Vice President JD Vance recently stated that “[t]he most significant single thing you could do to eliminate anti-semitism and any other kind of ethnic hatred is to support our efforts to lower immigration and promote assimilation.” A day later, the White House released a proclamation stating that the White House would continue to fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals of the following 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, and to newly fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals of 7 additional countries: Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Syria, in addition to “individuals using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority (PA).”
Would restricting immigration from these countries help control importing antisemitism in the United States? For countries in the Middle East and North Africa, this looks to be the case.
The worst countries and territories for antisemitism are Muslim-majority, and mostly in the Middle East and North Africa…
According to a recent global study, the Middle East and North Africa is the region with the highest amount of antisemitism, while Western Europe ranks the lowest. The worst countries and territories for antisemitism are Muslim-majority, and mostly in the Middle East and North Africa: West Bank and Gaza (ranked 103, or absolute worst); Kuwait (102); Indonesia (101); Bahrain (100); Oman (99); Saudi Arabia (98); UAE (97); Jordan (96); Lebanon (95); Egypt (94); Tunisia (93); Libya (92); Algeria (91); Turkey (90); Iraq (89); Malaysia (88); Sudan (87); Morocco (86); and Qatar (85). Russia and China trailed immediately behind these countries, with rankings of 84 and 83, respectively.
Granted, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, all Muslim-majority countries on the White House’s fully restricted list, were not surveyed. But would restrictions on immigration from individuals using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority help control the importation of anti-Semitism? It looks like it.
West Bank and Gaza scored 103 out of 103 countries and territories surveyed, indicating that antisemitic views are the worst in these regions. Palestinians answered “definitely” or “probably true” to the following statements: “Jews loyalty is only to Israel” (86 percent of respondents); “Jews have too much power in the business world” (89 percent); “Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind” (93 percent); “Jews have too much control over global affairs” (92 percent); “Jews think they are better than other people” (91 percent); “Jews have too much control over the media” (92 percent); “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars” (92 percent); and “people hate Jews because of the way Jews behave” (94 percent).
Additionally, a recent review of the Palestinian Authority’s textbooks of grades 1-12 stated that
[a]ntisemitism remains a central figure of the curriculum. Hate and collective accusations specifically directed toward Jewish people appear across grades and subjects, depicting them as deceitful, manipulative, or inherently corrupt enemies of Islam, drawing on classical Islamic polemic, historical distortions, and modern antisemitic motifs used to describe the present-day conflict. Contemporary passages link Zionists and Jews to greed, global conspiracies, and control of financial and media institutions. Antisemitic stereotypes including imagery and terminology, are repurposed for classroom use, ensuring that prejudice against Jews is pedagogically transmitted.
Libya, which is also on the White House’s restrictions list, does not fare much better, scoring 92 out of 103 countries for tolerance toward Jews. Libyans answered “definitely” or “probably true” to the following statements: “Jews loyalty is only to Israel” (71 percent of respondents); “Jews have too much power in the business world” (73 percent); “Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind” (78 percent); “Jews have too much control over global affairs” (75 percent); “Jews think they are better than other people” (66 percent); “Jews have too much control over the media” (74 percent); “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars” (78 percent); and “people hate Jews because of the way Jews behave” (83 percent). While these numbers are statistically better than views held by the Palestinians, this study shows that Libyans still hold, in clear majorities, antisemitic opinions.
And the larger Muslim majority countries of Indonesia and Egypt, which are both U.S. allies, are similarly drowning in antisemitism:
Indonesia scored 101 out of 103 countries and territories surveyed, not far behind the West Bank and Gaza for antisemitism. Indonesians answered “definitely” or “probably true” to the following statements: “Jews loyalty is only to Israel” (92 percent of respondents); “Jews have too much power in the business world” (92 percent); “Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind” (95 percent); “Jews have too much control over global affairs” (92 percent); “Jews think they are better than other people” (94 percent); “Jews have too much control over the media” (89 percent); “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars” (86 percent); and “people hate Jews because of the way Jews behave” (94 percent).
In a bit of a silver lining, despite these horrific scores, an analysis of newer Indonesian textbooks in Islamic education, as compared with their 2013 counterparts, “show[s] a notable reduction in stereotypical depictions of Jews, such as greed and dishonesty, compared to the previous curriculum. They highlight instead respectful examples from the life of the Prophet Muhammad, such as the Medina Charter, encouraging respect for the Torah and recognizing Jews as People of the Book deserving equality.”
And Egypt scored 94 out of 103 countries and territories surveyed. This is particularly unfortunate, given Egypt’s lasting peace with Israel and the amount of American financial support for Egypt. Egyptians answered “definitely” or “probably true” to the following statements: “Jews loyalty is only to Israel” (74 percent of respondents); “Jews have too much power in the business world” (83 percent); “Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind” (84 percent); “Jews have too much control over global affairs” (73 percent); “Jews think they are better than other people” (66 percent); “Jews have too much control over the media” (66 percent); “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars” (75 percent); and “people hate Jews because of the way Jews behave” (87 percent).
So, would controlling immigration from certain countries limit the importation of antisemitism into the United States? Based on what these societies teach and believe in clear majorities, the answer appears to be yes.
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