The history of Muslim-Jewish conflicts is recorded in this comprehensive timeline. Painstakingly researched by JP Grumberg, the data provides nearly 300 historical records documenting different Muslim acts of violence against Jews since the seventh-century.
The chart below illustrates and unveils the history of Muslim-Jewish conflicts.
Year | Event |
---|---|
622–627 | Ethnic cleansing of Jews from Mecca and Medina; Jewish boys publicly inspected and executed if found |
622–634 | Extermination of the 14 Arab Jewish tribes |
624 | Beginning of the elimination of the Jews after the victory of Badr |
625 | Expulsion of the Jewish clan of Al Nadir |
626 | Massacre of the Beni Khazradj Jews and division of families and loot |
626 | Murder of the Jew Kab, leader of the Beni Nadhir and satirist poet, and of his wife who had made fun of Mohammed |
626 | Expedition against the Jews of Kaihbar |
626 | Murder on the orders of Muhammad of the Jew Sallam abu Rafi |
626 | Mohammed had the palm trees of the Jewish oasis Beni Nadhir cut down |
626? | Expedition against the Jews beni Qoraizha; insulted by Mohammed: “O you, monkeys and pigs…” |
626? | Massacre of 700 Beni Qoraïzha Jews; bound for three days, then slaughtered above a ditch, with the young boys |
627 | Elimination of the Jewish Qurayza clan in Medina |
627 | Massacre of the Jews of Medina; sharing of families and property |
628 | Submission of the Jews of Wadil Qora |
628 | Mohammed to the Jews beni Qainoqa: “if you do not embrace Islam, I declare war on you” |
628? | Attack on the Jews of Khaibar, and torture of prisoners |
628? | Taking of the Jewish oasis of Fadak as Mohammed’s personal property |
629 | First massacres in Alexandria, Egypt |
630 | Submission of the Jews and Christians of Makna, Eilat, Jerba |
638 | Expulsion of the Jews from Jerusalem |
640 | Expulsion of Jews from Hedjez |
643 | Expulsion of the Jews from Khaibar by Omar |
822–861 | Islamic empire adopts a law requiring Jews to wear yellow stars, caliph al-Mutawakkil |
940 | Beheading of the Jewish exilarch of Baghdad for having sullied the name of Mohammed |
945 | Assassination by a crowd of fanatics of the last Jewish exilarch of Baghdad |
948 | Closure of the Jewish theological school of Baghdad “Sora” |
1004 | Jews and Christians must wear a black turban and sash in Egypt |
1009 | Jews and Christians in Egypt must wear a cross or bells in the baths |
1009 | Destruction of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem by the Fatimids |
1010 | Persecution of Christians, Jews, and Sunnis by the Fatimid caliph Al Hakim |
1010–1013 | Start of massacre of hundreds of Jews around Cordoba |
1016 | Persecution of Jews are driven out of Kairouan |
1032 | 5 to 6,000 Jews killed in a riot in Fez and expulsion of survivors |
1040 | Beheading of the Jewish theologian Gaon Chizkiya, head of a Talmudic school |
1057 | Capture and pillage of Kairouan by the Hilalian tribes; expulsion of Jews and certain Muslims |
1066 | Massacre of thousands of Jews in Granada in Muslim-occupied Spain |
1073 | Start of persecution against Jews and Christians by the Turks in Jerusalem |
1106 | Ali Ibn Yousef Ibn Tashifin of Marrakech decrees the death penalty for any local Jew, including his Jewish doctor, and his military general |
1127 | In Morocco, after the failure of the prophetic movement of the Jewish messiah Moshe Dhery, wave of persecutions and forced conversions |
1142 | Start of persecution against the Jews by the Almohads; massacre in Tlemcen, Bougie, Oran |
1145 | Jews of Tunis must choose between conversion and exile |
1146 | Capture of Meknes by the Almohads; persecution of the Jews |
1147 | Almohad invasion of Spain: expulsion of Jews or forced conversions |
1147 | Capture of Marrakech by the Almohads; persecution of the Jews |
