Egypt: The InterFaith Conference and Arab Israeli Relations

Saudi Arabia's King Abdulla sat in the same room with Israeli political leaders for the first time ever, during the UN Interfaith conference, held in New York, US.

Writing at Arabic Media Shack, Rob highlights reactions from a few Egyptian newspapers, on how this historic meeting would impact the Arab-Israeli peace process.

At the blog, which describes itself as a non-partisan site which analyzes political, strategic, and security issues of the Middle East, Rob states:

Fahmy Huwedi and Tariq Al-Bashri, top Egyptian commentators, have scathing columns in today’s Al-Dostor, criticizing the King for refusing to bring up violence in Gaza while handing the Israelis a major PR victory. Bashri goes as far to say that the King sitting in the same room as Peres is no less significant as Sadat visiting Jerusalem in 1977. However, he then goes on to undermine the credibility of his argument by saying that the US and Israel are behind attempts to instigate Sunni-Shia conflict in order to create a new enemy or distraction for the Arabs, so that they no longer focus on Israel. He compares this to how the US allegedly instigated conflict between Libya and Egypt following the Camp David treaty, creating a “new enemy” for the Egyptians other than Israel. How can the US can be blamed for instigating Sunni-Shia strife when the top Sunni scholars, such as Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, have been the most vocal in their anti-Shia rhetoric.

3 comments

  • I saw the clip and was completely appalled. This woman seems to be filled with an unconscionable hatred towards the Israelis. How can she say such things being a woman and a human rights lawyer? How can we hope for a peace process when those who stand for justice speak in this unlawful manner? I am glad that we have her saying this on a news channel as well established as Al Arabiya and hope we continue to discuss the deap-seated, irrational preachings of such hate mongers.

  • wow this is really new thing. I dont know if things will change.

  • Why is my response posted here? This is a technical glitch.
    My response above refers to the Al Arabiya video where a lady made the statement, “Arab men should sexually assault Israeli women in protest of Occupied Palestinian lands.”

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