Egypt
Egypt has been governed since 1978 by the National Democratic Party (NDP),
which dominates national and local politics. President Hosni Mubarak was
re-elected unopposed to a third six-year term in 1993. The State of Emergency,
which was imposed in 1981 following the assassination of President Anwar
Sadat, remains in force, thereby restricting political freedom. The low-level
insurgency by militant Islamist groups against government forces continued
throughout 1996, with most of the violence concentrated in Upper Egypt.
However, the number of deaths caused by militant Islamists decreased from
200 in 1995 to 132 in 1996.
Prominent among Islamic splinter groups were the Gama'a al-Islamiya (GI,
Islamic Group), led by Sheikh Omar Abd al-Rahman, sentenced to life imprisonment
in January in the USA for his role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade
Center (see United States of America and Pakistan), and al-Jihad, which
was accused of the assassination in 1981 of President Anwar Sadat. As in
previous years, Islamist violence was directed not only against security
forces but also against foreigners and tourists. Among the most serious
incidents in 1996 was the murder in April of eighteen Greek tourists (see
PARTIES, ORGANIZATIONS, MOVEMENTS) outside a hotel near the Pyramids.
The government attempted to tighten control of professional associations,
dominated by the illegal al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood). Hundreds
of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamist-influenced Hizb
al-Amal (Action Party, also known as Labour Party) were arrested and many
either detained without charge or tried in military courts.
Boosted by the decrease in political violence, the tourist industry began
to revive and the Egyptian economy started to reap the benefits of structural
reforms launched in 1993. As a result, economic growth increased slightly
to an estimated 5.1 per cent in 1996, but unemployment remained high at
more than 20 per cent.
In March Egypt co-hosted with the USA an international anti-terrorism conference
in Sharm al-Sheikh attended by more than twenty heads of state and government
(see EFFECTS OF ANTI-ZIONISM). Relations between Egypt and Israel, which
have deteriorated in recent years, remained tense as Egypt appeared to adopt
an increasingly ambivalent stance towards the Middle East peace process.
Following the Israeli general elections, in June Cairo hosted the first
Arab summit to be held in six years.
Following the establishment of Ottoman rule over Egypt in 1517, the position
of the Jews deteriorated, but western influences throughout the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries led to better conditions. Before 1948 the
Jewish community in Egypt numbered 65,000-70,000. During the 1948-9 Arab-Israeli
war, hundreds of Jews were arrested, Jewish-owned property and businesses
were confiscated, and there were bombings in Jewish areas that killed or
maimed hundreds of Jews. Between 1948 and 1950, about 25,000 Jews left,
many for Israel.
In 1952, attacks were made on Jewish establishments causing millions of
pounds worth of damage. After the 1956 war, 3,000 Jews were interned and
thousands of others were given a few days to leave the country and their
property was confiscated by the state. By 1957 there were only 8,000 Jews
left. After the Six-Day War in 1967, hundreds of Jews were arrested and
tortured, and Jews still in public employment were dismissed. Further emigration
ensued, so that by the mid-1970s only 350 Jews remained.
The 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt enabled Egyptian Jews to
establish links with Israel and Jews from other communities. In recent years
hostility towards Israel, often tinged with antisemitism, has been particularly
virulent in the opposition press.
Throughout 1996 the GI and other Islamist groupings repeated warnings
to foreigners to leave the country and carried out attacks against foreign
investors, entrepreneurs and tourists. The GI also threatened to carry out
attacks on American targets worldwide in retaliation for the life sentence
imposed on Sheikh Abd al-Rahman (see GENERAL BACKGROUND).
Islamist groups also claimed responsibility for several attacks on churches
and other property, such as shops and nightclubs, belonging to members of
Christian minorities, especially Copts.
Asylum-seekers in Egypt may be permitted to live and work if they are accepted
by the government as refugees but can rarely acquire Egyptian citizenship.
In 1996 Egypt accepted over 6,000 refugees, primarily Somalis and Sudanese,
for temporary resettlement.
As in previous years, members of the leading Islamist movements, al-Ikhwan
al-Muslimun and Hizb al-Amal, employed antisemitism in their public statements
(see PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA).
