A group of Muslim religious and community leaders from Europe began a week-long visit to Israel on Monday with a meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The extraordinary delegation of 15 Muslim imams from several European countries comes amid growing antisemitism across the globe in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel and amid the ongoing war sparked by the massacre.
“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 the Israeli president in Arabic. “You represent the world of humanity and democracy.”
“We are all the sons of Abraham,” said Herzog. “I believe that the historic progress in our region is the result of dialogue—between Muslims and Jews and between Jews and Muslims. 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 unusual mix of Muslim leaders said that they carried with them a message of love for the Jewish people, and voiced the hope that the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza would be brought home.
“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 responded, praising them for their “courageous” visit and voicing the hope that regional peace would soon be in the offing.
The delegation was organized by the ELNET organization, which works to strengthen relations between Europe and Israel. It included Muslim leaders who now live in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and England. After their morning meeting at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, the group visited the Israeli parliament, and toured the Old City of Jerusalem. They are also scheduled to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, meet with Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Yosef, tour the site of an Iranian ballistic missile impact in Tel Aviv, meet with Muslim victims of the Hamas massacre, travel to the Syrian and Lebanese border and visit the sites of the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.
“You represent the world of brotherhood, humanity, and liberty”. The words of Imam Hassen Chalghoumi from France to me today.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 7, 2025
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
The Muslim religious leaders recited passages from the Koran at the President’s Residence before concluding with a rendition of Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, in Arabic.
“Islamists in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, are stronger and more powerful than Islamists in Pakistan or the Middle East because while in the region people know they are extremists, in Europe they live among the people and spread their extremist political ideology in mosques and Islamic community centers unchecked,” said Noor Dahri, the founder and executive director of the U.K.’s Islamic Theology of Counter Terrorism. “People in Europe who say they are supporting the Palestinians are actually supporting Hamas.”
The chairman of the Conference of Imams of France said that members of the group were cognizant of the threats because of their visit, with some declining to be interviewed or photographed, but that they were determined to overcome the haters.
“We are fearful of the consequences of the threats, but the courageous are those who make history and change the world,” he told JNS.
