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Egypt: Uproar as Lawyer Suggests Raping Israeli Women

· Written by Marwa Rakha

Categories: Middle East & North Africa, Egypt, Israel, Breaking News, Citizen Media, Human Rights, Ideas, International Relations, Law, Media & Journalism, Politics, Protest, War & Conflict, Women & Gender, Youth

Voice of Egypt [1]is ashamed of Egyptian Lawyer Nagla Al Imam, the same lawyer who made Egyptians angry [2], for encouraging Arab men to sexually harass Israeli women during her interview on Al Arabia TV [3](Ar).

The Egyptian blog says:

 نجلاء الإمام المحامية و رئيسة جمعية لحقوق الإنسان تدعو الشباب العربي للتحرش بالإسرائيليات و اغتصابهم كنوع من المقاومة و بعد كده بنتسائل ليه الغرب بيتهمنا بالتخلف و الإرهاب أما تكون دي رئيسة جمعية لحقوق الإنسان هيفتكروا المواطن العادي شكله عامل ازاي؟؟
Nagla Al Imam, a lawyer and head of a human rights organization, invited Arab youth to sexually harass and rape Israeli women as a form of resistance … and then we wonder why the West accuses us of backwardness and terrorism … if this is how the head of an NGO thinks, then what would an average citizen be like?

An Israeli blog [4], My Right Word, posted excerpts of the interview in English:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on October 31, 2008.

Interviewer: Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam has proposed that young Arab men should sexually harass Israeli girls wherever they may be and using any possible method, as a new means in the resistance against Israel.

[…]

Interviewer: We have with us the lawyer Nagla Al-Imam from Cairo. Welcome. What is the purpose of this proposal of yours?

Nagla Al-Imam: This is a form of resistance. In my opinion, they are fair game for all Arabs, and there is nothing wrong with…

Interviewer: On what grounds?

Nagla Al-Imam: First of all, they violate our rights, and they “rape” the land. Few things are as grave as the rape of land. In my view, this is a new form of resistance.

Interviewer: As a lawyer, don't you think this might expose Arab youth to punishment for violating laws against sexual harassment?

Nagla Al-Imam: Most Arab countries… With the exception of three or four Arab countries, which I don’t think allow Israeli women to enter anyway, most Arab countries do not have sexual harassment laws. Therefore, if [Arab women] are fair game for Arab men, there is nothing wrong with Israeli women being fair game as well.

Interviewer: Does this also include rape?

Nagla Al-Imam: No. Sexual harassment… In my view, the [Israeli women] do not have any right to respond. The resistance fighters would not initiate such a thing, because their moral values are much loftier than that. However if such a thing did happen to them, the [Israeli women] have no right to make any demands, because this would put us on equal terms – leave the land so we won't rape you. These two things are equal.

[…]

I don’t want young Arab men to be interrogated. I want these Zionist girls with Israeli citizenship to be expelled from our Arab countries. This is a form of resistance, and a way of rejecting their presence.