Ritchie Torres: Israeli Arabs fare better than Jews in Arab countries

Torres: “Arabs in the Jewish state enjoy far more rights than Jews ever did—or still do—in Arab states.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres defended Israel’s treatment of its Arab citizens.

“Arabs in the Jewish state enjoy far more rights than Jews ever did—or still do—in Arab states, to the extent that any Jews remain there at all,” Torres wrote on X.

“The ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Arab world was so thorough that virtually none remain,” he added.

“In 2021, for example, the last Jew fled Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return to power—ending more than 2,500 years of continuous Jewish presence stretching back to the Babylonian exile,” Torres continued, clarifying that Afghanistan is a Muslim but not an Arab country.

During Ramadan, Torres praised Israel’s committment to diversity when he wrote on X, “Israel has been a responsible guardian of the Abrahamic tradition, transforming Jerusalem into a miraculous mosaic of religious pluralism among the most devout Jews, Christians, and Muslims.”

He noted, “Under Israeli sovereignty, 80,000 Muslims freely prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first day of Ramadan. By contrast, during Jordanian control over east Jerusalem from 1948 to 1967, Jews were strictly prohibited from even entering the Old City, let alone praying at the Western Wall.”

“Israel’s unprecedented commitment to religious liberty and diversity in the world’s holiest city is among the unacknowledged virtues of the Jewish state,” Torres said.