The pro-Israel movement cannot defeat Islamist extremism by embracing hatred of Muslims. Yet as the Abraham Accords approach their sixth anniversary, a loud faction within the movement is doing precisely that and threatening one of the most consequential achievements it claims to defend.
This faction insists it is protecting Israel. But when its rhetoric stops targeting Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other extremist movements and begins targeting Muslims as a people, it is not protecting Israel. It is isolating Israel, alienating potential allies, and handing Islamist propagandists exactly the narrative they want.
That warning came through with unusual force in my recent conversation with Loay Alshareef, an Abraham Accords peace advocate, historian, and Middle East affairs speaker. He has challenged radical Islamists, often at personal cost, without renouncing his faith.
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“I fight this battle as a Muslim, not as an ex-Muslim; as a proud Arab and a proud Muslim,” he told me.
That is precisely why his message matters. Alshareef is not asking anyone to soften the fight against terrorism or conceal the ideology that fuels it. He is demanding that Israel’s supporters preserve the distinction between Muslims and the extremists who weaponize Islam. Refusing to make that distinction is both morally indefensible and strategically reckless.
Alshareef has argued that when moderate Muslims fail to confront radicals, their silence leaves extremists unchallenged. He now applies the same standard to Israel’s supporters: When anti-Muslim hostility spreads inside pro-Israel circles and responsible voices say nothing, prejudice is allowed to masquerade as solidarity with Israel.
He is right.
The pro-Israel movement cannot demand courage from Muslim reformers while refusing to confront prejudice in its own camp. Nor can it correctly condemn collective blame against Jews while tolerating collective blame against Muslims. A principle that protects only one’s own people is not a principle. It is tribal convenience.
The strategic failure should be just as obvious. If the goal is to defeat Hamas, alienating Muslims as a whole is self-defeating. If the goal is to expand Israel’s acceptance across the Middle East, expressing contempt for the very populations whose attitudes must change is sabotage.
If there is no place in the pro-Israel coalition for Muslims unless they apologize for being Muslim, Islamist propagandists could hardly write a more useful recruiting message. Anti-Muslim bigotry is not pro-Israel advocacy. It is strategic malpractice committed in Israel’s name.
Alshareef’s vision is grounded in hard political reality. He wants Muslims to stand against “the enemies of peace,” including Hamas, the Guard, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, and every movement that uses religion to justify extremism and violence. At the same time, he wants Muslims to accept Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, living in peace beside Muslim and Arab neighbors, including Palestinians who deserve dignity, security, and prosperity.
Some pro-Israel advocates may hear that last clause and flinch. They should not. Supporting Israel’s legitimacy does not require indifference to Palestinian dignity, just as supporting Palestinian dignity does not require denying Jewish history or Israel’s right to exist. The promise of normalization is that two truths can occupy the same region without either people being erased.
On Sept. 15, 2020, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords at the White House, normalizing relations and opening cooperation across trade, tourism, healthcare, and security. Morocco later joined. These agreements rejected the fatalistic belief that Jews and Arabs are destined to remain permanent enemies. Their foundation was shared interest, mutual respect, and the willingness to choose cooperation over inherited hostility.
Alshareef recalled that during his first visit to Israel, senior government officials spoke proudly about their Muslim friends and Israel’s Muslim community. They understood something every pro-Israel advocate should understand: A war against the terrorists of Hamas must never become a war against Muslims.
Maintaining that discipline is difficult in an American political culture that rewards outrage over precision. Social media turns every terrorist into a representative of an entire religion and every hateful protester into proof that coexistence is impossible. Anger may produce clicks, applause, and viral posts. It does not produce alliances, normalization, or peace.
None of this requires euphemism about Islamist extremism. In fact, precision makes the confrontation stronger. Name Hamas. Name Hezbollah. Name the Guard. Name the Muslim Brotherhood and the networks, financiers, and apologists that empower them.
Confront the ideologies that sanctify violence. Demand accountability from Muslim leaders who excuse, minimize, or remain silent about extremism. But do not treat the Muslim neighbor, student, colleague, or potential Arab partner as collateral damage.
Peace requires Muslim voices willing to tell their own communities that Israel is legitimate, Jewish history is real, and coexistence is possible. Many of those voices already face threats, ostracism, and accusations of betrayal. If they are also met with contempt by the people who should be their natural allies, why would the next generation take the same risk?
Alshareef’s appeal is blunt: Do not destroy what President Donald Trump and his team worked to build. Do not destroy the hope the Abraham Accords created across the region.
The pro-Israel movement should listen. A movement that wants Muslims to distinguish Jews from Israeli government policies must distinguish Muslims from Islamists. A movement that rejects antisemitism cannot excuse anti-Muslim hatred. And a movement serious about Israel’s future cannot trade lasting normalization for the cheap applause of online rage.
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The Abraham Accords were built on the recognition that the Middle East’s future does not have to resemble its past. Their survival now requires the courage to confront extremists without condemning an entire faith.
Defeat the extremists. Defend Israel without apology. But do not help Israel’s enemies destroy its alliances by doing their propaganda work for them.
Ariella Noveck is a journalist specializing in antisemitism and Middle East affairs, with extensive experience covering Jewish communities worldwide.