1147 | Start of Almohad persecutions against the Jews of North Africa |
1148 | Almohads of Morocco give Jews the choice of converting to Islam or being expelled |
1148 | Start of the exodus of Maimonides fleeing the intolerance of the Almohads |
1148 | Almohadin of Morocco gives Jews the choice of converting to Islam or being expelled |
1152 | Advent of Abd el Moumin in Morocco; choice for Christians and Jews between conversion or death |
1159 | Controversy between Maimonides and the rabbi of Fez on the attitude towards forcible converts |
1160 | Capture of Ifriqiya by the Moroccans of Abd el Moumen; Jews and Christians must choose between death and conversion; Jews are converted by force and superficially |
1165 | Chief rabbi of the Maghreb burned alive; The Rambam fled to Egypt |
1165 | Flight of Maimonides to Egypt to escape the Almohads |
1165–1178 | Yemen: Jews throughout the country were given the choice (under the new constitution) to convert to Islam or die |
1171 | In Egypt, decree recalling obedience to ordinances concerning the submission of Jewish and Christian infidels under penalty of death |
1184 | Almohads impose distinctive signs on Christians and Jews in Spain |
1198 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Aden |
1220 | Tens of thousands of Jews killed by Muslims after being blamed for the Mongol invasion, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Egypt |
1232 | Massacre of the Jews of Marrakech |
1266 | Tomb of the Patriarchs of Hebron is converted into a mosque and closed to Jews and Christians |
1267 | Mamluk Sultan Baybars forbids Jews from entering the vault of the Patriarchs in Hebron; the ban ended exactly five centuries later in 1967 |
1270 | Sultan Baibars of Egypt resolved to burn all the Jews, a ditch having been dug for this purpose; but at the last moment he repented and instead demanded a heavy tribute, in which many perished. |
1270 | Widespread segregation of Jews in Andalusia |
1276 | 2nd pogrom of Fez, Morocco |
1284 | In Baghdad, the Jewish doctor Ibn Kammuna died locked in a trunk after writing “a book in which he showed irreverence towards the prophecies”; he escapes a lynching and is threatened with the stake |
1291 | Death of the converted Jew Sad al Dawla, grand vizier of Argun Khan in Iran, a rank which provoked the anger of the Muslim court |
1291 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Tabriz in Persia |
1301 | Start of the persecution of the Jews in Egypt |
1318 | Beheading of Rashid aldin Tabid, historian and Persian minister, Jewish convert who provoked the anger of Muslim elites |
1318 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Tabriz in Persia |
1333 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Baghdad |
1333 | The traveler Ibn Battuta complains that Djenkchi Khan djagataï allows Jews and Christians to repair their places of worship |
1334 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Baghdad |
1344 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Baghdad |
1351 | Trial of Jews (in Cairo?) accused of desecration, who must choose between conversion or death |
1385 | Massacres du Khorasan, Iran |
1390 | Foundation of the first Jewish ghetto in Fez |
1391 | In Morocco, persecution of Jews from Spain |
1438 | Creation of ghettos for Jews in the cities of Morocco, under the name “mellah” |
1438 | 1st massacres in the Mellah ghetto, North Africa |
1448 | In Egypt, decree recalling obedience to ordinances concerning the submission of Jewish and Christian infidels under penalty of death |
1450 | Trial of Jews accused of having written the name of Mohammed in their synagogue in Fustat; they are converted by force |
1465 | In Fez, pogroms after the discovery in the Jewish quarter of the tomb of the city’s founder, a descendant of Mohammed…; Jews are forced to move to the ghetto (11 Jews left alive) |
