We need to know what should we tell our children and grandchildren about Israel. What should a teacher tell his students about Israel? What should an imam of a mosque say about Israel from the pulpit? What should a priest tell a congregation about Israel? What should the media and the talk shows say about Israel? What should government officials say about Israel? What should historians, scriptwriters and producers of drama say about Israel?
Is Israel an enemy or a friend? Is it an aggressor state or an occupied country? Is it the light of our eyes or pitch darkness?
After 67 years of expressions like “Zionist Enemy”, “Israeli Enemy” and “Occupying Force”, and in light of the killing in cold blood that we see, the establishment of settlements, the intimidation and the assault on women and children, we would easily become schizophrenic if we suddenly hear that Israel is a friend.
The other day, we woke up to the shocking news that Egypt has voted for Israel to become a member of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space based in Vienna.
Nine Arab countries, namely Syria, Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait and Mauritania have all abstained from voting so that it is not recorded in history that they had one day voted in favor of Israel.
The United States insisted on putting all the six nominated countries, which were Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Israel, Sri Lanka and El Salvador, up for one collective vote so as to make sure Israel wins. Still, the Arab countries I have mentioned refused to vote, despite the fact that there were three Arab countries among the six, including Qatar.
Libya, Lebanon and Jordan were absent from the meeting perhaps because they were too embarrassed to vote.
Strangely enough, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which deals with the matter as if it was an election in a local youth center or trade union, said in a naive statement that Egypt did so for the benefit of the Arabs, as if we will not know about the Arab countries that have abstained.
Maybe it meant for the benefit of the UAE specifically, the country whose wealth President Sisi has mocked by saying “they have money like rice.” But if any country wants to pay compliment to the UAE, it should be Saudi Arabia because they also have money like rice. And did the ministry not wonder why did Qatar not vote for itself?
The ministry should have kept silent so as to avoid anger on social networking websites and the mockery in the street.
I go back to the starting point. Is Israel an enemy or a friend?
We do not want to become schizophrenic. For we heard that we are fighting terrorism in Sinai because it poses a threat to Israel. We heard calls for supporting Bashar al-Assad because it is not in Israel's interests that he should fall. Yet, at the same time, we tell our children that Israel is a microbe in the region and a demonic parasite on Arab flesh, that it is a foundling of the diaspora, that it was founded on the bodies of hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians and martyrs, and that it will not last for long because the Abrahamic religions say so.
All hell broke loose when someone in Tel Aviv said that former President Hosni Mubarak was a “strategic treasure” for Israel. Well, what happened in the UN meeting, gentlemen, nothing like it ever happened in the 30 years that this strategic treasure ruled Egypt, or under the other strategic treasure, President Sadat, who signed a peace treaty with the occupying state.
In any case, maybe what happened was a mistake in our foreign policy like the mistakes we make everyday in our domestic policies. Maybe it was a compliment for the UAE. Time will prove that it was actually a trap.
Instead of directing the votes of the Arab countries in international circles as we used to, we now move alone in darkness, while Israeli foreign policy is triumphing. No wonder Israel said it was a historic day for the country.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
