VOICES

Kasim Hafeez

Outreach coordinator, Christians United for Israel

“I was born to hate Jews,” says Kasim Hafeez. The British-born Muslim of Pakistani descent had to fight for years to overcome the brutal antisemitism he grew up with.

He remembers his father praising Hitler, members of his community “calling for the destruction of all Jews,” and after long indoctrination considered becoming a terrorist himself.

Then he read Alan Dershowitz’s “The Case for Israel,” which set him on the path to becoming a “Muslim Zionist” and strong supporter of Israel. He went to visit the country and, at first, looked for “indications of racial segregation, a sign saying ‘Arabs only.’ I couldn’t find any.”

Today, Hafeez is an advocate for Israel, believing that Israel must become better at making its case and combatting general ignorance about the Jewish state and the Arab-Israeli conflict. (Photo credit: Maxine Dovere.)