Asalam Aleikum
I just want to correct the common misconception that the Jews rejected Prophet Muhammad (saws) because the Prophet was an Arab and not a Jew. The first correction is that there are Arab Jews (the Mizrahim and Sephardim; their native tongue is Arabic). So the Jews of Medina who rejected the Prophet were Arab Jews because their first language was Arabic. As the hadith says in Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 92, Number 460: Narrated Abu Huraira: "The People of the Book (Jews) used to read the Torah in Hebrew and then explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. Allah's Apostle said (to the Muslims). "Do not believe the People of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say, 'We believe in Allah and whatever is revealed to us, and whatever is revealed to you.' " So you could say that the Prophet was an Ishmaelite, instead of an Israelite, and that is why they rejected him. Although that still would not be entirely true. The main reason that the Jews rejected Muhammad (saws) as a Prophet of Elohim (the Hebrew name for God) is that he added and subracted from the Laws of the Torah. And according to the Torah, whatever "Prophet" tries to add or diminish from the Law of Moses, then he is not a real Prophet. As the Torah states,
Deut 4:2, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."
Deut 12:32, "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."
So while Muslims believe that the Laws of the Torah were only relevant from the time of Prophet Musa to Prophet Isa. Jews believe that those laws are everlasting, all the way to when the Messiah comes. That is the main reason why they rejected him as a Prophet. That is also the main reason why they rejected Prophet Isa (Jesus) even though he WAS a Jew (or Israelite). The case of Prophet Isa proves that they did not reject Prophet Muhammad (saws) because he was an Ishmaelite, but rather due to the issue of LAW. Because Prophet Isa also added and subracted from the Laws of Moses, and they also rejected him, even though he was a Jew. So being a Jew does not get you instant clearance to being a Prophet. The issue of Prophethood in Judaism is that the Prophet: 1) Only calls to the worship of the One God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. and that 2) He does not add or subtract from the Laws of Moses (the Torah). An example of this in Islam is that in Islam, Muslims are not commanded to follow the Sabbath, even though the Bani Israel were commanded to follow the Sabbath. As it says in the Qur'an 4.154: "And for their covenant we raised over them (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai); and (on another occasion) we said: "Enter the gate with humility"; and (once again) we commanded them: "Transgress not in the matter of the sabbath." And we took from them a solemn covenant."
Another example are some of the dietary laws. In Islam, Muslims can eat camel meat, which is forbidden in Torah law. As it says in the Qur'an 6.146: "For those who followed the Jewish Law, We forbade every (animal) with undivided hoof, and We forbade them that fat of the ox and the sheep, except what adheres to their backs or their entrails, or is mixed up with a bone: this in recompense for their wilful disobedience: for We are true (in Our ordinances)."
I hope this clears things up for people who are not as familiar with Jewish theology.
To better understand the Jewish perspective on why the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, please read, Why Jews Dont Believe In Jesus
