The Abraham Accords, as well as being a cause for celebration, also raised the issue of Jews from Arab countries. Alongside the regional developments that followed the agreements, it seems that one of them is actually concealed in the past and could bolster efforts to repair an injustice in the narrative of Jews from Arab countries and Iran.

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Thousands of years of history of the million Jews who lived in Arab countries and Iran prior to Israel's founding vanished in a flash. Some had lived in the Middle East more than 2,500 years ago, long before the arrival of Islam.

The magnificent existence of the Jewish communities has also been pushed from the national consciousness, and while the claims of Palestinian refugees are familiar to many, few are aware of the existence of the problem of the Jewish refugees forced to leave the lands of their birth and who significantly shaped the face of the State of Israel.

'A terrible Injustice'

Less than a year before the signing of the Abraham Accords, Israel Hayom revealed the huge scope of property left behind by Jews from Arab countries, especially Jews from Iran, after they were expelled from their countries and moved to Israel. According to an initial and conservative estimate, the value of this property is around $150 billion – an extraordinary amount that reflects an especially tragic chapter in the history of Jews from Arab countries, which until recently has not been widely discussed in Israel.

For the first time, Israel is in possession of comprehensive data on this important issue. It is important to emphasize that today, just as in the past, there is a moral obligation to raise these issues in the international arena.

"A year ago, I made it my goal to also leverage the Abraham Accords in order to fix this terrible injustice at the UN – to advance recognition of the 850,000 Jewish refugees who were expelled from the Arab countries and from Iran," said Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan.

In an interview to Israel Hayom, Erdan said "the UN never did anything and didn't recognize the great injustice that was done to our brothers who were attacked, murdered, and whose property was plundered by the Arab countries who expelled them. I identified the signing of the Abraham Accords as a suitable occasion on which put the issue on the UN's daily agenda and to fix the situation in which the UN works only to assist the 'Palestinian refugees' and doesn't even recognize the pain and the suffering of the Jewish refugees."

Erdan notes that he has pushed this issue during the past year: "I raised it in many conversations with ambassadors and government figures from UN member states, and I worked to put the issue on the daily agenda," he says. Erdan also aims to work both for the restitution of Jewish refugees' property and recognition of their refugee status.

Nov. 29, 2022

One of the main events Erdan organized was a special demonstration outside the UN headquarters on Nov. 29, 2021, in response to the "Solidarity with the Palestinian People" conference that was held the same day in the UN General Assembly. The goal of the conference – which was attended by the president of the General Assembly, the president of the Security Council, and the Palestinian Authority envoy – was to strengthen support for "right of return" for Palestinians.

During the protest, Erdan sent trucks onto the streets of New York decorated with signs, and when they arrived at the UN headquarters, they displayed pictures of Jews expelled from Arab countries. The ambassador also attacked the UN for ignoring of the story of the expulsion of Jews and the plunder of their property.

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"The UN strengthens the false and dangerous narrative of the Palestinians," he declared. "In doing so it erases the Jewish history, distorts the truth and silences the tragic stories of the Jewish refugees – we won't allow it to cause their stories to be forgotten. On Nov. 29, the day on which the Jews' right to a state was recognized, and the day on which the Arabs and the Palestinians rejected the decision and tried to annihilate us – the UN dares to support only Palestinians and to promote the imaginary 'right of return' that would lead to the elimination of the Jewish State. What a disgrace!"

Utilizing all the platforms

"Since that moving day that I was privileged to be a part of, when on the White House lawn, the historic Abraham Accords were signed with Bahrain and the UAE, more than a year has passed," says Erdan. "We have managed to do so much: relations with the [Abraham Accords] countries have become closer with economic, cultural and strategic partnerships, and we have gone from being 'friends on paper' to becoming 'real friends.'

"Since then, I've held joint meetings and events with Abraham Accords countries, including one mark International Women's Day with the Moroccan ambassador to the United States, lighting Hanukkah candles with the Moroccan ambassador to the UN, planting a tree in honor of Earth Day with the Emirati ambassador to the United States – countries with whom we never dreamed we would achieve such intimacy."