1492 | Jewish community of Touat in Morocco is massacred; synagogues destroyed |
1516 | Algerian Jews receive the official status of dhimmi from the Ottomans; certain colors are forbidden to them (red and green); they are not allowed to ride horses or carry weapons; they must pay the discriminatory tax; their representative is ritually slapped during the delivery of tribute to the authorities |
1517 | 1st pogrom in Safed, Ottoman Palestine |
1517 | 1st pogrom of Hebron, Ottoman Palestine |
1521 | Expulsion of Jews from Belgrade by the Ottomans |
1524 | Expulsion of Jews from Buda in Hungary by the Ottomans |
1535 | Pogrom then expulsion of Jews from Tunisia |
1554 | Looting and persecution against the Jewish population of Marrakech by the Turks who took the city |
1574 | Civil war in Morocco between three claimants; Jews are victims of all camps |
1577 | Passover massacre, Ottoman Empire |
1588–1629 | Pogroms of Mahalay, Iran |
1604 | Start of a period of famine, violence and forced conversions of the Jewish population of Fez: 2000 conversions in 2 years |
1608 | Persecution for two years of the Jews of Taroudat by the Berbers |
1622 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Persia |
1630–1700 | Yemenite Jews were considered “impure” and therefore forbidden to touch a Muslim or a Muslim’s food. They were obliged to humble themselves before a Muslim, walk on the left side and greet him first. They could not build houses taller than those of a Muslim or ride a camel or horse, and when riding a mule or donkey, they had to sit on the side. When entering the Muslim quarter, a Jew had to take off his shoes and walk barefoot. If attacked with stones or fists by Muslim youths, a Jew was not allowed to defend himself. |
1650 | Jews from Tunisia are deported to special neighborhoods called “hara” |
1650 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Persia, under Shah Abbas II |
1656 | Jews expelled from Isfahan in Iran |
1660 | 2 pogroms in Safed and Tiberias, Ottoman Palestine |
1670 | Expulsion of Mawza, Yemen |
1676 | Expulsion of Jews from Sanaa in Yemen |
1678 | Forced conversion of Jews in Yemen |
1679–1680 | Sanaa massacres, Yemen |
1700 | Massacre of Jews in Yemen |
1747 | Massacres de Mashhad, Iran |
1758 | Executions of a Jew and an Armenian in Constantinople for violation of the legislation on the clothing of infidels |
1770 | Expulsion of Jews from Jeddah in Arabia |
1785 | Tripoli Pogrom, Ottoman Libya |
1790 | Destruction of most of the Jewish communities in Morocco |
1790–92 | Pogrom of Tetouan, Morocco (Jews of Tetouan undressed and lined up) |
1800 | New decree adopted in Yemen, prohibiting Jews from wearing new or good clothes. Jews were forbidden to ride mules or donkeys, and were sometimes rounded up for long, naked marches through the Roob al Khali desert. |
1805 | 1st pogrom in Ottoman Algeria against the Jews of Algiers after a famine. French consul Dubois-Thainville saves 200 Jews by sheltering them in his consulate. |
1805 | Exile of Jews from Algiers to Tunis and Livorno |
1805 | The leader of the Jewish Nation of Algiers, Naphthalie Busnach, is killed while riots ravage the neighborhoods. |
1806 | Expulsion by fatwa of the Jews of Sali in Morocco |
1806 | Ban on Moroccan Jews wearing Western clothing |
1806 | The janissaries of the dey of Algiers massacre and pillage in the Jewish quarter |
1807 | Expulsion of Jews from Tetouan |
1808 | 1st massacres in the Mellah ghetto, North Africa |
1815 | The chief rabbi of Algiers, Isaac Aboulker, is beheaded during a riot. |
1815 | The Jews of Algiers are forced to fight against an invasion of locusts |
1815 | 2nd pogrom of Algiers, Ottoman Algeria |
1816 | In Algeria, ban on carrying weapons for Jews and Christians |