The GI, which claimed responsibility for the April shooting of eighteen
Greek tourists, is believed to have planned the attack against Israeli tourists
staying at the same hotel. In a statement issued after the incident, the
GI warned that "all Jewish interests on Egyptian territory are targeted".
Antisemitic themes were repeated, as in previous years, in both the mainstream
press, which is largely government-owned, and in opposition publications
during 1996.
On 2 January the pro-government religious weekly Aqidati reported
that a state of emergency had been declared in the governate of al-Buhayrah
due to the "influx" of Jews from Morocco and other countries to
visit the grave of Abu Hatzira. Local people were warned to stay indoors
and lock their windows and doors.
The weekly newspaper al-Sha'b , which belongs to the pro-Islamist
Hizb al-Amal, featured a lengthy article on 6 December by a retired colonel,
Kamal al-Shurabi, detailing the ways in which Jews allegedly use the blood
of Christian or Muslim children to make Pass-over matzot . The author
also claimed that blood plays a significant role in many Jewish ceremonies
such as wedding celebrations. On 24 December al-Sha'b also condemned
the annual festival held by Egyptian Jews at the grave of Abu Hatzira. The
article alleged that the Jews "commit irregular and immoral acts around
the grave in a hysterical frenzy, such as spilling wine on the grave and
dancing around it naked . . . this hysterical madness of the Jews lasts
until they fall asleep". The opposition daily al-Wafd also invoked
antisemitic themes in reference to the festival, claiming on 25 December
that "the grave is an excuse for the Jews to get a foothold in Egypt
and the festival should therefore be stopped. The solution is for them to
take the grave with them to their own country since we do not want it or
them." Allegations that the Jewish community in Egypt exerted negative
influences on Egyptian society, particularly in the economic sphere, appeared
on 25 December in the newspaper Akher al-Sa'a . The article, based
on a report by Muhammad Mustafa Abd al-Nabi, was reprinted in the English-language
daily, the Egyptian Gazette .
The discovery in Swiss banks of assets belonging to Jewish victims of the
Holocaust (see Switzerland) provoked antisemitic commentary. On 31 October,
for example, al-Wafd stated: "Let's learn from the enemy. The
affair illustrates how the Jews work to achieve their goals and how they
take advantage of all means including control of the media and of politicians
and writers. Every Jew, everywhere in the world, is actively working for
Zionist interests."
On 19 March al-Sha'b condemned the anti-terrorist conference at Sharm
el-Sheikh as a public-relations exercise for the US president, Bill Clinton,
and the Jewish lobby. The columnist Badr al-Din Ghazi claimed that the summit
showed that "Jewish blood is more precious and valuable than the blood
of the rest of mankind. This is hateful, racist logic, as ugly as Nazism".
On 11 October al-Wafd published a special feature on religion by
Khalid Hassan, claiming: "The Prophet Muhammad warned us that the Jews
were the enemies of Islam and betrayed agreements. The actions which the
Jews are taking in Jerusalem against the al-Aqsa mosque were predicted by
the Qur'an . . . In modern times, they are using the Internet to spread
information against Islam." These arguments were backed by Dr Mahmud
Zenati, lecturer in the faculty of Islamic studies at Cairo University,
who was quoted as saying: "It is incumbent on Muslims to condemn the
Jews, as the Prophet Muhammad did in his time . . . The Prophet promised
them freedom of religion and commerce but they breached their agreement
with him."
Throughout 1996 official and opposition newspapers in Egypt regularly featured
cartoons depicting negative stereotypes of Jews. The most common antisemitic
image is the hook-nosed, black-robed Jew, sometimes with horns, often conspiring
against the Arab world, or the Jew as a Nazi. To cite just one example,
during the economic summit held in Cairo in November, the government-backed
daily al-Gumhuriyya published a cartoon of a black-robed Jew entering
the conference hall with a briefcase marked "domination plots".
The Arabic translation of Shimon Peres's book "The New Middle East",
which was published by Al-Ahram press in 1995, was still available in bookshops.
The Egyptian publisher included a foreword: "[Peres's] book confirms
in so clear a way that it cannot be denied that the Protocols were
true indeed. Peres' book is yet another step in the execution of these dangerous
plots."