But as far as a change in how Jews from Middle East countries are views, Erdan says "it's still not enough."

"Although I held the protest event and I have worked to raise awareness of the issue, I intend to fight more – it's just the beginning of the struggle," he says, promising he will "utilize all the platforms – including the General Assembly that will take place in June and the different meetings that will be part of it – in order to place this important issue on the daily agenda, and to put forward a significant resolution at the UN for recognizing the Jewish refugees from Arab countries and Iran."

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Which Gulf country will be next to normalize relations with Israel? Against the backdrop of the geopolitical changes in the region, and primarily the role of the Democratic government in the United States, it's still an open question. Either way, the very potential of broadening the normalization processes in the region creates questions and interest regarding who will be the "next in line."

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During preparation for this series of articles, I formed connections with a range of senior Jewish figures (and others) in other Gulf states. It's clear that, alongside their growing curiosity regarding the Abraham Accords, they are worried that they might be associated with this or that statement. In light of the sensitivity, preserving their feeling of personal security is more important than their being mentioned in relation to this issue.

And despite all this, an exception to this is a Jew who lives in Kuwait – for the purposes of the article, we'll call him Yosef – who agreed to be quoted and to pass on the spirit of his message. Immediately following the signing of the Abraham Accords, the leading Kuwaiti newspaper the Kuwait Times led with the message that the Gulf country would be the "last state" to normalize relations with Israel.

"From the media, I learned that the state's attitude towards Israel is different from mine," Yosef emphasized, "and you need to remember that over the years it has absorbed many Palestinian refugees, something that sharpens the complexity of the country's approach to Israel" [during the second half of the twentieth century Kuwait took in Palestinian foreign workers, including Yasser Arafat, who became Palestinian Authority chairman, as well as those from India and Egypt].

At the same time, he clarifies, "there is freedom of religion in Kuwait and they don't have a problem with Jews per se. Basically, it's not hard to be Jewish. The meat is Kosher according to the law and it's possible to live an Orthodox life, albeit without a minyan. During Sukkot I sat in a Sukkah, and even though there is no synagogue in the country I don't think there will be a problem to establish a house of prayer here. The Kuwaiti public, for its part, isn't so anti-Israel. I haven't encountered any kind of hostility towards Israel when its name comes up in daily conversation.

AP, AFPAccording to Yosef, Jewish soldiers in the American army who are based in Kuwait make up a little more than a minyan, and with their help there's the possibility of praying on Friday evening. "A Jewish woman who I met in Kuwait City told me that during the past decade she has met at least six or seven Jewish families, some of whom have left in the meantime. In total, the number of Jewish soldiers in the American army who serve in the Persian Gulf is estimated at a few hundred, alongside very small communities connected to the business community.

On maintaining relations with Jews from the region, Yosef said that he is "in close contact with the AGJC and with the Nonoo family [Ebrahim Dawood Nonoo, AGJC President]. Until now we've been in touch, mainly on Zoom, during festivals and other important days – Rosh Hashanah – Channukah, Tisha B'av, Pesach, Shavuot."

Nonoo himself avoided responding directly on this issue, and made do with this statement: "The Jewish communities of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar are excited to hear about the developments in the area, and expect them to continue."

Another Jewish figure in the Gulf noted that "naturally, if the Abraham Accords widen then more Israelis will come here," and he added that, according to his estimate, "apart from Oman, in which there are only a few Jews left, it's precisely in Qatar – Dubai's main rival – where there is potential that they will sign agreements with Israel. In this case, my estimate is that many Jews will gradually go there and the community is definitely liable to grow." Alex Peterfreund, the co-president of Gates to the East, the Jewish council in the Emirates, who shared in a roundabout way that "our community has become the main address for all the needs of the Jewish community in the UAE. All of us share the common goal of building our community – both for the sake of those who live here and for the tens of thousands of Jewish tourists who visit here each year."

In this context, Peterfreund added that "from the moment that the community here entered the stage of global Jewry's consciousness, we were required to take action very quickly and we are capable of helping small Jewish communities who will also be 'dropped' onto this stage."

