Egyptian soldier at Giza pyramids
Egyptian soldier at Giza pyramidsMelanie Fidler/Flash 90

Egyptian journalists writing for the al-Mizri, al-Yom, and al-Aharam newspapers criticized Israel's presence and successes in invention and science as an embarrassment to the entire Arab world, reported MEMRI.

Al-Mizri journalist Matulei Salam wrote in his article, "Countries which appreciate knowledge see inventions as a god and as the epitome of investment. The Egyptian government and populace are not interested in inventions. This is an embarrassment, since Israel is rated second-highest in the world in the area of inventions. Scientific research in Israel is also very advanced and continues to advance, and is considered to be among the best in the world. But we ourselves have a backwards mentality, and our interest in science ends with our philosophical discussions in cafes and clubs.

"Unfortunately, we are a nation which has fallen. Once we were one of the best nations, and now we are one of the worst. In the meantime, Israel is making a place for itself in the sciences we ignore. Those of us who have master's degrees and doctorate degrees are few, and they have to search for work so that they can live while wasting their academic knowledge."

In a similar article published in al-Aharam, Ibrahim al-Negar wrote, "Israel has beaten the Arabs in he science contest. Israel has seduced American and European scientists into allowing it to develop, and meanwhile we have an 'emigration of Arab brains.' Arabs who attain academic degrees find themselves failing to earn a living when they come back, and their studies go to waste.

"The Arab League has warned us of the dangers of this trend, and of how it endangers our security, politics, and economics. Meanwhile, Israel has attained twenty-fourth place in the developed world, and second place - immediately after the US - in the field of scientific abilities. And Israel came in fourth after Japan, the US, and Finland in the field of technological inventions."