President Obama’s interview with New Yorker magazine generated controversy with its insistence that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol. But he’s been pushing another false equivalence that is even more outrageous—and dangerous.

Noting that Sunni nations like Saudi Arabia share Israel’s interest in restraining Iran, the president speculated that the lack of cooperation reflects “a long history of anti-Semitism that’s developed over the course of decades.” But he quickly balanced that remark by lamenting “anti-Arab sentiment that’s increased inside of Israel.”

This comparison is absurd: Jews have been driven from all Arab lands, where textbooks and official media describe them as monkeys, bloodthirsty leeches, and “enemies of God.” On the other side, there is no official, open anti-Arab propaganda from the Israeli government, in which Arab citizens serve prominently in parliament, the Supreme Court and every facet of the bureaucracy.