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In recent years, a range of signs can be discerned in the regional public arena, describing the possible potential change in the attitude of the Gulf states towards Jews and Israel.

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In Saudi Arabia, for example, in 2020 the drama Um Haroun ('Aaron's Mother') was broadcast. A Saudi-funded production, it was filmed in the UAE, and led to extensive media responses in relation to attitudes to the Jews. The series dealt with the Jewish community that lived in Kuwait in the 1940s, focusing on the difficulties experienced by a doctor called Um Haroun because she was Jewish. In practice, the series dealt with the coexistence that prevailed between the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities in Kuwait until the establishment of the State of Israel.

There were further public calls in Saudi Arabia to recognize the Holocaust as part of a "genuine striving for peace," but a clearer expression of this refreshing approach was found in a ground-breaking article published in an Israeli academic journal, with the headline "A Contribution to Improving the Image of the Prophet Muhammed in the Eyes of the Israeli Public: The Covenants and the Correspondence of Muhammed with the Jews of Saudi Arabia." What made this unique was the author of the article: Professor Muhammed Ibrahim Alghbban, a senior Saudi scholar who is responsible for Hebrew studies in the Department of Modern Languages at the King Saud University in Riyadh.

The article was published in June 2020 in Kesher, the Tel Aviv University journal devoted to the history of Jewish media, against the background of the atmosphere at the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and in Saudi Arabia, which seeks to promote inter-religious understanding leading to cooperation with Jews and Israel for the sake of peace. In the article, Alghbban claimed that mistakes in the analyses of Middle East scholars in the last century in relation to Islamic history led to a defective understanding of the writings – and these in turn led to a mistaken conception and to a "negative influence on contemporary Hebrew-speaking scholars of the East."

According to the Saudi scholar, "accusing the Muslim religion and the Prophet Muhammed of incitement and racism against the Jewish tribes in the Hijaz is a false accusation. Muhammed dealt equally with all the social groups in el-Medina and in other places under his control, without distinguishing according to race or religion."

To back up his claim, Alghbban reviewed the events in Saudi Arabia before and after the coming of Islam, while he translated the original sources from Arabic to Hebrew, emphasizing that most Orientalists chose to quote Islamic sources in the points of contention that are between different schools of Islam (Sunni, Shiite, Sufi etc), and in practice "present a picture that serves their ideology."

In addition, he notes that most of the Hebrew writers don't have full control of Arabic. Alghbban describes the fact of the historical existence of ancient kingdoms and states in the Hijaz (present-day Saudi Arabia) – including Dedan, Qedar, Thamud, Midian, and the Nabateans, which prove the important role of the Jews in the history of the Saudi peninsula in a range of areas, including religion, the economy, culture, and trade. In relation to Muhammed, he claimed that the prophet had good relations with the Jews, and that the clashes with them were solely against a political background and were not religious in nature.

Dramatic normalization

"It's possible to take the actions of Muhammed and the statements that are attributed to him in any direction that you want, there is a broad range of methodological maneuvering," explains the historian Professor Eyal Zisser from Tel Aviv University. "Is there a historical truth behind what is attributed to him? It's definitely in the eyes of the contemporary beholder. As a rule, it's clear that Muhammed was influenced by Judaism, but it's known that the moment the Jews refused to accept him as their prophet he began a political struggle [against them] and even killed members of three Jewish tribes in Medina, and expelled them and the Jews of Khaybar from the Saudi peninsula.

"Until today, there are those who use him as an example of the 'proper way' of how to treat the Jews. In clashes between the IDF and Palestinians, for example, we often hear calls of 'Khaybar Khaybar, ya Yahud, Jaish Muhammed, sa Yahud' – remember Khaybar, Jews, Muhammed's army is going to return."

It's true that, alongside the persecution of the Jews of the Arabian Peninsula, Muhammed accepted Judaism as a legitimate religion, but Zisser explains the intention of the author. "On the positive side, the author is interested in reconciliation, and because of this he slightly downplays the uncomfortable aspects, and claims that Islam accepts Judaism and is tolerant towards the existence of Jews. It's more indicative of our times than it is of the past."

