Trial by Fire for an Egyptian Liberal - 31-Mar-2000

Translation Ha'aretz English edition

Intellectuals who support the peace process don't have an easy time of it in Egypt. Joseph Algazy writes about one activist, recently barred from entering Israel, who intends to keep on trying.

On November 30, when Egyptian citizen Said Galal, in the prestigious television show "The Opposite Direction" of the Qatar broadcasting station al-Jazira, criticized false reports on Israel that appear in the Arab media, he had no idea of the trouble he was storing up for himself. Last Sunday, when he came to the border at Rafah in order to enter Israel, he was held back. After delaying him for three hours and questioning him respectfully, the Egyptian officials at the crossing ordered him to go back where he came from. By midnight, Galal was home in Cairo.

Al-Jazira is considered one of the best stations in the Arab world. "The Opposite Direction," which brings together people with opposing views, is hosted by Dr. Faysal al-Qassem, and has a large audience because it does not hesitate to deal with controversial issues - and many viewers consider some of the views expressed highly provocative.

In this particular program, which dealt with the "poisoned peace," Galal, a member of the Egyptian organization New Perspective, was pitted against Dr. Rifaat Mustafa, a legal and international affairs expert. Mustafa heatedly reiterated various allegations that have been uttered in the Arab world as if they were iron-clad facts - for example, the charge that Israel, under the guise of the peace process, intends to destroy the Arabs. The methods of destruction include poisoning the drinking water of the Palestinians and the Jordanians, disseminating disease-spreading bacteria, infecting children in Beirut with AIDS and spreading diseases to Egyptian agriculture. He also maintained that Israel wants to dominate the economy of the Arab world, and made other claims that pass for news in the Arab media.

Opposing him, Galal said that much of this slander was based on lies spread by people who don't bother to present actual facts or present documents to prove their accusations. To bolster his argument, he pointed out that an Egyptian court had utterly rejected documents presented as proof that Israel was exploiting a treaty it signed with Egypt in order to destroy Egyptian agriculture. Galal also rejected the claims of Yasser Arafat's wife, Suha, that Israel was poisoning Palestinian children through the use of gas, on the grounds that she had failed to present any facts to support her allegations. He also noted that the Palestinian Authority has never made such a complaint. To the claim that Israel is supplying contaminated water to Jordan, Galal quoted Jordanian authorities, who had said that Israel is not responsible for contaminated water in Jordan, which officials admitted was a local failure.

Galal got some support in rejecting Suha Arafat's allegations from Hadash MK Issam Makhoul. He noted that the Palestinians' situation under Israeli occupation was quite bad enough as things were, without there being any need for exaggeration. One Egyptian listener, Tareq Hadji, said that the Arab struggle against Israel was justified, but that exaggerations and fabrications only cause harm to Arab interests. He added that blaming foreign sources for the maladies of the Arab world does not help in building a present and a future. However, another Egyptian, Muhammed al-Qudussi, alleged Israel had tied in the pats to castrate Arab men.

Following the program, Egyptian papers published harsh criticisms of Galal. Walid Hamed, in the weekly "Rose-al-Youssef", accused Galal of being a devotee of normalization with Israel, and willing to defend Israel's aggression. "Shamir and Netanyahu could not have defended Israel better than Said Galal," he wrote. General Kamel Hafez, in the Cairo daily "al-Akhbar", described Galal's remarks as "an excellent display of Israeli propaganda activity." In his own defense, Galal responded by saying that lies and fabrications spread by Arabs hurt their credibility.

Galal, 49, is a self-employed businessman in the electronics field. He studied social work and Islamic studies and was interested in politics, but only recently became active. In describing his experience at the border crossing at Rafah, Galal told "Ha'aretz" in a telephone interview that he informed the official concerned that he had been invited to Israel by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and showed him the invitation. After checking, the official told him that he could not enter Israel because he did not have a permit from security authorities at the Immigration and Passport Ministry.

Galal previously visited Israel in 1995. "The purpose this time was to get to know Israeli peace movements better, from close up, particularly Peace Now, which is fighting within Israel for a just and stable peace, and for the creation of normal relations between Israel and its neighbors. I see myself as similar to them," Galal said. "In my own country, I work toward a genuine peace with Israel and for the destruction of enmity, which still exists between Israel and the Arabs. Peace requires one to know the views of the other side. I don't want us to bequeath enmity to our children. The struggle for peace and for democracy are linked to each other. During my visit, I wanted to fulfill a dream, to meet the peace pilot, Abie Nathan, who is 73 today, the man who in February 1966 flew to Egypt and endangered his life for peace."

Last week, Galal added, he submitted a request to become a member of the Cairo Association for Peace, which was set up two years ago. He said he planned to appeal to the authorities in his country to be allowed to enter Israel. "It is a basic right to leave and enter my country," said Galal, who defines himself as a liberal. However, he adds that he is not angry at being denied the opportunity to visit Israel this time. "I understand that our society is in a transitional stage, and therefore some difficulties are natural. But I will not give up my activities on behalf of peace and democracy," he concluded.

The Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv could not provide an explanation as to why Galal was not allowed to enter Israel, saying that authority on this matter was not in its hands, but under the jurisdiction of the chief official at the border crossing. Within Peace Now, there is deep disappointment. Moti Awerbuch, who acts as a Peace Now liaison with groups in Egypt, said that Galal's hosts had planned to have him meet the leadership of Peace Now, visit the Jewish-Arab Center at Haifa University and Ulpan Akiva, and meet with intellectuals such as Haim Gouri, Erez Biton, Muhammed Ganayem, Shimon Balas and Sami Michael, along with Knesset members and others.

Awerbuch believes that in addition to the Cairo Association for Peace, which operates with the formal support of the establishment, there are other active groups that want peace with Israel. For example, he cited a group that meets at the home of Nobel Prize laureate Naguib Mahfouz, and another group whose guiding spirit is the writer Amin al-Mahdi, who has criticized a number of Arab positions over peace with Israel.

The members of this group, of which Galal is one, are intellectuals in various fields who are convinced that Egypt has paid a high price for its quest for peace and democracy. "These groups are the tip of the iceberg, and comments like those of Galal help to reveal more of it," says Awerbuch. "I believe there are others in Egypt who think like Galal and al-Mahdi, and are interested in stating their views openly. However, it is far from easy for them."