"In the second half of April," the Center's latest report states, "the Egyptian official press has made several vicious, spiteful attacks against Israel in several malicious articles of anti-Semitic character published in the official government press."
The report specifically notes an article in Al-Akhbar dated April 18 and an ongoing series of articles in Al-Ahram al-Massai from April 15-25). "The articles combine anti-Semitic motifs with blatant anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist incitement... These and other similar articles occasionally found in the Egyptian media join numerous expressions of incitement prevalent in Egypt both in ongoing media publications as well as on a fundamental, deep-rooted basis."
The articles deny "the bogus historical rights of Jews in Palestine." They claim that the State of Israel was founded based on "fabrications and lies that have their source in the Old Testament and in the Talmud," and using "the lies of Israel and world Jewry about the number of Jews exterminated by Nazi Germany." This was done, the report states, in order to turn Israel "into the center of world Zionism for the implementation of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
The report also features a photo of a large billboard on a Cairo street depicting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, his predecessors Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, and the late Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan - with the caption "the murderers" in three languages. The billboard was affixed a while ago to a building opposite the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo. Though it is not clear who put up the billboard, the sign is located on the same structures as the offices of the filmmakers association, known for its anti-Israeli sentiments. Despite repeated appeals by Israel to the Egyptian authorities, including requests by Foreign Minister Shalom, the billboard remains.
The report states that there is no apparent reason for these articles, especially in light of the recent warming of Israeli-Egyptian relations. "In our assessment, this is a routine wave of anti-Israeli articles the likes of which can be found in the Egyptian media from time to time. At the same time, however, these articles are part of a widespread phenomenon of expressions of anti-Semitism prevalent in Egypt, seen on an ongoing basis as well as being a fundamental characteristic of Egyptian society and politics. Thus, the Egyptian public is exposed to continuous anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli brainwashing."
Israeli government officials have reached a preliminary agreement with Egypt, allowing the deployment of 750 Egyptian soldiers to guard the Egyptian-Gazan border in the event of an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Their job will be mainly to stop the strong current of weapons-smuggling from Egypt into Gaza. MK Yuval Shteinitz, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has warned that this will be a dangerous precedent, for several reasons. Among them he noted the anti-Semitic tendencies in Egyptian society.