In the spirit of the era, in the entire Arab world there is today a different way of looking at Jews and Judaism, as well as at the coexistence that existed in the past with them, a feeling of regret at their expulsion and more. "In this context, the normalization with the Gulf states is dramatic – among other reasons since it's already clear that other countries, who haven't yet officially signed anything with Israel, are already in contact with her and others in an attempt to break new ground," Prof. Zisser concludes.

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Q: What happened in 2010 that changed your negative perception of Jews?

"That year I was living with a Jewish family in France, and I studied the Bible and the shared tradition that Jews and Muslims have – and I was exposed to the historical connection that the Jews have with the region, which is an absolute fact, rather than the lie that they are colonialists. I changed my mind about the Jews. At that stage, I still had a negative attitude to Israel, and the revolution was completed four years ago when I discovered the truth that Israel provides for individual freedom of religion."

Around two years ago Alsharif, an opinion former who today lives in Abu Dhabi, which is in the UAE, met the Arab-Israeli hasbara activist Yoseph Haddad, CEO of Together – Vouch For Each Other, and this received extra validation with the signing of the Abraham Accords. The exciting meeting between them took place in March 2021, in a Muslim country that held a Holocaust Memorial Ceremony for the first time (at the initiative of Together – Vouch for Each Other and the organization Israeliz), during which, among other things, the testimonies of Holocaust survivors were shared.

"During and after the event I cried a lot. It took me a day to gather myself," Hadad says. "The Emiratis said that the ceremony made them understand the depth of the subject in a way they had never realized before, and this of course gave deep significance to the fact that it was being carried out in the light of the Abraham Accords." He has something else to emphasize. "We have to study history, and when an Arab-Israeli learns about the Holocaust it is a catalyst for Jews to come closer to Arab society and to bridge the gaps, without unnecessary racism."

Alsharif adds that "this unique event was extremely emotional. It's important to also note here the part of those Muslims who helped Jews, in the heart of the human tragedy, to escape from the gas chambers [mainly in North Africa and the Balkans]. For the sake of history and the future, inshallah we will have many memorial events like this in the UAE. We will never forget."

Haddad, who occasionally writes op-eds for Israel Hayom, says emphatically: "You don't understand how thirsty the Emiratis were to learn about Israel, Jewish society and Arab-Israeli society. Peace was formed against this background, as well as the openness and this crazy connection. We can feel something different in the air. Master of the Universe, I said to myself, they didn't know us and we didn't know them, but we wanted to know one another so much, it was a kind of falling in love."

Q: Arabs who are proud of their Israeliness

Haddad is a disabled IDF veteran who was severely wounded during the Second Lebanon War, after he volunteered for the IDF and served as a combat soldier in the Golani Brigade. Following his injury, he decided to devote his life to global hasbara about the beautiful side of Israel and about the real opportunities that Arab-Israelis receive.

In this context, regarding the importance of the Abraham Accords, Haddad, who lives in Nazareth, says: "It was personally fun for me to see how Arab society in Israel responded to this peace. For me, this is very important. The Abraham Accords aren't only important in the context of their direct outcome because first and foremost they broke the assumption that it isn't possible to make peace with Arab states without advancing the peace process with the Palestinians. From this perspective, it's possible to talk about the changes between Jews and Arabs.

Q: MK Odeh wasn't very enthusiastic, he called the agreements the "illusions of peace."

"There is criticism from Arab society about the Arab political representatives who opposed the agreements. It's a fact that when they opposed the accords, the Joint List wasn't representing the Arab-Israeli public. In actuality, when I flew to Dubai, 80 percent of the passengers spoke Arabic. Arab-Israelis were always waiting to fly to Dubai and to do business there. It's the language of our people, it's the most natural thing there is. From this perspective, the connection between the Arabs in the Emirates and the Jews here in Israel is natural. The leaders warm the relations, and the peoples are also connected."

