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Calls for the destruction of Israel

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Israeli and US flags set on fire in Iran during the Hamas–Israel war

There have been explicit or implicit expressions, statements, and rhetoric made by individuals, political entities, and factions within Arab, Islamic, Palestinian or left-wing discourse advocating for the elimination of the State of Israel as a political entity. These anti-Zionist calls often involve the use of strong language, genocidal threats, or declarations aiming at the complete eradication of Israel. Such expressions may be manifested in official statements, speeches, charters, or public discourse, reflecting a position that denies the legitimacy of Israel's existence and seeks its destruction through various means, including military or other forms of political and ideological action.

The history of calls for the destruction of Israel is rooted in the prelude to its establishment. Leaders such as Azzam Pasha of the Arab League threatened a "war of extermination" in the event that a Jewish state was established. Prior to the 1967 Six Day War, there was a nearly unanimous consensus among Arab nations aimed at the obliteration of Israel. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser reiterated calls for the annulment of Israel's existence in the lead-up to the war. Contemporary discourse from political figures in Iran, including leaders like Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, continues to advocate for Israel's destruction, accompanied by antisemitic rhetoric and Holocaust denial. Islamist Palestinian organizations like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad consistently promote the goal of Israel's elimination, as evidenced by their charters, statements, and actions, such as the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Instances of media and propaganda within Palestinian discourse also contribute to expressions advocating for the destruction of Israel. The political slogan "From the river to the sea" has been linked to demands for a Palestinian state and the removal of a majority of its Jewish population, with ongoing debates about its implications and potential classification as antisemitic or hate speech.

Historical cases

See also: Azzam Pasha quotation

Before and after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, leaders of Arab states and Palestinian Arab leaders expressed the sentiment of eliminating the newly formed nation. Historian Benny Morris has described those calls as reflecting an “expulsionist or eliminationist mindset”. In late 1947, King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia corresponded with U.S. President Harry Truman:

The Arabs have definitely decided to oppose establishment of a Jewish state... Even if it is supposed that the Jews will succeed in gaining support... by their oppressive and tyrannous means and their money, such a state must perish in a short time. The Arab will isolate such a state from the world and will lay siege until it dies by famine... Its end will be the same as that of Crusader states.

Around the same time, in response to the UNSCOP report, Azzam Pasha, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, stated that a war with the proposed Jewish state would lead to "a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacre and the Crusades." Ephraim Karsh and David Barnett characterized this statement as a genocidal threat, while Tom Segev contested this interpretation.

In the early months of 1948, Matiel Mughannam, an Arab Christian born in Lebanon and the leader of the Arab Women's Organization, stated:

has no chance to survive now that the ‘Holy War’ has been declared. All the Jews will eventually be massacred.

Calls for the destruction of Israel by Arab leaders, notably by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, were repeated in the prelude to the 1967 Six Day War. Addressing the UN General Assembly in September 1960, Nasser expressed, "The only solution to Palestine is that matters should return to the condition prevailing before the error was committed, i.e., the annulment of Israel's existence." In 1964, he vowed, "We swear to God that we shall not rest until we restore the Arab nation to Palestine and Palestine to the Arab nation. There is no room for imperialism and there is no room for Britain in our country, just as there is no room for Israel within the Arab nation." In 1965, he declared, "We shall not enter Palestine with its soil covered in sand, we shall enter it with its soil saturated in blood."

The aftermath of the Six-Day War intensified sentiments among certain Palestinian groups. This period witnessed heightened calls for the eradication of Israel as part of the Palestinian cause. In July 1968, amendments were made to the Palestinian National Charter. Article 15 of the charter at that time stated: “The liberation of Palestine... aims at the elimination of Zionism in Palestine”. Article 22 stated that “the liberation of Palestine will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence and will contribute to the establishment of peace in the Middle East”. Until the early 1990s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officially pursued the goal of destroying Israel.

