Egypt's kind of Israeli
Egypt, with whom Israel has nominally had a peace treaty for the last 30 years, has decided to show its tolerance for Israelis and for alternative points of view. Of course, they're going to do it Egyptian style. Egypt has decided to translate some Hebrew books into Arabic. But they're only going to translate Hebrew books by authors they consider anti-Zionist. Gaber Asfur, the head of Egypt's Center for Translation in the Culture Ministry, told AFP he was considering publishing Arabic translations of short stories by famed Israeli author Amos Oz, as well as author David Grossman's "The Yellow Wind” (which rails against “the Israeli occupation” of land captured in 1967), and works by so-called new historians Tom Segev [pictured. CiJ] and Avi Shlaim.
The decision by the ministry prompted a media debate in Egypt. Critics of the plan said that the real motivation behind the announcement was connected to Culture Minister Farouk Hosni's ill-fated candidacy to head UNESCO. The candidacy faced intense criticism because of a past statement by the culture minister that he would like to burn Hebrew-language books.
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Egyptian clerics and academics seethed against the government decision, but according to a report by MEMRI, the Culture Ministry denied the accusations that it was trying to ingratiate itself with Israel or improve relations with the Jewish neighbor in any way. “It is very important that the Arab reader read the books of the Israeli historians so that he becomes acquainted with his enemy's culture. We even translate writings by the enemies of Islam, and turn to experts to respond to them,” the ministry said
"We have to know our enemy," Asfur told the BBC.
Israel Matzav: Egypt's kind of Israeli
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