and it was a story about a kid who is supposed to have a birthday party in kindergarten and tell [the class] about his family, but he doesn't know what to say. Then the other kids' stories come up, for example, a child of divorced parents. I thought it was a great idea for a really important book, one that would give legitimacy to every kind of family there is. Everyone can and should choose how they want to live, and no one else has the right to force anything on them," Atlas said.

Atlas said he helped Mishali with the rhymes and writing style, and suggested that she make the children in the story older to bring in the difficulties each one experiences with his or her own unique family structure.

Mishali points out that when the book was first published, it was well-received. The first copies were, in fact, self-published.

"Because after a week, the book had disappeared from stores, we went to the printer a few more times until we decided it was too much for us and gave the book to a publisher that would print and distribute it," she says.

"There are a lot of stories about how in the first few weeks, everyone who got a present when babies were born or before starting first grade would receive two or three copies of the book. … Twenty-one years went by and naturally, the book's sales tapered off. The people from Noam have given us the biggest marketing push in recent years," Mishali adds.

The post Orthodox party's post against children's book about alternative families kick-starts sales appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

During a speech at a Roman Catholic church on Chicago's South Side, Farrakhan asserted people shouldn't be angry with him if "I stand on God's word."

Farrakhan was invited to speak at the church by the Rev. Michael Pfleger after Facebook banned Farrakhan, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and conservative personality Milo Yiannopoulos, saying they violated its ban on "dangerous individuals."

Farrakhan said those who think he is a hater don't know him and have never had a conversation with him. He added those who hated him before and got to know him came to love him. He went on to say Facebook's contention that he is dangerous is true because what he says can be researched by his listeners.

"Social media you met me tonight. I plead with the rulers, let the truth be taught," he said.

The Archdiocese of Chicago distanced itself from Pfleger's decision to invite Farrakhan to St. Sabina Catholic Church, saying Pfleger did not consult with Cardinal Blase Cupich or other diocese officials before extending the invitation.

"There is no place in American life for discriminatory rhetoric of any kind," the archdiocese said in a statement. "At a time when hate crimes are on the rise, when religious believers are murdered in their places of worship, we cannot countenance any speech that dehumanizes persons on the basis of ethnicity, religious belief, economic status or country of origin."

Farrakhan noted Cupich's predecessor, Cardinal Francis George, visited him in his home and had dinner with him, and he met with Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.

"For those angry about me about coming to St. Sabina, how many would be angry with me meeting with Cardinal George. and with the previous cardinal," he said. "That kind of hatred is insanity."

Pfleger defended his invitation, saying he was responding to the Facebook ban as a defender of free speech.

Hours before Farrakhan was scheduled to speak, officials of the Illinois Holocaust Museum spoke out against Pfleger for "giving hatred a platform."

Museum president and Holocaust survivor Fritzie Fritzshall said when community leaders like Pfleger provide a platform for bigotry and antisemitism, "it increases the threat against all of humanity."

Farrakhan has been labeled an extremist by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center for allegedly making anti-Semitic, anti-white and anti-gay comments.

Facebook says it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

The post Farrakhan says he doesn't hate Jewish people appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.