In contemporary political discourse

Political figures and factions within Islamic, Arab and Palestinian discourse have employed rhetoric that includes explicit or implicit calls for the end of Israel's existence. Certain extremist ideologies, both within and outside the Palestinian territories, have propagated the idea of eliminating Israel as part of their agenda.

Iran

The Iranian man on the right's headband reads "death to Israel" and Hamid Reza Ahmedabadi's [fa] on the left reads "death to America."
See also: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel and Little Satan

In recent decades, political figures in the Islamic Republic of Iran have consistently advocated for the destruction of Israel as a prominent element in their discourse against the nation. This discourse also encompasses the demonization of Jews, the use of antisemitic tropes, and the denial of the Holocaust.

Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, stated in 2000 that “the cancerous tumor called Israel must be uprooted from the region”, and in 2001 that “the perpetual subject of Iran is the elimination of Israel from the region”. In 2013 he labeled Israel a country "doomed to failure and annihilation," deeming it an "illegitimate regime" led by "untouchable rabid dogs" who "cannot be called human beings." He later outlined a nine-point plan for Israel's elimination in 2014.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who served as president of Iran from 2005 to 2013, has consistently called for the elimination of Israel. In a 2005 conference titled "A World Without Zionism", he stated: "Our dear Imam (Khomeini) ordered that this Jerusalem occupying regime must be erased from the page of time," and that Iran would “wipe Israel off the map”, In 2006, he said: "Israel heading towards annihilation”, and in another statement, "The Zionist regime will be wiped out, and humanity will be liberated”. Similar calls were also voiced by Iranian parliament members, philosophers and journalists.

During a speech in May 2012, the Chief of Staff of Iran's Ministry articulated the Iranian nation's steadfast commitment to its cause, which is the complete annihilation of Israel. Hojjat al‐Eslam Ali Shirazi, serving as the representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserted on October 2, 2012, that Iran needed a mere 23 hours to eliminate Israel. He further alleged that Israel was in close proximity to annihilation.

On 24 May 2024, Khamenei stated that "the divine promise to eliminate the Zionist entity will be fulfilled and we will see the day when Palestine will rise from the river to the sea." He also noted his surprise at demonstrations in Japan where the slogan "Death to Israel' was chanted in Persian.

Hamas

Hamas members parade with a coffin bearing the Israeli flag. Hamas has consistently called for the destruction of Israel and carried out terror attacks as part of this agenda.
See also: 1988 Hamas charter and 2017 Hamas charter

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist political and military organization currently in control of the Gaza Strip, has consistently advocated for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state across the entire territory of Palestine. The 1988 Hamas Charter has been characterized as antisemitic and genocidal. The charter holds Jews collectively, extending beyond Israelis, responsible for various global issues, including the two world wars. In an effort to moderate Hamas' public perception, a revised charter was issued in 2017, maintaining the goal of a Palestinian Islamic state to replace what it deems as an illegal and illegitimate Israel.

Expressions advocating for the destruction of Israel have been articulated by several figures associated with Hamas. Ahmad Yassin, a Palestinian politician and imam who played a pivotal role in the establishment of Hamas, forecasted the annihilation of Israel by the year 2027, employing the traditional Islamic concept of a 40-year historical cycle. Yassin correlated these cycles with significant events, positing that the initial cycle commenced in 1947 with the UN Partition of Palestine and concluded with the 1987 First Intifada. In this framework, the second cycle is anticipated to culminate in the destruction of Israel.

Imam Khalid Tafish, a prominent Hamas figure in Gaza, asserted a belief derived from the Quran, contending that "Jews must be destroyed twice in terrible wars." Amid the 2023 Hamas-Israel war, Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's political bureau, proclaimed that the surprise attack on October 7, resulting in the loss of 1,300 Israeli lives, mostly civilians, is but the initial phase in an ongoing series of assaults. Hamad expressed the organization's readiness to endure the consequences, underscoring their determination to persist with these attacks until the complete elimination of Israel.

According to The Economist, referring to Hamas' 1988 charter advocating Israel's eradication and the UN genocide definition, Hamas can be characterized as a genocidal organization. In line with this analysis, "Hamas fighters who burst into Israel on October 7th and killed more than 1,400 Israelis (and other nationalities) were carrying out the letter of their genocidal law."

