A recent article in the Jordan Times (Monday, June 17, 2002 AP) sheds lights and startles the reader on the current state of affairs in Egypt, even among the educated elite. At a seminar entitled ?After the Demise of Israel,? that country?s educated elite made know its views on the elimination of Israel, in spite of what often appears to be the leading role taken by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in regional piece talks and in apparent disregard for the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel over ten years ago.
Relating to the title for the symposium, ?After the Demise of Israel,? Salah Abdul Karim, deputy head of Egypt for Culture and Dialogue urged, ?We should probe ways on how to bring that date sooner rather than later.?
Members of the symposium also called for the overthrow of regimes supporting peace with Israel. ?We should fight this racist pocket (Israel) planted in the heart of the Arab nation,? said Karim. Islamic activist Hassan El Sayed clarified ?Israel will collapse, it is doomed, but what is necessary is the collapse of the Arab system.?
Still other speakers added inflammatory remarks. Mohammed Hesham, a professor at the state-run Helwan University suggested that Israel would disappear ?like the racist regime in South Africa.? Hesham presented the symposium participants with a paper on ?Zionist Racism: A History With No Future.? Other symposium participants called for concrete action. ?This entity will not collapse on its own, we should escalate its downfall,? urged Adel El Gogri, of the Al Ahrar daily.
The article notes the regretful irony: ?Egypt, the most populous Arab country and Washington's main ally in the region, was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.?
Relating to the title for the symposium, ?After the Demise of Israel,? Salah Abdul Karim, deputy head of Egypt for Culture and Dialogue urged, ?We should probe ways on how to bring that date sooner rather than later.?
Members of the symposium also called for the overthrow of regimes supporting peace with Israel. ?We should fight this racist pocket (Israel) planted in the heart of the Arab nation,? said Karim. Islamic activist Hassan El Sayed clarified ?Israel will collapse, it is doomed, but what is necessary is the collapse of the Arab system.?
Still other speakers added inflammatory remarks. Mohammed Hesham, a professor at the state-run Helwan University suggested that Israel would disappear ?like the racist regime in South Africa.? Hesham presented the symposium participants with a paper on ?Zionist Racism: A History With No Future.? Other symposium participants called for concrete action. ?This entity will not collapse on its own, we should escalate its downfall,? urged Adel El Gogri, of the Al Ahrar daily.
The article notes the regretful irony: ?Egypt, the most populous Arab country and Washington's main ally in the region, was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.?