It was feared by some that the fall of Mubarak would create a vacuum, thereby opening the door for an Israel-hostile regime to enter Egypt’s halls of power. If “democracy” is what the Egyptian spring truly sought and cared about, then why the vitriolic calls for Jews to be sent to the gas chambers? And to whose gas chambers, exactly, are the protesters referring?
Is this what Israel has to look forward to from its ever-changing neighbor?
MEMRI translates the signs and provides the all Arabic-language report that originally aired on Al-Jazeera in Qatar:
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Inside Israel, leftists are planning a million man protest against the government, to be held one week after million man demonstration against Israel in Cairo Friday.
Analysts in Israel are growing increasingly skeptical about the "housing protest" demonstrations and some say that the protest is fizzling out, as summer vacation draws to a close and a rift makes itself visible among the protest organizers and demonstrators. In addition, the clouds of war on the southern border cause many Israelis to instinctively shy away from anti-government activity. The protest organizers refuse to accept this analysis, however, and plan a million-man protest against the government for Friday, September 3. This is a risky tactic: if they fail to bring large numbers of people to the streets, the protest movement will be seriously compromised.
The protest in Egypt reflects growing pressure on the transitional military regime in Cairo to scuttle the peace treaty with Israel and prepare the army for a war "to liberate all of Palestine," Arab affairs correspondent Dalit Halevy reports on Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news.
The demonstration is planned by the Muslim Brotherhood, among other elements, and will be held at a-Tahrir Square in Cairo. The crowd may attempt to storm the Israel Embassy, which has already come under attack in recent weeks. A video published to promote the event consists mostly of text that reads:
Why must I see you, nation
Forgetting your commitment
Forgetting you promise
Your cry at a-Tahrir Square
The video (embeded below) then shows the previous million man demonstration in a-Tahrir Square in which the crowd shouted "a million martyrs march to [liberate] al-Quds [Jerusalem]"
It goes on to say:
Our soldiers are killed in cold blood on the border
Planes bomb Gaza and people die
And we did not lift a finger
The million man protest against Israel on Friday August 26
The Muslim Brotherhood published an official statement Wednesday calling on the leadership to sever ties with Israel. "Egyptian public opinion expects a clear and resolute decision that conforms with the people's dignity and the pride of Egypt, that is: the expulsion of the Zionist ambassador and the recalling of our ambassador from Tel Aviv."
"This decision was reportedly already made but then changed after the Americans intervened. If this is true it is a grave matter, because it shows that the US interferes in our internal matters, and the entire Egyptian nation opposes this."
The statement also calls for a halt to gas exports to Israel and the cancellation of the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ). The QIZ are free trade zone industrial parks established in collaboration with Israel to take advantage of the free trade agreements between the United States and Israel.
