section_path: Policies towards Israel and Palestine/Allegations of antisemitism
section_name: Allegations of antisemitism
paragraph_text: Allegations of antisemitism
  
  The 1988 Hamas charter proclaims that jihad against Jews is required until Judgement Day. Article 7 of the 1988 governing charter of Hamas "openly dedicate(s) Hamas to genocide against the Jewish people". More authors have characterized the violent language against all Jews in the original Hamas charter as genocidal, incitement to genocide, or antisemitic. The charter attributes collective responsibility to Jews, not just Israelis, for various global issues, including both World Wars.
  
  The American Interest magazine wrote that the charter "echoes" Nazi propaganda in claiming that Jews profited during World War II. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, has compared statements in the 1988 charter with those that appear in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Hamas has called for the annihilation of Israel, and has stated that to be necessary for creating a pan-Islamic empire. Hamas has been accused of promoting Holocaust denial.: 11 It described Nazi Germany 's genocide of European Jews as "so-called" and "an alleged and invented story with no basis" in a 2000 press release.: 17–18 In 2009, it was involved in a dispute with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) over the inclusion of Holocaust education in Gaza, with Hamas's Popular Committees for Refugees describing the Holocaust as "a lie invented by the Zionists".
  
  On the other hand, Hamas has also condemned the Holocaust, antisemitism, and the persecution of Jews. In 2008, Basem Naim, Minister of Health and Information in Gaza, stated that "it should be made clear that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian government in Gaza denies the Nazi Holocaust. The Holocaust was not only a crime against humanity but one of the most abhorrent crimes in modern history. We condemn it as we condemn every abuse of humanity and all forms of discrimination on the basis of religion, race, gender or nationality." Hamas's 2017 charter removed the antisemitic language of the original, saying that their struggle is against Zionism and not Jews and condemning antisemitism and the persecution of the Jews, while also advancing goals for a Palestinian state which are seen by many as being consistent with a two-state solution. In 2025, Hamas stated that what it calls the Gaza genocide is "the Auschwitz of the 21st century".
  
  Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas, responded to accusations that "Hamas hate Jews" by stating in a 1988 interview:
  
  We don't hate Jews and fight Jews because they are Jewish. They are a people of faith and we are a people of faith, and we love all people of faith. If my brother, from my own mother and father and my own faith takes my home and expels me from it, I will fight him. I will fight my cousin if he takes my home and expels me from it. So when a Jew takes my home and expels me from it, I will fight him. I don't fight other countries because I want to be at peace with them, I love all people and wish peace for them, even the Jews. The Jews lived with us all of our lives and we never assaulted them, and they held high positions in government and ministries. But if they take my home and make me a refugee like 4 million Palestinians in exile? Who has more right to this land? The Russian immigrant who left this land 2000 years ago or the one who left 40 years ago? We don't hate the Jews, we only ask for them to give us our rights.