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Short answer
There’s a claim often pushed by Islamists and antisemites, and that is that Jews were “kicked out” of 109 countries — and use it to paint Jews as the problem. But if anything, it proves just how often Jews faced persecution no matter where they lived. That’s exactly why Israel exists — to give Jews a safe, sovereign homeland where they don’t have to rely on anyone else. It’s not just a country; it’s the answer to centuries of being hunted, hated, and displaced.
Long answer
The claim that “Jews have been kicked out of 109 countries” is a widely shared antisemitic trope, often used to suggest Jews are inherently problematic. But this narrative is not only false — it’s rooted in hate and actually highlights why the Jewish people have always needed a homeland like Israel.
The “109 countries” figure isn’t historically accurate. It comes from Holocaust-denying and white supremacist circles, especially from a fringe group in Australia, and was spread online as a meme. Historians agree the real number of major national expulsions is much lower — closer to a dozen. Many of the cited cases were minor incidents, temporary bans, or local decrees, not full expulsions.
Still, Jews have faced repeated expulsions and violence across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. England (1290), France (1306, 1394), and Spain (1492) are among the most well-known. In the 20th century, the Farhud pogrom in Baghdad (1941) stands out: mobs, fueled by Nazi-inspired antisemitism, murdered hundreds of Jews, wounded thousands, and destroyed entire neighborhoods. It showed that even long-established Jewish communities in the Arab world were not safe from mass violence.
These events weren’t due to any wrongdoing by Jews — they were the result of antisemitism and scapegoating during times of unrest. The pattern shows what happens when a people lack national protection.
This is why Israel exists. It’s not just a reaction to the Holocaust — it’s a response to centuries of statelessness, persecution, and exile. As it’s often said: “The fundamental purpose of creating the State of Israel was to solve the condition of Jewish suffering by providing a national home for Jews.”