Hezbollah

See also: Ideology of Hezbollah

From the inception of Hezbollah to the present, the elimination of the State of Israel has been one of Hezbollah's primary goals. Some translations of Hezbollah's 1985 Arabic-language manifesto state that "our struggle will end only when this entity is obliterated". According to Hezbollah's Deputy-General, Naim Qassem, the struggle against Israel is a core belief of Hezbollah and the central rationale of Hezbollah's existence.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad

See also: Ideology of Palestinian Islamic Jihad

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) explicitly aims for the violent destruction of the State of Israel, and rejects the option of a peaceful settlement with Israel. Israel's eradication is viewed as an essential prerequisite for addressing the challenges facing the Muslim world. The PIJ advocates for the use of guerrilla groups to execute terrorist attacks, intending to weaken Israel. It envisions laying the groundwork for a future scenario in which a significant Islamic Arabic army engages in military confrontation to achieve Israel's destruction. The PIJ has been accountable for some of the deadliest suicide attacks in Israel.

Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda also repeatedly calls for Israel's destruction, with Osama bin Laden asserting that "the creation of Israel is a crime that must be erased," and Muslims have a religious duty to combat Jews in Israel and worldwide.

A Houthi sign that says death to America and death to Israel

Houthi Movement

The slogan of the Houthi movement, an Islamist political and militant group in Yemen, reads: "God is the greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam"

During the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, the Houthi movement stated their intent to continue attacking Israel until they achieve the "demise of Israel".

Qatar

In April 2024, Essa Al-Nassr, a brigadier general at the Emiri Guard and member of Qatar's legislative body referred to the October 7 attacks as a “prelude to the annihilation of the corruption of the ‘second Zionist entity’ upon earth".

Expressions in public discourse

Quds Day in Tehran 2016

Death to Israel

Anti-Israeli protests in many Middle Eastern countries frequently involve the burning of Israeli flags and chants like "Death to Israel" or "Death to the Jewish infidels." The chant of the slogan has extended beyond Muslim countries. In Paris, demonstrators, often of North African origin, have frequently uttered cries of "death to the Jews, death to Israel”.

During Quds Day held in Iran and other countries; extensive rallies and marches take place, where senior leaders deliver speeches that frequently result in chants of "Death to Israel, Death to America." Israeli flags, whether painted on the ground or distributed for people to step on, are subjected to both trampling and burning. Additionally, exhibits featuring mock-ups of ballistic missiles showcase slogans like 'Death to Israel’.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free

The slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" is often heard in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. It symbolizes Palestinian nationalist aspirations, covering the geographical span from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, an area encompassing Israel and the Palestinian territories. Historically associated with calls for a Palestinian state in lieu of Israel and the Palestinian territories, it may imply the replacement of Israel, as initially outlined in the Palestine Liberation Organization's charter. This stance has evolved following the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. The slogan has been adopted by groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who have been accused of war crimes such as indiscriminate attacks and designated 'terrorists' by several Israel-aligned nations, and this has been used by critics of the slogan to portray it as antisemitic and hate speech. Following the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, even moderates who have used the slogan in some Western countries have faced vilification, censorship, employment discrimination, protest bans, and potentially even criminal charges. On 16 April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a resolution condemning the phrase as antisemitic.

Analysis

This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources.
Find sources: "Calls for the destruction of Israel" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2024)

Irwin Cotler coined the term "genocidal antisemitism" to describe public calls and incitements to destroy Israel. This includes state-sanctioned genocidal antisemitism in Ahmadinejad's Iran, where official promotion of anti-Israel sentiments involves parading missiles. A second manifestation involves the ideologies of groups like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda, advocating for Israel's destruction and endorsing acts of terror to achieve this goal. The last manifestation is seen in religious fatwas and execution writs framing genocidal calls against Israelis as religious obligations, portraying Israel as a collective enemy.

See also

References

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