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European Muslim Leaders Visit Israel to Promote Peace, Condemn Extremism Amid Rising Antisemitism
Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with Muslim leaders from across Europe during a visit to promote interfaith dialogue and regional peace. Photo: Screenshot
In a bid to foster interfaith dialogue, a delegation of Muslim leaders from across Europe met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Monday, kicking off a week-long visit amid growing concerns over rising antisemitism worldwide.
Organized by the European Leadership Network (ELNET), a nongovernmental, nonpartisan group founded in 2007 to strengthen Israel-EU relations, the visit brought together Muslim leaders from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and England to promote interfaith cooperation.
In a post on X, Herzog praised the initiative, saying he was “moved and inspired” by his meeting with the delegation.
“They stand bravely against extremism, and speak out for coexistence and partnership between faiths,” the Israeli leader wrote.
“Here in Israel we live together side by side, Muslim and Jew, together with people of all faiths — and I urged them to take back with them to their communities a message of hope and peace for the future of the region,” Herzog continued.
“Inshallah, we will all see better days, with our hostages back home, and the end of conflicts and suffering in our region,” he said.
“You represent the world of brotherhood, humanity, and liberty”. The words of Imam Hassen Chalghoumi from France to me today.
I was moved and inspired to meet him and a delegation led by @elnet_global of Imams and Muslim community leaders from across Europe. They stand bravely… pic.twitter.com/gpJja2tQne
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 7, 2025
The 15-member delegation of Muslim imams from across Europe arrives at a time of rising global antisemitism and anti-Jewish hate crimes — particularly in Europe — following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“The war that broke out after Oct. 7 is not a war between Israel and Hamas or Israel and Hezbollah but a war between two worlds,” Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, chairman of the Conference of Imams of France, told Herzog during their meeting.
“You represent the world of humanity and democracy,” the Muslim leader said. “You represent the world of brotherhood, humanity, and liberty.”
Imam Chalghoumi noted that members of the delegation were fully aware of the risks they faced due to their visit.
Herzog praised the group for their “courageous” visit. “We are all the sons of Abraham,” he said, expressing hope that regional peace would soon be within reach.
“I believe that the historic progress in our region is the result of dialogue — between Muslims and Jews and between Jews and Muslims,” the Israeli leader said. “Against the extremist forces trying to stop this progress of living together, there are other forces that are growing stronger every day, advancing this vision.”
The delegation also emphasized their message of solidarity and love for the Jewish people, expressing hope for the safe return of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
“We want to see all the hostages home, and also to stop the suffering of the residents of Gaza and live a good life together,” Herzog told them.
After meeting with the Israeli leader, the delegation visited the Knesset and toured Jerusalem’s Old City.
The group is also scheduled to meet with Muslim victims of the Hamas onslaught, visit the Syrian and Lebanese borders, and tour sites in southern Israel impacted by the Oct. 7 attacks.
In a post on X, Noor Dahri, one of the imams in the delegation, praised the visit, saying it was “a great pleasure” to meet the Israeli leader.
“It was a peace journey from European Muslim Imams to Israel,” the Muslim leader said. “We want peace between both nations and strongly condemn political Islam and Islamist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and others.”
It was a great pleasure to meet the President of Israel @Isaac_Herzog along with European Muslim religious leaders led by @Imam1chalghoumi and organised by @elnet_global.
It was a peace journey from European Muslim Imams to Israel. We want peace between both nations and… pic.twitter.com/oMiDsHhnLs
— Noor Dahri – نور ڈاہری
(@dahrinoor2) July 7, 2025
The post European Muslim Leaders Visit Israel to Promote Peace, Condemn Extremism Amid Rising Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.