Introduction		Bahrain		Egypt		Jordan
	Oman		United Arab Emirates		Arab Newspapers

Anti-Semitism is widespread throughout the Arab and Muslim world, manifested in every segment of society. The following report is a compilation of select anti-Semitic expressions in the Arab and Muslim world in April 2004.

There was an increase in anti-Semitic expressions in the Arab and Muslim media in April, in part due to events such as the killing of Hamas leader Abed al-'Aziz ar-Rantisi (a few weeks after the spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, was killed) and the meeting of President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, in which President Bush praised Sharon's disengagement plan. The meeting was perceived by the Arab and Muslim world as another expression of the alliance between Israel and the US.

April also saw an increase in references to Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ," with Israel depicted as crucifying Arabs.

As in recent months, the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and alleged Jewish/Israeli control of the U.S. political system continued as a major theme. Newspapers continued to feature anti-Semitic caricatures and themes that include demonic images of Jews/Israel as animals, conspiracy theories of Jews plotting to control the world, anti-Semitic blood libels and depictions of the stereotypical Jew (big nose, black coat and hat, skull cap etc.) along with Jewish symbols such as the Star of David and the menorah. Jews and Israelis are compared to Nazis using symbols such as the swastika, while at the same time Holocaust denial articles are pervasive in the media, using the claims of Holocaust deniers such as David Irving and Roger Garaudy.

Material in this compilation was translated by ADL from the original Arabic or from English language sources in the Middle East.