As in previous years, academic books featuring antisemitic themes were on
sale in Egypt. Among them was a book by Zakharriya Hussein, director of
the Nasser Higher Military Academy, entitled "Whither the Arabs?",
the title page of which is headed by Qur'anic verses that warned "Don't
take the Jews and Christians as friends", and which features an introduction
by Mustafa Mahmud, an influential Marxist turned Islamist, claiming that
violence is inherent in Jewish culture.
Antisemitic texts like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , Hitler's
Mein Kampf , Henry Ford's The International Jew and the more
recent "World Zionism", translated from Russian and printed in
Damascus, continued to cir-culate. Also distributed in Egypt were a large
number of audio-cassettes and videotapes with sermons by popular religious
leaders who often invoked antisemitic and anti-western themes.
Antisemitism was frequently expressed through mosque sermons. Egyptian
clerics also published speeches that combined anti-Zionist and antisemitic
messages in Arabic publications outside Egypt. Antisemitic statements by
preachers at al-Azhar University, the leading centre for Islamic studies
that represents the religious establishment in Egypt, were particularly
noticeable. Speaking at a rally in Cairo in April, the head of al-Azhar
University, Sheikh Mahmud Tantawi, stated that "the history of the
Jews is blood-stained and marked with deception and treachery". His
speech was quoted in al-Sha'b on 30 April.
Tantawi also incited violence against Jews and called on all Muslims to
launch a holy war against Israel in order to prevent the "Judaization"
of Jerusalem. In an interview published on 15 December in al-Ittihad
, Tantawi concluded: "It is legal to kill Jews and Israelis."
Muhammad al-Birri of al-Azhar University suggested that Jews were involved
in the gun attack against Greek tourists (see PARTIES, ORGANIZATIONS, MOVEMENTS).
Citing Qur'anic sources, in an article published in al-Sha'b on 23
April, he claimed that "Jews are treacherous and perfidious".
On 20 December, al-Ittihad published an article by an unnamed preacher
from al-Azhar University that asserted that "the Jews have embraced
evil, corruption and destruction", and concluded: "I hate the
Jews so that I may receive my reward from God."
Antisemitism was also apparent within Christian circles in Egypt. The Coptic
Patriarch, Baba Shanuda, expressed antisemitic remarks in an interview entitled
"The Prophecy of the Jews of the End of Christianity is a Great Mistake".
Published on 27 December in the mainstream periodical Musawwar, Shanuda
quoted extensively from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , claiming
that the Talmud was the source of Zionist conspiracies. He concluded
that "the Protocols say that the Jews must take control of the
world by sowing ideas of heresy in it".
The French Holocaust-denier Roger Garaudy visited Egypt in July as part
of his Middle Eastern tour in order to promote the Arabic version of his
latest book, Les mythes fondateurs de la politique israélienne
(Founding Myths of Israeli Politics) (see Jordan, Morocco, Syria). Before
he arrived another book had been published by four Egyptians, including
Fahmy Hweidi and Bah'a Taher, entitled "Garaudy: The False Myths and
the Triumph of Man", which defended his views.
During his visit, Garaudy gave numerous lectures and press interviews, and
was acclaimed in artistic, literary and intellectual circles. Writing in
the government-backed daily al-Ahram , on 12 October, Sa'ad al-Din
al-Wahba welcomed Garaudy's visit and defended the freedom of expression
that enabled Garaudy and Abbé Pierre (see France) to answer their
critics. Ibrahim Nafei, the chief editor of al-Ahram , awarded Garaudy
a press prize for "the fresh air he brings" and the Federation
of Egyptian Writers presented Garaudy with the Statue of the Egyptian Writer
Award. Garaudy's host in Cairo was the Union of Arab Artists whose chair,
Sa'ad al-Din al-Wahba, uses his regular column in al-Ahram to express
anti-Zionist and antisemitic views.
Holocaust denial was reiterated in pronouncements likening the Israeli prime
minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to Adolf Hitler, which emerged in the Egyptian
media towards the end of the year. On 21 December, al-Wafd published
an article by Muhammad al-Hayawn that declared: "Israel is more base
and barbaric than Hitler . . . and attempts extortion because of what Hitler
did, or what Israel claims Hitler did. This, despite the fact that historians
emphasize that all the crimes attributed to Hitler were fabricated."
