Hamas

Hamas (Arabic: حماس), officially the Islamic Resistance Movement (Arabic: 'حركة المقاومة الإسلامية), is a Palestinian political organization with a closely associated paramilitary resistance wing dedicated to the ending the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. Hamas was established in 1987, co-founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi, among others. Hamas is often seen as the primary counterpart to the Fatih organization.

Antisemitism Accusations

Western and pro-Israel media outlets have often accused Hamas of being antisemitic, sometimes going as far as claiming that Hamas is genocidal and/or has a neo-Nazi ideology. The 1988 charter of Hamas is often pointed to as proof of this. While this charter does contain some antisemitic remarks, it explicitly states that Muslims and Jews can coexist peacefully. Two years later, Hamas published documents distancing itself from these old documents, emphasizing that its struggle was only with Zionism and Zionist aggressors. According to Khaled Hroub, the charter was written by a single person and was published without going through the usual process for consultation, revision, or consensus.

However, Hamas updated its charter in 2017 which now specifically rejects antisemitism and other forms of bigotry. Article 16 in this version states:

Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine. Yet, it is the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity.

Hamas condemns the Holocaust, and its officials have consistently denied antisemitic charges. Khaled Meshaal, the former Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, once emphasized that the struggle of Hamas is against Israel, not against Jews.