1820 | Massacres of Sahalu Lobiant, Ottoman Syria |
1828 | Pogrom of Baghdad, Ottoman Iraq |
1830 | 3rd pogrom of Algeria, Ottoman Algeria |
1830 | Start of the persecution of Jews in Persia, caused by the Russian advance in the Caucasus |
1830 | Ethnic cleansing of Jews in Tabriz, Iran |
1834 | 2nd pogrom of Hebron, Ottoman Palestine |
1834 | Pogrom of Safed, Ottoman Palestine |
1838 | Druze attack in Safed, Ottoman Palestine |
1839 | Massacre of the Mashadi Jews, Iran |
1839 | Forced conversion of surviving Jews from Mashadi |
1839 | Campaign of forced conversions of Iranian Jews |
1840 | Persecution of the Jews of Damascus; ritual murder case |
1840 | Forced conversion of the Jews of Mashadi |
1840 | Damascus, ritual murders (French Muslims and Christians kidnapped, tortured and killed Jewish children for entertainment), Ottoman Syria |
1841 | Massive murders of Jews in Morocco; the sultan is obliged to consider the Jews as his personal property, which helps to protect them |
1844 | 1st Cairo massacre, Ottoman Egypt |
1847 | Dayr al-Qamar Pogrom, Ottoman Lebanon |
1847 | Ethnic cleansing of Jews in Jerusalem, Ottoman Palestine |
1848 | 1st pogrom of Damascus, Syria |
1848 | Total disappearance of the Jews of Mashhad |
1850 | 1st pogrom of Aleppo, Ottoman Syria |
1854 | Anti-Jewish pogrom in Demnate, Morocco |
1857 | Beheading in Tunis of the Jewish coachman Batou Sfez, accused of blasphemy, while he was drunk |
1860 | 2nd pogrom of Damascus, Ottoman Syria |
1862 | 1st pogrom of Beirut, Ottoman Lebanon |
1864–1880 | Marrakech massacre, Morocco |
1866 | Pogrom at Kuzguncuk, Ottoman Turkey |
1867 | Barfurush massacre, Ottoman Turkey |
1868 | Eyub Pogrom, Ottoman Turkey |
1869 | Massacre of Tunis, Ottoman Tunisia |
1869 | Massacre of Sfax, Ottoman Tunisia |
1870 | 2nd Alexandria massacres, Ottoman Egypt |
1870 | 1st pogrom in Istanbul, Ottoman Turkey |
1871 | 1st Damanhur massacres, Ottoman Egypt |
1872 | Massacres in Edirne, Ottoman Turkey |
1872 | 1st pogrom of Izmir, Ottoman Turkey |
1873 | 2nd massacre of Damanhur, Ottoman Egypt |
1874 | 2nd pogrom of Izmir, Ottoman Turkey |
1874 | 2nd pogrom of Istanbul, Ottoman Turkey |
1874 | 2nd pogrom of Beirut, Ottoman Lebanon |
1875 | 2 pogroms in Aleppo, Ottoman Syria |
1875 | Massacre on the island of Djerba, Ottoman Tunisia |
1877 | 3rd massacre of Damanhur, Ottoman Egypt |
1877 | Pogrom of Mansura, Ottoman Egypt |
1882 | Massacre of Homs, Ottoman Syria |
1882 | 3rd massacre of Alexandria, Ottoman Egypt |
1889 | After the funeral of a rabbi, deemed too discreet, the Jewish cemetery of Baghdad was confiscated |
1889 | Looting of the Jewish quarter of Baghdad |
1890 | 2nd Cairo massacre, Ottoman Egypt |
1890 | 3rd pogrom of Damascus, Ottoman Syria |
1890 | Massacres of Tunis, Ottoman Tunisia |
1891 | 4th massacre of Damanahur, Ottoman Egypt |
1897 | Murders in Tripoli, Ottoman Libya |
1901–1902 | 3rd Cairo massacre, Ottoman Egypt |
1901–1907 | 4th Alexandria massacres, Ottoman Egypt |
1903 | 1st Port Said massacres, Ottoman Egypt |
1903 & 1907 | Taza & Settat, pogroms, Morocco |
1903–1940 | Pogroms of Taza and Settat, Morocco |
1904 | Massacre of Jews in Yemen |
1907 | Pogrom in Casablanca, Morocco |
1908 | 2nd Port Said massacre, Ottoman Egypt |
1909 | Comment from the British vice-consul of Mosul: “The attitude of Muslims towards Christians and Jews is that of a master towards his slaves.” |
1910 | Blood libel of Shiraz |
1911 | Shiraz pogrom |
1912 | 4th Fez pogrom, Morocco |
1914 | Expulsion of Jews from Palestine old enough to bear arms by the Ottomans |
1917 | Jewish Inquisition of Baghdadi, Ottoman Empire |
1918–1948 | Adoption of a law prohibiting the raising of a Jewish orphan, Yemen |
1920 | Irbid massacres: British mandate in Palestine |
1920–1930 | Arab riots, British Mandate Palestine |