Here Alsharif joins in and adds that he knows "many Arab-Israelis, including Muslims, Christians, and Druze, who are proud of their Israeliness. By contrast, the fact that there are still Arab-Israelis, with Israeli citizenship, who accuse Israel of war crimes against the Palestinians and aren't loyal to it, is inconceivable for me. They, alongside the Palestinian and anti-Israeli propaganda, are part of the problem – hiding the truth, turning it upside down. Happily, today there is social media, and especially the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, that help us produce a new reality for Jews living in the Gulf.

Apart from his life as a social media influencer, Haddad deals devotedly with connecting Arab society in Israel to the rest of Israeli society and in bridging the gaps. "During the last five years there was tangible progress, and then there were the disturbances of May 2021. I immediately emphasized: They are the extremist voices and they aren't a majority of either of the sides. A few thousand Arabs participated out of two million, and out of seven million Jews there were a few hundred who went wild."

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The normalization of Israel-Morocco ties may not be officially part of the Abraham Accords but in reality, there is no substantial difference in details in comparison to the other agreements. The mutual relations were renewed in the same breath and form part of the same window of opportunity that opened in September 2020. Through a series of economic-academic areas, it's especially interesting to examine the cultural-sociological aspect that directly influences the life of the Jewish community in the kingdom located in northwest Africa, as well as Israelis' relationship with the country.

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One of the most fascinating things that stands out recently is the level of interest and desire that the Moroccan Muslims are showing in learning Hebrew. "We are receiving many inquiries about Hebrew courses from private individuals who want to know the language, simply because Moroccans love languages and are known as speakers of many languages," says Einat Levi, political and economic adviser in the Israel consulate in the capital Rabat.

Levi clarifies that "business owners and service providers are also interested in learning Hebrew, out of an understanding that there is an economic opportunity for them here." This issue is also accompanied by a significant visual factor: the Hebrew language is seen more and more in the alleyways of the markets and the old cities – this time not because of an initiative on the part of the king or the government, but by the residents and business owners who are excited about the return of Israeli tourism to Morocco, against the background of the renewal of relations between the countries.

In Malach, a neighborhood of the port city of Essaouira, one of two areas that the city's Jews lived in the past and in which there was full Jewish life, today the sign for the pharmacy is also displayed in Hebrew. Levi: "The Hebrew sign is a symbol of cultural renewal, evidence of the close connection between culture and tourism, and more than that – it has traces of belonging."

Levi, a researcher and entrepreneur who has spent the last decade moving between Israel and Morocco, adds with excitement that "after years of constant movement between the countries, the establishment of virtual communities for Moroccan Jews according to their city of origin, and the power of tremendous longing, I am beginning to understand that now I have an opportunity to be part of a community of Moroccan Jews who still live there. It's a big thing, really big."

Today between 1,500 and 2,000 Jews live in Morocco – around 1,200 in Casablanca, 120 in Marrakesh, 60 in Fez, and dozens more in Meknes and Agadir. Sources in the community talk about "increasing interest from Israelis who want to move permanently to Morocco for business reasons, as well as pensioners who are interested in moving to the country because of the cheap cost of living."

The fairly optimistic tourism forecasts about hundreds of thousands of Israeli tourists visiting Morocco annually, as well as the expectation of Moroccan tourists visiting Israel, are already being translated into practical action: Rahat is planning Hebrew courses for local tour guides, and in parallel is opening a new track for a master's degree at the International Institute of Tourism in Tangier, which will combine Hebrew studies with classes about Jewish heritage sites in Morocco and about Israeli and Jewish tourists.

Another interesting development that took place this year is the marking in Israel – for the first time – of the annual Throne Day for King Mohammed VI, which took place in July. Yokneam, Netanya, Dimona and other cities marked the event officially, making it another opportunity to celebrate the renewal of official ties.

Fundamentally, a political connection has been opened up between Israel and Morocco, which, despite being connected culturally, were still relatively disconnected politically and economically. It's true that Israelis faced no obstacles while traveling in Morocco, and most of the time were welcomed warmly, but the impression is that at official events – at festivals, in academia and more – there was a challenge, in light of the fear that an Israeli presence would attract public criticism from the boycott movements.

