Antisemitism—prejudice against and hatred of Jews—has increased greatly in the Arab world since the beginning of the 20th century, with a variety of proposed explanations: the dissolution and breakdown of the Ottoman Empire and traditional Islamic society; European influence, brought about by Western imperialism and Arab Christians;Lewis (1986), p. 132 Nazi propaganda and relations between Nazi Germany and the Arab world;Yadlin, Rifka. "Antisemitism". The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. p. 52 resentment over Zionism and the experience of the Nakba; the rise of Arab nationalism; Quranic passages justifying hostile beliefs and treatment of Jews; and the widespread proliferation of anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories.

Traditionally, Jews in the Muslim world were considered People of the Book () and were subjected to (; ) status vis-à-vis the Quranic text itself, the Hadith, the Pact of Umar, and later works of . They were afforded relative security against persecution, provided they did not contest the varying inferior social and legal status imposed on them under Islamic rule.

While there were antisemitic incidents committed by Muslims before the 20th century, tensions surrounding Zionism and the escalating intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine led to growing antisemitism in the Arab world. During the 1930s and the 1940s several Jewish communities in the Arab world suffered from pogroms, such as the . The status of Jews in Arab countries deteriorated further at the onset of the Arab–Israeli conflict, which began with the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the forced expulsion of Palestinian Arabs, and the creation of the State of Israel. Israeli victories during the wars of 1956 and 1967 further increased tensions between Israel and its opponents—primarily Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.Lewis (1986), p. 204 However, by the mid-1970s, a mass Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries had occurred, with expelled Jews moving primarily to Israel, France, and the United States.Yehouda Shenhav The reason for the exodus is considered to be primarily due to prolonged violence against Jews.

By the 1980s, according to historian Bernard Lewis, the volume of antisemitic literature published in the Arab world, and the authority of its sponsors, seemed to suggest that classical antisemitism had become an essential part of Arab intellectual life, considerably more than in late 19th- and early 20th-century France and to a degree that has been compared to Nazi Germany.Lewis, Bernard. Semites and Anti-Semites, New York/London: Norton, 1986, p. 256. The rise of political Islam during the 1980s and afterwards provided a new mutation of Islamic antisemitism, giving Arab hatred of Jews a religious component.

In its 2008 report on contemporary Arab-Muslim antisemitism, the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center dated the beginning of this phenomenon to the spread of classical medieval European, Christian antisemitism into the Arab world starting in the late 19th century."Contemporary Arab-Muslim anti-Semitism, its Significance and Implications ", Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC), April 17, 2008. In 2014, the Anti-Defamation League published a global survey of worldwide antisemitic attitudes, reporting that in the Middle East, 74% of adults agreed with a majority of the survey's eleven antisemitic propositions, including that "Jews have too much power in international financial markets" and that "Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars."

Medieval times

Jews, along with Christians, Sabians, and Zoroastrians living under early and medieval Muslim rule were known as "People of the Book" to Muslims and subjected to the status of dhimmi ("protected" minority) in the lands conquered by Muslim Arabs, a status generally applied to non-Muslim minorities that was later also extended to other Non-Muslims like Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. Jews were generally seen as a religious group (not a separate race), thus being a part of the "Arab family".Lewis (1999), p. 131

Dhimmi were subjected to a number of restrictions, the application and severity of which varied with time and place. Restrictions included residency in segregated quarters, obligation to wear distinctive clothing, public subservience to Muslims, prohibitions against proselytizing and against marrying Muslim women, and limited access to the legal system (the testimony of a Jew did not count if contradicted by that of a Muslim). Dhimmi had to pay a special poll tax (the jizya), which exempted them from military service, and also from payment of the zakat alms tax required of Muslims. In return, dhimmi were granted limited rights, including a degree of tolerance, community autonomy in personal matters, and protection from being killed outright. Jewish communities, like Christian ones, were typically constituted as semi-autonomous entities managed by their own laws and leadership, who carried the responsibility for the community towards the Muslim rulers.

The situation of Jews was comparatively better than their European counterparts, though they still suffered persecution. Between the years of death of Idris I of Morocco in 793 and beginning of Almohad rule in 1130, Jews mostly led a peaceful existence in North Africa. The Almohads started forcing Jews and Christians to convert to Islam or be killed after conquering the region. There were also numerous massacres at other times in Morocco, Libya, and Algeria.Roumani, Maurice. The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue, 1977, pp. 26–27.

The situation where Jews both enjoyed cultural and economic prosperity at times, but were widely persecuted at other times, was summarised by G. E. Von Grunebaum:

It would not be difficult to put together the names of a very sizable number of Jewish subjects or citizens of the Islamic area who have attained to high rank, to power, to great financial influence, to significant and recognized intellectual attainment; and the same could be done for Christians. But it would again not be difficult to compile a lengthy list of persecutions, arbitrary confiscations, attempted forced conversions, or pogroms.G. E. Von Grunebaum, Eastern Jewry Under Islam, 1971, p. 369.