1921 | 1st Jaffa riots, British Mandate Palestine |
1922 | Massacres of Djerba, Tunisia |
1922 | Law of forced conversion of orphans in Yemen, concerning Jews including as adults |
1927 | 60 Jews killed by Arabs in the Mellah of Casablanca, Morocco |
1928 | Massacres of Ikhwan, in Egypt and under British mandate in Palestine |
1928 | Jewish orphans sold into slavery and forced to convert to Islam by the Muslim Brotherhood, Yemen |
1929 | Anti-Jewish riots, British mandate: in August 1929, the Jews demanded the construction of the Western Wall; pogroms in Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed. To stop the violence, the British reject this request |
1929 | 3rd Hebron Pogrom under British Mandate Palestine |
1929 | 3rd Safed pogrom, British Mandate Palestine |
1933 | 2nd Jaffa riots, British Mandate Palestine |
1934 | Anti-Jewish pogrom in Constantine, Algeria |
1934 | Pogroms in Thrace, Turkey |
1934 | 1st massacres in Farhud, Iraq |
1936 | 3rd Jaffa riots, British Mandate Palestine |
1936 | 2nd Farhud massacre, Iraq |
1938 | Boycott of Jews in Egypt |
1938–1945 | Arab collaboration with the Nazis |
1939 | Discovery of 3 bombs in synagogues in Cairo |
1941 | 3rd Farhud massacre, Iraq |
1941 | Persecution of Jews in Libya |
1941 | Massacre of Jews in Baghdad, with the support of the authorities: approx. 170 dead |
1942 | Struma disaster, Türkiye |
1942 | Nile Delta pogroms, Egypt |
1942 | Discriminatory tax law of Varlik Vergisi in Turkey against Jews and Christians |
1942 | Looting of Jewish property in Benghazi and deportation to the desert |
1944 | Attack on the Jewish quarter of Damascus |
1945 | Anti-Jewish and anti-Christian riots in Egypt; churches and synagogues destroyed |
1945 | 4th Cairo massacre, Egypt |
1945 | Pogrom of Tripoli, Libya |
1947 | Segregation measures against Jews in Egypt |
1947 | Pogrom in Libya; approx. 130 dead |
1947 | Pogroms of Aden in Yemen |
1947 | 3rd pogrom in Aleppo, Syria |
1948 | “Emptying” of the Jewish quarter of Damascus, Syria |
1948 | 1st Arab-Israeli war (1 Jew killed in 100) |
1948 | Oujda & Jerada Pogroms, Morocco |
1948 | 1st Libyan Inquisition of the Jews |
1948 | attacks by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood against Jewish traders |
1950 | massive departure of Jews from Arab countries |
1951 | 2nd Libyan Inquisition of the Jews |
1952 | Anti-Jewish and anti-Christian pogroms in Suez |
1954 | Assassinations and attacks in Algeria affecting the Jewish community, the desecration and destruction of 30 synagogues are attributed to Muslim populations |
1954 | Desecration in 1960 of the synagogue of Algiers as well as the cemetery of Oran |
1954 | Massacre of Sidi Kacem. 6 Jews were beaten and then burned alive with their children |
1955 | Anti-Jewish and Christian riots in Turkey; looting of churches and Jewish stores |
1955 | Attack on the rabbi of Batna |
1955 | 3rd pogrom in Istanbul, Turkey |
1955 | Anti-Jewish riots in Izmir |
1956 | Fire in a synagogue in Oran |
1956 | In response to the attack on Suez, Nasser expels almost all Jews from Egypt, around 90,000 people, and confiscates their property |
1956 | 1st Egyptian Inquisition of the Jews |
1956 | In response to the attack on Suez, Nasser expels tens of thousands of Jews and confiscates their property |
1957 | Murder of the rabbi of Nedroma |
1957 | Murder of the rabbi of Médéa |
1957–1962 | Attacks in the Jewish neighborhoods of Oran and Constantine |
1960 | A Saudi newspaper describes Eichmann: “the man who can be proud of having killed five million Jews” |
1961 | Grenade thrown into a synagogue in Boghari, Bousaada |
1961 | Ransacking of the Casbah synagogue in Algiers |
1961 | September 2, 1961, the assassination of a Jewish hairdresser in Oran and anti-Jewish attacks |
1961 | In Algeria, assassination of Jewish musician Sheik Raymond |