Efforts to resist the normalization of relations with Israel by mainstream
elements and opposition movements were often imbued with antisemitic arguments.
As in previous years, Israeli politicians and soldiers were frequently compared
to Nazis. The Star of David, symbol of the state of Israel and of Judaism,
is often juxtaposed with Nazi swastikas. Following the Israeli elections
in May, Egyptian critics as in other parts of the Arab world-portrayed Netanyahu
as a fascist.
On 9 October, the front page of the leftist periodical al-Dustur (published
in Cyprus) featured a picture of Netanyahu with a large swastika over his
head. On 27 October the mainstream newspaper al-Akhbar stated: "Prime
Minister Netanyahu always poses a danger to Arabs, whether he wears the
costume of a friend or whether he is dressed in Nazi uniform . . . It's
as if Hitler has risen from the dead." The December edition of the
mainstream monthly magazine October published the results of a study
by Kamal al-Fu'al, lecturer in psychology and head of the mental health
hospital in Alexandria, who claimed to have found similarities between the
personalities of Netanyahu and of dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini and
Stalin.
References to well-known antisemitic texts were also used to vilify Netanyahu
and his policies. On 3 December, for example, al-Wafd featured an
article entitled "The New Prophet of The Protocols of the Elders
of Zion ". The article claimed that Netanyahu was inspired by the
Talmud and the Protocols.
As in previous years, antisemitic caricatures conveying anti-Zionist messages
were also evident in 1996. During the international summit meeting concerning
terrorism that was held in Sharm al-Sheikh in July, Akher al-Sa'a published
a large cartoon depicting a Jew as a devil standing next to the angel of
death. Its captions read: "Terrorism is carried out by Jews" and
"Jews plan to establish a Jewish kingdom and to rule the world".
The accompanying article alleged a Jewish plot against Islam and Christianity
and included quotations from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Many Egyptian newspapers and western publications such as the New York
Times carried reports in July about an incident that illustrated a modern
variation on the antisemitic theme of well-poisoning. According to the reports,
students at Mansura University claimed that Israeli chewing gum, smuggled
into Egypt from Gaza, had been laced by Israeli agents with aphrodisiacs
in order to corrupt young women. The Egyptian minister of health, Ismail
Sallam, told a press conference that laboratory tests had found nothing
wrong with the chewing gum. Nonetheless, a member of parliament, Fathy Mansour,
alleged that the chewing gum was part of a "huge scheme to ravage the
young population of Egypt".
Israeli participants are still barred from many cultural events such as
the Cairo Book Fair and the Cairo Film Festival. The latter is organized
by Sa'ad al-Din al-Wahba, who was responsible for the visit to Egypt of
French Holocaust-denier Roger Garaudy (see HOLOCAUST DENIAL).
Throughout the year a number of American Jewish delegations, including several from the American Jewish Committee, protested to senior Egyptian officials over antisemitism in the Egyptian media (see PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA). In response to these complaints, senior Egyptian officials consistently denied any antisemitic intent on the part of the government, while defending the right of what they defined as Egypt's free press to publish the materials referred to. The only action taken in response to these protests was the confiscation by the government of al-Dustur in October. The front-page article of the publication had likened Netanyahu to Hitler (see EFFECTS OF ANTI-ZIONISM).
Antisemitic publications and newspaper articles and cartoons were particularly
evident in Egypt in 1996, and there was a marked increase following the
election of Netanyahu as Israeli prime minister. This indicates starkly
the link between the political situation in the Middle East and the encouragement
of antisemitic propaganda by the authorities. There was a lack of official
concern about the level and nature of antisemitism pervading the government-controlled
press, since that antisemitism served the government's purpose. The highly
publicized visit of Roger Garaudy clearly demonstrated the official tolerance
of anti-semitic views.
As in other parts of the Middle East, the Islamist movement also continues
to draw on religious texts to incite hatred of Jews and promotes the notion
that Jews have historically threatened Islam.
Given Egypt's pivotal position vis-à-vis the Middle East peace process
and the clear use made of antisemitism to serve Egypt's political ends,
the increase in antisemitic propaganda is very worrying.
© JPR 1997