"Now the situation is different," is Levi's analysis. "There is a clear and strong official connection, and this makes open and public Israeli activities in Israeli easier, in new areas as well. It allows many Israelis of Moroccan origin to feel more complete, also thanks to the fact that Morocco has become part of the Israeli agenda: it's no longer just a national culture, it's part of the state's political and diplomatic activity. We need to get used to this and to learn about these new spaces, and to create real connections there."

Eyal Biram, the director of "Israeliz," an apolitical organization that deals with improving Israel's image around the world, notes that "when the Abraham Accords were signed, Morocco was a little different from the project that we carried out in the UAE. The goal of the project, to which we are a partner, is to bring young people from the Arab world closer to Israel, and it would have been impossible to do this without the Jewish angle. Morocco is an expression of the new-old Israeli story. From the aspiration for a melting point, many young Israelis now have a desire to embrace their identities and cultures and to formulate a new-old story from them.

"With the help of the Morocco identity which reminds people of their grandmother's home, both the real and the imagined, we have returned to the country in order to continue to advance 'the leaders of tomorrow' – our unique and historical project, which reaches out to young people across the Middle East, in the Gulf and North Africa. We are calling for a new reality, to break down the old walls and to create quality meetings between Israeli young people and young people from the Arab world. From our perspective, it's clear that the Jewish community is a cornerstone in advancing these relations."

In summarizing the atmosphere and the current pervasive feelings, it's clear that Morocco is being transformed from a past nostalgia into a present and a future. "It's something that moves me personally," Levi emphasizes with enthusiasm, "people dreamed for years about this change, but it needed the seal of official relations for them to talk about their dream publicly. They want to do things with Morocco or in Morocco, and these are projects or initiatives that are connected to their personal and professional identities. I have a special 'file of dreams' - there are quite a lot of them, and I hope that we will be privileged to realize them soon."

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Following a tense Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a new poll conducted by the Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research of the Israel Democracy Institute and published on Tuesday showed that 50% of Jews in Israel support being able to pray at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, against 40% of Jewish respondents who oppose it.

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According to the Israeli Voice Index for April 2022, a breakdown according to the voting pattern from the last election reveals a large majority of supporters of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount among voters for the Likud, Religious Zionism Party, Yamina, New Hope, and Israel Beytenu, and a large majority of opponents among voters for center and left-wing parties and for Haredi parties.

The main reason (38%) given by those in favor of allowing prayer at the Temple Mount was that it "demonstrates Jewish sovereignty over the site," while the main reason (23%) of those against was that it might "invoke a severe negative reaction from the Muslim world." Within the religious context, 17% of those who are opposed are against it because it is "forbidden by halacha (Jewish law)," while 12% said they support the practice as a "religious commandment."

A breakdown of responses by religiosity found that most Haredim oppose Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount because it is prohibited by halacha (86.5%). The largest shares among national religious (51%), traditional religious (54%), and traditional non-religious (49%) respondents support such prayer because it is proof of Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount, while the largest share of secular respondents oppose it because it might invoke a severe negative reaction from the Muslim world (39%).

Weak support for Bennett, among Yamina voters as well

Additionally, the poll showed that just one-third of Jewish respondents (33%) gave his policy for dealing with the security events of the last month a good rating compared with 42% who graded it poor and 21% who awarded it a moderate score. Among Arab participants, a particularly low share of respondents (16%) viewed this policy positively.

The largest differences in ratings for the prime minister's policy were found based on the voting pattern from the last election: Among those who voted for parties in the coalition, almost half (48%) gave this policy a good grade, compared with just 13% of those who voted for opposition parties. The ambivalence toward the prime minister's security policy was clearly evident among voters for his own party, Yamina, of whom 35% awarded a positive rating, one-third a negative rating, and 29% a moderate rating. Among Yesh Atid voters, 67% said they held a positive view of his security policy.

Going to another election?

In light of the recent political upheaval in the coalition, participants were also asked whether the government will survive to the end of the year.

Less than a third of respondents (30%) estimated that there is a high likelihood of the government surviving at least a year, while twice as many (60%) considered the chances of this to be very small. This represents a sharp decline relative to February 2022, when half of the respondents thought there was a good chance that the current government will survive.

