I think it will be a long, long time before the Egyptian people look kindly on the Israelis. Look at how they treat the Christian Copts in their own country.
Activists shout slogans against Israel during a protest in front of the Syndicate of Journalists in Cairo, Aug. 2, 2015. (photo by REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)
Israeli ties with Egypt may be thawing, but no 'love and warmth' just yet
“We should not be looking for love and warmth from the Egyptians. We should be looking for quiet and helpful cooperation instead,” Knesset member Ksenia Svetlova of the Zionist Camp told Al-Monitor in response to the suspension of Tawfik Okasha from the Egyptian Parliament. The parliamentarian was punished for inviting Israel’s ambassador to Egypt, Haim Koren, to his home for dinner. Okasha also had a shoe thrown at him in parliament, an incident that received wide coverage in the Egyptian media. The Israeli media also made much of the incident, and there has been speculation that Okasha had actually been sent to meet with the ambassador by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. If so, he would have been a test balloon, sent to see if it was possible to tighten relations between Egypt and Israel. Today, those relations consist primarily of military cooperation.
Summary⎙ Print In an interview with Al-Monitor, Zionist Camp Knesset member Ksenia Svetlova claims that while progress is being made, Egyptian society is still influenced by anti-Israeli discourse and not yet ready for normalization.
Author Mazal MualemPosted March 7, 2016
TranslatorDanny Wool
Svetlova, who was born in Russia, is an expert in Middle East affairs and a former commentator on Arab affairs for Channel 9. While working as a journalist, she covered the Arab Spring in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Today she is completing a doctorate, writing her dissertation on coverage of Israel in the Egyptian media from the dawn of peace in 1977 up until 2011.
The rest of the interview follows:
Read more
Israeli ties with Egypt may be thawing, but no 'love and warmth' just yet - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
Activists shout slogans against Israel during a protest in front of the Syndicate of Journalists in Cairo, Aug. 2, 2015. (photo by REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)
Israeli ties with Egypt may be thawing, but no 'love and warmth' just yet
“We should not be looking for love and warmth from the Egyptians. We should be looking for quiet and helpful cooperation instead,” Knesset member Ksenia Svetlova of the Zionist Camp told Al-Monitor in response to the suspension of Tawfik Okasha from the Egyptian Parliament. The parliamentarian was punished for inviting Israel’s ambassador to Egypt, Haim Koren, to his home for dinner. Okasha also had a shoe thrown at him in parliament, an incident that received wide coverage in the Egyptian media. The Israeli media also made much of the incident, and there has been speculation that Okasha had actually been sent to meet with the ambassador by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. If so, he would have been a test balloon, sent to see if it was possible to tighten relations between Egypt and Israel. Today, those relations consist primarily of military cooperation.
Summary⎙ Print In an interview with Al-Monitor, Zionist Camp Knesset member Ksenia Svetlova claims that while progress is being made, Egyptian society is still influenced by anti-Israeli discourse and not yet ready for normalization.
Author Mazal MualemPosted March 7, 2016
TranslatorDanny Wool
Svetlova, who was born in Russia, is an expert in Middle East affairs and a former commentator on Arab affairs for Channel 9. While working as a journalist, she covered the Arab Spring in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Today she is completing a doctorate, writing her dissertation on coverage of Israel in the Egyptian media from the dawn of peace in 1977 up until 2011.
The rest of the interview follows:
Read more
Israeli ties with Egypt may be thawing, but no 'love and warmth' just yet - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
