An editorial appearing in the August 8-14 edition of the Egyptian al-Ahram Weekly responds to charges by a French-Jewish group that the parent newspaper, al-Ahram, is guilty of ?perverse racism.? The author of the piece, Omayma Abdel-Latif, writes ?That the Arab press, in general, and the Egyptian press, in particular, is anti- Semitic is almost an article of faith for the Jewish lobby in Europe and the United States. Portrayal of the Arab media as replete with anti-Jewish rhetoric and racist incitement has been part of the Israeli campaign to defame Arab journalism in the West.? The al-Ahram article, subject of the suit filed in a Paris court by the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, was titled ?A Jewish Pie From Arab Blood" and appeared on October 10, 2001. ?The French Jewish group,? reports the Weekly, ?deemed the article anti-Semitic.?
While the Paris court did issue a summons for the newspaper?s publisher, reports the Egyptian newspaper, it ?has drawn angry responses from across the Arab world and this week witnessed a show of support from the Press Syndicate, the Bar Association and human rights organisations who vowed ?to stand by him [Nafie] so as not to be intimidated by such attempts to silence criticism of Israel.?? The suit, claims Emad Gad, described by al-Ahram Weekly as ?an expert on Israeli affairs,? is ?merely a continuation of Israel's relentless efforts to win sympathy by invoking the charge of anti-Semitism.? An unidentified ?Western journalist? even told the Egyptian weekly that ?[m]any journalists back down from criticising Israel because to do so would put their careers in jeopardy.? In short, Abel-Latif summarizes, ?Israel uses anti-Semitism as part of a strategy to ensure its survival.?
To its credit, the al-Ahram Weekly does point out that ?in the view of some Western journalists, and a few Arab critics, the Arab press does play into the hands of Zionist groups since they sometimes permit the use of a discourse cluttered with indiscriminate slurs against Jews that range from marked insensitivity to crude racism.? However, the newspaper also explains that ?Egyptian journalists who spoke to the Weekly referred to ?the context? into which this so-called anti-Semitic language emerged in the Arab press.? There is also ?the other anti-Semitism,? the newspaper claims, that takes place in Israel against the Arabs. ?The ubiquity of Israeli incitement against Arabs and Muslims is barely commented upon in the Western press,? Emad Gad is reported as saying, ?It is always underplayed -- if it is mentioned at all. One can rightly claim that they [the Israelis] also resort to incitement but this is hardly mentioned in the Western press.?
Virigine Locussol, of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders organization (RSF) ? Egyptian Affairs Section, told the al-Ahram Weekly, ?It [censorship by Jewish intimidation] is a very big problem in France, too?. When we were in Gaza a few months ago, we were denied press accreditation. So if you criticise the Israeli army, you are dubbed anti-Semitic.? Yet, reports the Egyptian newspaper, ?Locussol and others criticise the Arab press for exaggeration. ?It is a pity that sometimes they publish articles which exaggerate. I would tell them, you don't need to exaggerate. The facts are already horrible.??
While the Paris court did issue a summons for the newspaper?s publisher, reports the Egyptian newspaper, it ?has drawn angry responses from across the Arab world and this week witnessed a show of support from the Press Syndicate, the Bar Association and human rights organisations who vowed ?to stand by him [Nafie] so as not to be intimidated by such attempts to silence criticism of Israel.?? The suit, claims Emad Gad, described by al-Ahram Weekly as ?an expert on Israeli affairs,? is ?merely a continuation of Israel's relentless efforts to win sympathy by invoking the charge of anti-Semitism.? An unidentified ?Western journalist? even told the Egyptian weekly that ?[m]any journalists back down from criticising Israel because to do so would put their careers in jeopardy.? In short, Abel-Latif summarizes, ?Israel uses anti-Semitism as part of a strategy to ensure its survival.?
To its credit, the al-Ahram Weekly does point out that ?in the view of some Western journalists, and a few Arab critics, the Arab press does play into the hands of Zionist groups since they sometimes permit the use of a discourse cluttered with indiscriminate slurs against Jews that range from marked insensitivity to crude racism.? However, the newspaper also explains that ?Egyptian journalists who spoke to the Weekly referred to ?the context? into which this so-called anti-Semitic language emerged in the Arab press.? There is also ?the other anti-Semitism,? the newspaper claims, that takes place in Israel against the Arabs. ?The ubiquity of Israeli incitement against Arabs and Muslims is barely commented upon in the Western press,? Emad Gad is reported as saying, ?It is always underplayed -- if it is mentioned at all. One can rightly claim that they [the Israelis] also resort to incitement but this is hardly mentioned in the Western press.?
Virigine Locussol, of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders organization (RSF) ? Egyptian Affairs Section, told the al-Ahram Weekly, ?It [censorship by Jewish intimidation] is a very big problem in France, too?. When we were in Gaza a few months ago, we were denied press accreditation. So if you criticise the Israeli army, you are dubbed anti-Semitic.? Yet, reports the Egyptian newspaper, ?Locussol and others criticise the Arab press for exaggeration. ?It is a pity that sometimes they publish articles which exaggerate. I would tell them, you don't need to exaggerate. The facts are already horrible.??