Among those who voted for opposition parties, 76% expressed this assessment; around one-half of voters for coalition parties (48%) shared the same opinion. Just 44% of those who voted for parties in the coalition think there is a high likelihood that the government will survive at least until the end of the year.

In the survey, which was conducted on the Internet and by telephone from April 24-26, 2022, 601 men and women were interviewed in Hebrew and 150 in Arabic, constituting a representative national sample of the entire adult population of Israel aged 18 and older. The maximum sampling error for the entire sample was ±3.65% at a confidence level of 95%. The fieldwork was done by the Midgam Institute.

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An ancient clay candle believed to date back to around 200 B.C.E in the Hellenistic Period has been discovered during conservation work on Mount Gerizim in Samaria.

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According to Netanel Elimelech of the Mount Gerizim site for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Civil Administration, "The ancient candle was found in the large priestly compound during conservation work at the site and is estimated to be dated to the period when there was a magnificent Samaritan holy city on Mount Gerizim, the equivalent of the Jewish holy city in Jerusalem around 2,300 years ago. The candle was found adjacent to a stone bath that was used in the Samaritans' purification processes at the site adjacent to the temple."

At the top of the mountain are the remains of the ancient Samaritan compound around which the ruins of a large city of around 10,000 people dating back to the Hellenistic Period can be found.

Researchers believe a family of wealthy priests resided at the priestly compound at the site due to the discovery of decorated walls as well as a gold bell that would have been hung from the priest's clothing.

The priestly compound was first opened to the public over Passover this year. At the site, visitors can walk through ancient courtyards, alleys, and rooms dating back to around 2,300 years ago.

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Only 60% of Jewish Israelis feel that the Holocaust was a unique event and not another chapter in a series of acts of genocide that have taken place globally over the course of history, a poll by the Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute revealed ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, marked on Thursday.

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The Israeli Voice Index noted that this was a decrease from 2019 when 75.5% of Israelis said they believe that the Holocaust was a unique historical event.

A segmentation of the results according to respondents' religious affiliation showed that 79% of ultra-Orthodox Israelis agreed that the Holocaust was a unique event, compared to 63% of national religious, 66% of observant, 64% of traditional, and 49% of secular Israelis, who said the same.

Gauging the issue by political affiliation, the poll found that 38% of Israelis who identified as leftists believe the Shoah was a unique event in world history, compared to 52% of centrists and 68% of rightists.

Further segmentation of the results found that 68.5% of Sephardi Israelis see the Holocaust as a unique historical event, compared to 58% of Ashkenazi Israelis, 57% of mixed Sephardi-Ashkenazi Israelis and 43% of former Soviet-Union immigrants.

The poll further found that the majority of Israeli Jews – 81% - stand during the traditional, one-minute memorial siren that sounds on the morning of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Some 60% said they watch the special telecasts of the day's events on Israel's major news channels, while 33% actively participate in commemoration events for those who perished in the Nazi atrocities of World War II.

A segmentation of the data shows that less than 30% of Haredi Israelis stand during the siren – the most common act of commemoration. Some 61% of Haredim do not participate in any form of commemoration, while only 5% of seculars do the same.

The poll further found that most Jewish Israelis – 71% - have not visited the Nazi death camps in Europe.

Among those who have, 16% did so on a high school trip. About 36% of Israelis ages 18-44 and 21% ages 44 and over did so independently.

The poll was conducted on April 24-25, among a sample of 605 participants ages 18 and over. The maximum sampling error was 3.59%.

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Antisemitic incidents increased sharply from 2020 to 2021 and followed an already substantial increase in demonstrations of Jew-hatred seen between 2019 and 2020, according to a new report by Tel Aviv University researchers.

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The researchers from the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Humanities found antisemitic incidents rose sharply in a number of countries including the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and Australia.

According to the report, this increase was the result of the rise of the far-Right and far-Left, both of which have become increasingly popular online.

Conspiracy theories, which grew increasingly popular during the coronavirus pandemic, and the Israel Defense Forces' Operation Guardian of the Walls in the Gaza Strip, both contributed to the spike in antisemitism, the researchers found. In this context, the researchers noted the anonymity of the Dark Web allowed radicals of all kinds to share antisemitic content unhindered.

