Over a dozen Muslim imams from Europe defied the anti-Israel sentiments of much of the Muslim world and met in Jerusalem with Israeli President Isaac Herzog this week.
The imams came from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the U.K., The Jerusalem Post reported. “We are all children of Abraham, and I believe the historic progress in our region is a progress of dialogue between Muslims and Jews, and Jews and Muslims,” Herzog said, The Times of Israel noted. “What you’re doing on this visit, and in your courageous work, reflects the silent majority in the Middle East and around the world who yearn for this kind of shared life.”
“You represent the world of brotherhood, humanity, and liberty”. The words of Imam Hassen Chalghoumi from France to me today.
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
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 7, 2025
🇮🇱 It was a great pleasure to meet the President of Israel @Isaac_Herzog along with European Muslim religious leaders led by @Imam1chalghoumi and organised by @elnet_global.
It was a peace journey from European Muslim Imams to Israel. We want peace between both nations and… pic.twitter.com/oMiDsHhnLs
— Noor Dahri – نور ڈاہری 🇬🇧 (@dahrinoor2) July 7, 2025
Herzog noted that on October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas massacre of 1200 Israelis, he visited the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba — which was struck by an Iranian ballistic missile on June 19 — where Jewish and Arab staff worked beside one another to treat the wounded and the injured.
Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, the chairman of the Conference of Imams of France and the chair of People for Peace, led the group of imams; he stated that the group prayed for the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. “He introduced each of the members of the delegation to Herzog and explained that they all love, respect, and admire Israel, believe in its right to defend itself, applaud its resilience, and are opposed to terrorism, violence, and the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas and Iran,” the Jerusalem Post noted.
Imam Youssef Masbeh, who came from the Bilal Mosque in the northern Dutch city of Alkmaar, chanted a song of praise for Herzog and suggested everyone sing HaTikvah (The Hope), Israel’s national anthem. Masbeh sang the same lyrics as the anthem but in Arabic and used a different melody.
“Here in Israel, we want peace,” Herzog told the group. “We want to see all our hostages back home, and we want to see an end to the suffering of the people in Gaza, too. We want to see better lives for everyone.” He said he hoped “peace will come with Syria, with Lebanon, inshallah even with Saudi Arabia, and that we will continue moving forward.”
“When they finished, they all rose and individually and collectively embraced Herzog,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
The day after the imams met with Herzog, Masbeh’s mosque in Alkmaar suspended him. “Following recent political statements by the imam, the board has decided to suspend him with immediate effect,” the mosque stated on Instagram. “As of this moment, the institution has no relationship with him.”
