Loonwatch draws our attention to a comment made by one Avri Gilad on a talk show he hosts on the Israel Defense Forces station Army Radio, during a discussion about the current violent racist backlash against black African migrants in Israel. Gilad stated:

… let us not forget that those knocking on our doors belong to Islam, and Islam today is the most terrible disease raging around the world. It poisons its believers and poisons every place it reaches. The people that come here, especially the South Sudanese, are very moderate people, the real beautiful face of Islam … the problem is that when you carry the virus, you don’t know when it will explode inside you … every Muslim who enters here might become the flag carrier of the global Islam … and therefore we must take care of our lives.

The right-wing anti-migrant campaign in Israel provides other examples of how Islamophobia overlaps with more conventional racism. One of the most vicious politicians when it comes to whipping up anti-African hysteria is MK Arye Eldad, who has called for illegal migrants to be shot at the border. In December 2008 Eldad organised a counterjihad conference in Jerusalem at which Geert Wilders was the star attraction. Also present were Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.