Egypt and the Palestinians: The Sadat legacy lives

-


The incitement and demonization of Palestinians in the Egyptian media is a continuation of a policy that began with Sadat. It is obvious that the Islamists in Egypt number in the millions and they have no need of Hamas or other Palestinians to carry out any of their agenda goals- whatever they are. Still the ongoing struggle in Egypt between the Islamists and the motley crew others somehow has the Palestinians injected in this quintessentially Egyptian struggle.

Despite the catastrophe/nakba of 1967 (1948 is a naksa in comparison- there was still strong hope of return up to June 4, 1967 ) and the other mistakes and disasters of the Nasser regime Palestinians remain overwhelming supportive of Nasser and his legacy. Many Egyptians find this Palestinian loyalty to Nasser aggravating. 

In Palestinians in the Arab World: Institution Building and the Search for State, Laurie A. Brand summarizes the punitive measures, the collective punishment of the Palestinians, that the Sadat regime took in retaliation for the Palestinians’ harsh criticism of his Camp David agreement. The current policies carried out by many Egyptians media outlets constitute a continuation of the Sadat legacy:

“As a corollary, many of the privileges that Palestinians in Egypt had enjoyed since the 1950s and early 1960s were gradually reviewed and cancelled.  Scholarships and subsidies for Palestinian students wishing to study in Egyptian universities were terminated; even Palestinian entry into Egyptian universities was restricted; and those who were accepted had to pay tuition in hard currency.  The days of subsidized health care for Palestinians in Egyptian hospitals also ended: Palestinians were expected to pay for their treatment in hard currency like other foreigners.  Gone were the days of the relatively free movement of members of the Palestinian resistance movement in and out of Egypt and the days of generalized feelings of solidarity and sympathy for the Palestinians among average Egyptians.  The media gradually succeeded in convincing many Egyptians that it was Palestinians who were responsible for Egypt’s involvement and sacrifices in four wars; that Palestinians were living in Egypt like kings; and that the resistance was corrupt.  Most devastating, the Egyptian media adopted and popularized one of the favorite Zionist myths: that the Palestinians had sold their land prior to 1948 and therefore did not deserve Palestine.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Mahr Enforceable in a Court of Law?

-
Image
Love Struck When I was in law school in Toledo, one of my classmates told me that when he married his Palestinian wife, on the wedding eve, the father of the bride made him sign a paper saying that he owes his wife $100,000 in the event of a divorce. The love struck young man was reluctant to sign it but could not protest given that that would have caused a lot of problems (a possible bridezilla outbreak?). He told me that now he knows that that paper has no value as a contract since if it did meet all the requirements of a valid contract as set by Ohio law and was executed under duress. It does not have to be this way. What is Mahr? It’s easy to say what it is not- It is not dower, not dowry and not bride price. Mahr is frequently misunderstood as dowry. It is not. It is not a bride’s price, and not dower. Dowry is assets (goods, money and real estate) that a wife brings to her new husband- it’s a common practice in India. It becomes the husband’s property. Bride pric
Read more

Response to Amer Zahr’s Sexual Harassment Column

-
Image
Rana Abbas, former ACRL executive director Amer Zahr, Rana Abbas's BFF Response to Amer Zahr’s Sexual Harassment Column The Imad Hamad saga has attracted a motley crew of individuals who joined in for two reasons: 1. To say, without any legal basis for personal knowledge, that the allegations are “true” for a variety of reasons.  2. To say that we basically need no investigation and that Imad should be fired because these two women have made these allegations. Allegation is the key word. Let’s look at the bright side of this sordid affair. Who knew that everyone in our community is a solid supporter of women’s rights? This is great! It really is. However, by God, people will prove it by piling on Imad Hamad before receiving all the facts. Let me make one thing clear. I am not stating these women were not harassed; nor am I stating they were. No one, other than Imad and the women, was in the room when the alleged harassment occurred.  No third party could
Read more

In Defense of the Dream During the Night of the Long Zionist Nightmare:

-
Image
    “When you were still swinging from trees, we had a state here.”   Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, speaking to an Arab member of Knesset.     Zionism is Jewish nationalism. Whether the Jews are a people or not, a nation or not, is for the Jews themselves to decide. For Arabs and Muslims, the issue of Zionism is not a theoretical issue. It is how the Zionist project has been carried out in Palestine. It is a settler colonial project that has been inflicting catastrophes on the indigenous people of Palestine. The indigenous people of Palestine include Muslims, Christians and Jews. The Zionist violence in the West Bank and Gaza is the most recent chapter in the settler colonial  book of horrors.    Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib got in trouble with some in the Jewish community for using the common, perfectly moral and just slogan "From the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free." This slogan captures a vision for Mandate Palestine and is a common slogan among the
Read more