Views in modernity Some scholars hold that Arab antisemitism in the modern world arose in the nineteenth century, against the backdrop of conflicting Jewish and Arab nationalism, and was imported into the Arab world primarily by nationalistically minded Christian Arabs (and only subsequently was it "Islamized"), Mark Cohen states.The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, p. 208 According to Bernard Lewis:

19th century

The Damascus affair was an accusation of ritual murder and a blood libel against Jews in Damascus in 1840. On February 5, 1840, Franciscan Capuchin friar Father Thomas and his Greek servant were reported missing, never to be seen again. The Turkish governor and the French consul Ratti-Menton believed accusations of ritual murder and blood libel, as the alleged murder occurred before the Jewish Passover. An investigation was staged, and Solomon Negrin, a Jewish barber, confessed under torture and accused other Jews. Two other Jews died under torture, and one (Moses Abulafia) converted to Islam to escape torture. More arrests and atrocities followed, culminating in 63 Jewish children being held hostage and mob attacks on Jewish communities throughout the Middle East. International outrage led to Ibrahim Pasha in Egypt ordering an investigation. Negotiations in Alexandria eventually secured the unconditional release and recognition of innocence of the nine prisoners still remaining alive (out of thirteen). Later in Constantinople, Moses Montefiore (leader of the British Jewish community) persuaded Sultan Abdülmecid I to issue a firman (edict) intended to halt the spread of blood libel accusations in the Ottoman Empire:

... and for the love we bear to our subjects, we cannot permit the Jewish nation, whose innocence for the crime alleged against them is evident, to be worried and tormented as a consequence of accusations which have not the least foundation in truth....

Nevertheless, the blood libel spread through the Middle East and North Africa: Aleppo (1810, 1850, 1875), Damascus (1840, 1848, 1890), Safi, Morocco in 1863, Beirut (1862, 1874), Dayr al-Qamar (1847), Jerusalem (1847), Cairo (1844, 1890, 1901–02), Mansura (1877), Alexandria (1870, 1882, 1901–02), Port Said (1903, 1908), and Damanhur (1871, 1873, 1877, 1892).Lewis, Bernard. The Jews of Islam. Princeton University Press, 1984. Overdrive. p. 300-301 in "Publisher's Default" mode and "Optimize for readability" checked.

The Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century had consequences in the Arab world. Passionate outbursts of antisemitism in France were echoed in areas of French influence, especially Maronite Lebanon. The Muslim Arab press, however, was sympathetic to the falsely accused Captain Dreyfus, and criticized the persecution of Jews in France.Lewis (1986), p. 133

20th century

Pre-state antisemitism While Arab antisemitism has increased in the wake of the Arab–Israeli conflict, there were pogroms against Jews prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948, including Nazi-inspired pogroms in Algeria in the 1930s, and attacks on the Jews of Iraq and Libya in the 1940s. In 1941, 180 Jews were murdered and 700 were injured in the anti-Jewish riots known as "the Farhud". Four hundred Jews were injured in violent demonstrations in Egypt in 1945 and Jewish property was vandalized and looted. In Libya, 130 Jews were killed and 266 injured. In December 1947, 13 Jews were killed in Damascus, including 8 children, and 26 were injured. In Aleppo, rioting resulted in dozens of Jewish casualties, damage to 150 Jewish homes, and the torching of 5 schools and 10 synagogues. In Yemen, 97 Jews were murdered and 120 injured.

During the British Mandate period, a successful anti-malaria campaign launched in 1922 transformed much of Palestine's previously uninhabitable, swamp-ridden land into habitable and cultivable territory, an achievement recognized by the League of Nations Malaria Commission for fostering cooperation between Jewish and Arab communities. The resulting public health improvements led to a sharp natural increase in the Arab population—the highest rate recorded globally at the time—contributing to local overcrowding and social strain. British commissions of the 1930s attributed this pressure primarily to demographic growth rather than to Jewish land purchases, noting that most land acquired by Jews had been malarious or otherwise uncultivable before reclamation. Nevertheless, certain Arab political leaders, including Grand Mufti Hajj Amin al-Husseini, advanced narratives blaming Jewish settlement for Arab land shortages, which inflamed anti-Jewish sentiment and diverted attention from underlying demographic and economic causes. This politicization of public health achievements reflected early intersections between antisemitic rhetoric and nationalist mobilization in the Arab world.Alexander A. Did antisemitism mislead and conceal from the world's malaria community the first start anywhere of a successful national malaria elimination campaign? Malariaworld J. 2024 Oct 15;15:12. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.13934894. PMID 39502331; PMCID: PMC11537171.

Speculated causes