Texas Islamic scholar Morad Awad Barghouthi said in a September 13, 2025 lecture at the Islamic Center of Brushy Creek, Texas, that according to the Quran, the Jews distort their scripture and twist the meanings of the words. 

He added: "Manipulating and conflating things is their art." 

Barghouthi claimed that when they chose the name "Israel," they intended to conflate it with Israelites, Jews, and Judaism, even though, he said, Israeli leaders are not "originally" Jews but rather Khazars or Ashkenazi seeking to hijack this heritage.