Trump Envoy Rewrites History to Defend Iran

Clear Facts

• U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack claimed there was little antisemitism in the Middle East before 1948 and called the Iranian regime “not evil.”
• Historical records document centuries of Jewish expulsions, massacres, and forced conversions across the region long before the modern state of Israel existed.
• The Iranian regime has executed thousands of political prisoners and protesters, including more than 7,000 killed in January 2026 crackdowns.

Barrack made the remarks at the Global Security Forum in Doha. He asserted that Jews and Arabs lived peacefully before the founding of Israel and that antisemitism was not a significant problem in the region.

“I grew up in a Lebanese immigrant family in a Jewish neighborhood. … There was no antisemitism in the U.S. It just didn’t exist. Very little antisemitism even in the region,” Barrack said. “The Jews existed side by side forever. Zionism in 1948 became another issue.”

“It’s not an evil regime,” Barrack said. “That has nothing to do with it. That’s a religious content and practice that we all respect.”

Barrack also praised Senator Chris Murphy and described Qatar as “endlessly patient” with the United States.

The historical record contradicts Barrack’s claims. From the early Caliphates through the 20th century, Jewish communities across the Middle East faced repeated violence and expulsion.

Early Caliphates (624–640s): The expulsion and slaughter of Medina’s Jewish tribes set an early precedent, culminating in Caliph Umar’s total expulsion of Jews from the Hijaz.

Medieval Massacres: In 1033, a fanatical force sacked the Moroccan city of Fez, slaughtering roughly 6,000 Jews. In the 1066 Granada Massacre, a rioting mob killed the Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and wiped out an estimated 1,500 Jewish families.

Forced Exile & Restrictions: In 1267, Mamluk Sultan Baybars barred Jews from the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. That ban was enforced for 700 years until 1967. The 1679 Mawza Exile saw Yemeni authorities force Jews into the desert, where a large share of the exiles perished.

19th and 20th Century Violence: Long before 1948, the 1834 Safed and Hebron pogroms, the 1840 Damascus blood libel, and the 1912 Tritel in Fez occurred. Then came the 1941 Farhud pogrom in Baghdad, where at least 180 Jews were killed.

The Iranian regime Barrack defended has a long record of brutality. Iran hanged thousands of political prisoners in 1988 alone and gunned down thousands of protesters in the streets, including more than 7,000 dead in the January 2026 crackdowns.

Barrack’s comments follow a pattern of hostility toward Israel. In December 2025 he questioned whether Israel is a democracy and suggested a “benevolent monarchy” as the best model for the region. In April 2026 he drew a moral equivalency between Israel and Hezbollah, calling them “equally untrustworthy.” In August he publicly blamed Israel for “unnecessary escalation” and referred to the Golan Heights as “occupied territory.”

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