Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud

"Khaybar, Khaybar, ya yahud! Jaish Muhammad soufa yaʿoud!" (Arabic: خيبر خيبر يا يهود جيش محمد سوف يعود, lit. 'Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!') is an Arabic-language rallying slogan referencing the Battle of Khaybar of 628 CE, which began after Muhammad marched with a large Muslim army and besieged Khaybar, an oasis in present-day Saudi Arabia that was home to an established Jewish community.

The slogan is chanted primarily at public anti-Israel demonstrations, though it has been invoked during Islamist terrorist attacks as well.

The chant has been categorized as antisemitic by the American news broadcaster PBS,^[1] the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel,^[2] the British advocacy group Muslims Against Antisemitism^[3] and the American advocacy group Anti-Defamation League.^[4]

Background

The slogan was coined in the late 1980s during the First Intifada by Ahmed Yassin, founder of the militant Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas.^[5][6][7][8]

Prevalence

Anti-Israel protests

The slogan has since been embraced more widely by Islamists,^[9] Islamic extremists and anti-Israel militants.^[10][11] It has been chanted at Islamic extremist and pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including in Jerusalem,^[12][13] Sweden,^[14] England,^[15][16][17] Austria,^[18] Belgium,^[19] the Netherlands,^[20][21][22] and Australia.^[23] The chant is employed more frequently during periods of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, like during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis and the Gaza war.^[24][25]

In Europe, those chanting it have faced criminal charges, including incitement to hatred.^[26][27]

Shaima Dallali stepped down as president of the National Union of Students in 2022 after controversy surrounding allegations of antisemitism, including her previous use of the phrase "Khaybar Khaybar O Jews … Muhammad’s army will return Gaza."^[28]

Terrorist attacks

Indonesian terrorist Amrozi, involved in the 2002 Bali bombings, shouted the slogan before being sentenced to death in August 2003 in a Bali courtroom.^[29]

See also

• Antisemitism in Islam
  • Antisemitism in the Arab world
• Calls for the destruction of Israel
• "Globalize the Intifada"
• "From the River to the Sea"
• "Death to the Arabs"
• Death to Israel
• Sarkha