1962 | Desecration of the Jewish cemetery of Oran |
1962 | Pogrom in Oran |
1962 | July 5, 1962, a few days after the independence of Algeria, between 900 and 1,300 Europeans, notably Jews, were massacred in Oran |
1964 | The Egyptian army weekly notes: “In essence, the Jew has no qualifications to bear arms” |
1964 | Nasser tells a German neo-Nazi newspaper: “No one takes seriously the lie of 6 million murdered Jews” |
1965 | The Egyptian military manual presents the war against Israel as a jihad and quotes the Koran: “kill them wherever you reach them” |
1965 | Wave of anti-Semitism in Algeria; flight of the Jewish community |
1965 | Pogrom in Aden |
1965 | 5th pogrom in Fez, Morocco |
1967 | 2nd Egyptian Inquisition of the Jews |
1967 | Egyptian Jews are herded into camps during the Six Day War |
1967 | Pogrom in Libya during the Six Day War |
1967 | Pogroms in Tunisia |
1967 | The World Islamic Congress in Amman declares that Jews living in Arab countries must be considered “mortal enemies” |
1967 | Pogrom in Aden |
1967 | Arson of the great synagogue of Tunis |
1967 | Riots in Tunis, Tunisia |
1967 | World Islamic Congress in Jordan; it was decided that all Muslim governments must treat Jews “as mortal enemies” |
1967 | Publication in Egypt of the anti-Semitic text “The Protocol of the Elders of Zion” |
1967 | Pogrom and looting of Jewish stores in Tunisia |
1969 | Khomeini delivers thirteen speeches in Najaf which will be the basis of his book “The Islamic Government”; he develops the theme of hatred of Jews, accused of conspiring against Islam everywhere |
1969 | Execution of Jews in Baghdad |
1970 | Flight SR-330 Zurich — Tel Aviv crashes in a forest near Würenlingen, killing all 47 occupants. A bomb planted by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine exploded 9 minutes after takeoff |
1979 | Start of the flight of 200,000 Iranian Jews after the Islamist revolution. |
1982 | Tiberias pogrom in Israel, 6 killed |
1985 | Hijacking of TWA Flight 847 by Hezbollah, leading to the murder of Jewish passenger Leon Klinghoffer |
1985 | Rome and Vienna Airport attacks, carried out by Abu Nidal Organization |
1992 | Bombing of Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 and injuring 242 |
1994 | AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 85 and injuring hundreds |
1997 | Terrorist attack on Empire State Building by Palestinian gunman, kills one and injures six |
2000 | Start of the Second Intifada, marked by increased violence against Israelis, including suicide bombings and shootings |
2002 | Passover massacre at Netanya hotel in Israel, 30 killed and 140 injured |
2004 | Taba Hilton bombing in Egypt, killing 34 and injuring 171 |
2008 | Mumbai attacks, including Chabad House hostage crisis, 6 killed |
2012 | Toulouse and Montauban shootings in France, targeting Jewish schoolchildren and soldiers, 7 killed |
2014 | Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege in Paris, France, 4 killed |
2015 | Charlie Hebdo shooting and related attacks in Paris, France, targeting Jewish-owned businesses, 17 killed |
2023 | Thousands of armed Hamas terrorists tore down large parts of the Gaza security fence and invade southern Israel. Over 1,300 civilians were murdered, and over 200 were abducted. Hamas terrorists briefly took control of about 10 Israeli towns, terrorizing and brutalizing their residents. In addition, terrorists massacred hundreds at the Nova Music Festival, raping young women, brutalizing bodies, and abducting many. IDF forces operate to neutralize the terrorists, resulting in prolonged, bloody battles. |
Attributions: Research by JP Grumberg. Originally published on June 30, 2022 & Updated on July 20, 2023. Translated to English by XR Ksantini
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