EGYPT: The trouble beyond the chorus

By singing at a Cairo synagogue, Gaber el-Beltagui elicited a storm of fury among many fellow Egyptians, who dismissed his move as a sign of normalization with the Jewish state. The opera singer performed his songs at the centenary celebrations of the Shaar Hashamashiyam synagogue, an event organized by the Jewish Community in Egypt.

According to the local press, Egypt has a population of about 100 Jews, mostly women. After decades of fighting, Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, which normalized relations between the two neighbors. Yet, it remains a sensitive issue for many Egyptians, who still regard the Jewish state as an enemy and shrug off normalization as a form of treason. To dispel accusations of “normalization,” El-Beltagui contended he did not sing for the Jews. “There is a clear confusion here, because I did not sing for the Jews but I sang for peace … In my song, I called for the denunciation of fanaticism and the proliferation of peace,” El-Betagui told the media

However, those statements did not dissuade his syndicate from freezing his membership. “How can he go sing at a synagogue while they [Israelis] are killing our sons?” asked Mounir El-Wasseemy, the head of the Musical Artists’ Syndicate. “What glory was he seeking? This was very selfish and showed a sense of irresponsibility,” he added.

— Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo

Comments

[Aimee Kligman]

This is no less egregious than the situation in Alexandria's largest synagogue, where the person in charge of its affairs is a Jewish convert to Islam. I don't hear anyone screaming about this.

[ARTH]

There is supposed to be a distinction between Jews and Judaism on the one hand and Zionism and Israel on the other. Belatgui performed at a synagogue with no direct affiliation whatsoever to Israel. It is even listed as a national monument by the Egyptian Antiquities Authority. This action is completed divorced from Anti-Zionism or Anti-Israel. It is nothing more than Anti-Semitism.

The ideologues in Egypt and other Arab countries have closed and cut off Egypt from its own Jewish culture, heritage, and past. That has nothing to do with Israel at all. It is a denial of an aspect of Egypt's own cultural heritage.

[Labiba Boyd]

Ms. El-Hennawy, it would be fair to report that Egyptian newspapers
have called Mr. El-Wasseemy schizophrenic because the President
Egypt and many of Egypt's cabinet meet with the government of Israel.
Egyptian reporters asked the syndicate "why pick on the actors and singers? "

Ms. El-Hennawy, you could have also reported that Egyptian actors
who work on films made by the BBC or in the US are also persecuted by
the Actors Syndicate in Egypt because some of the films they work on
have Israeli actors. The Egyptian actors object of course and say that
most films that use Egyptian actors use Palestinian and Algerian actors
too and that as actors and artists they mind their own business and don't
go around asking people where they come from.

These incidents showed that normal Egyptians, who are the majority, don't
agree with what the Syndicates are doing, even though your article implied
otherwise. The majority of Egyptians and many of the Egyptian reporters call
the current government and syndicates in Egypt schizophrenic. because of
how they treat their singers, actors and artists.

Please be fair in reporting the sentiments of Egyptians as well as what the
Egyptian reporters say when you report on these and similar incidents in the
future.