The Islamic Republic also played a role, the researchers said, through its significant financial investment in the promotion of antisemitic and anti-Israel content online, in particular in Latin American countries and the US.

The researchers relied on data from dozens of reports compiled around the world as well as data from law enforcement agencies, media organizations, and various Jewish groups for their report.

So, for example, in New York, the researchers found that Jews had been the target of 214 hate crimes in 2021 compared to 126 in 2020. Seventy-nine antisemitic crimes were reported in Los Angeles in 2021 compared to just 40 the previous year. The US saw 251 hate crimes committed against Jews in the three weeks in which the IDF carried out its May 2020 operation in Gaza.

According to a survey by the American Jewish Council, 2.6% of US Jews were the victim of physical antisemitic attacks over the last five years. According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic propaganda from white supremacist groups increased 27% between 2020 and 2021 and 113% between 2019 and 2020. The findings are particularly troubling as, in general, the dissemination of white supremacist propaganda is on the decline.

France reported 589 antisemitic incidents in 2021, which was a 74% increase over 2020 but a 15% decrease from 2019, according to a joint report by the country's Jewish Community Security Service and Interior Ministry.

In May 2020, Canada saw a record-breaking number of physical antisemitic attacks, according to the B'nai Brith Canada organization. Sixty-one such incidents were reported in May 2021. In total, 266 antisemitic incidents were reported in that country, a 54% increase over 2020.

According to police in Germany, the European country recorded 3,028 antisemitic incidents in 2021, which was a 28.8% increase over 2020 and a 49% increase over 2019. In the UK, the Community Security Trust reported 2,255 antisemitic incidents, a 34% increase over 2020 and a 24% increase over 2019. Physical attacks on Jews increased by 78% in the UK between 2020 and 2021.

German police further noted a growing trend of anti-vaxxers comparing their situation to that of Jews in the Holocaust which resulted in the trivialization of the Holocaust.

In Australia, 447 antisemitic incidents were reported in 2021, a 35% increase over 2020 and a 21.5% increase over 2019.

Professor Uriya Shavit, who heads the Tel Aviv University's Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry, noted: "Something isn't working. In recent years, immense resources have been invested in the struggle against antisemitism, but the number of antisemitic incidents is on the rise. The easy thing would be to say that we need more laws and more funds, but what is really needed is the bold and comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of existing strategies of action."

He said: "The Russian war crimes, which are being carried out through the cynical desecration of the memory of the Holocaust, teaches us that some of those who declared their commitment to the struggle were not serious about it and did not internalize the lessons of World War II.

"The Jewish world must come to its senses and understand that the struggle against antisemitism and the struggle toward the democratic-liberal order are the same struggle," he said.

Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry founder Professor emeritus Dina Porat added: "During the coronavirus and the lockdowns, in which people were holed up in their homes and in front of their computers, exposure to conspiracy theories that thrive on the internet, including the accusation the virus was created and spread by Jews and Israel when the lockdowns were removed, increased."

According to Porat, "Some of those who were poisoned for a long period of time by these theories emerged more aggressive and bitter while continuing to be influenced by the lies they internalized."

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For the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Israelis are no longer required to wear masks in closed public venues.

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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz made the announcement on Wednesday. The scrapping of the indoor mask mandate came into force at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday.

On Wednesday, Horowitz said: "The cancellation of the mask mandate in closed places outside of hospitals and nursing homes is the continued policy of life alongside the coronavirus. Without panic, responsibly, and with consideration.

"The policy has proven itself, and this is how we will continue. We will carefully track the disease, and we will provide all means of defense: vaccines, testing, and medicine. We will maintain health as well as routine life."
The indoor mask mandate has been in place since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, except for a brief two-week period in the summer of 2021.

Nevertheless, several high-risk locations will continue to require masks, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and flights. Individuals who tested positive for the virus will also be required to mask up on their way to quarantine.

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The post After 2 years of COVID, Israelis no longer required to wear masks indoors appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.