Disclaimer: only God knows if this will work.
The 25 January Revolution reverberated throughout the Middle East, rocking the foundations of the lords of the land from Morocco to Iran. When Hosni Mubarak left for a Saudi Arabian exile-vacation, the masses of Tahrir and Egypt demanded fundamental change in their country’s domestic and foreign policy. The explosion of political parties, now nearly 200 but could’ve been counted before the revolution on one hand, and increased clamours for judicial and legislative transparency and democratization has been mirrored by a popular call to end the Anwar Sadat-era Faustian bargain with Israel.
With an American midwife of heavy treasure in military aid, the relationship between Israel and Egypt swapped the Sinai Penninsula for peace, and coordinated to arm the Taliban in an anti-Soviet jihad. Egypt forgot or persectued Palestinians in the case of Gaza’s destitute millions. In the modern era, the Egypt-Israel deal evolved is best summarized by a shady backroom gas deal brokered by Mubarak’s confidante Hussein Salam. While the US aid and Sinai aren’t going anywhere, the Egyptian people have robustly demanded their government cease giving gas-needy Israel access to cheap Egyptian sources.
In public however, Mubarak talked like the rest of the Arab despots. Israel was the bogeyman blamed for everything including shark attacks, and Palestine was sacred. Public built up and broke out from Tahrir. When last I was there, crowds chanted to cut off the gas to Israel and start engaging Palestine to thwart Zionist expansion in the West Bank and violence in Gaza.
Legitimate geopolitical and human rights critiques of Israel mixed up with a dangerous type of anti-Semitism, which didn’t exist in pre-Israel Egypt and is sourced largely to the German Elders of the Protocol Zion, to demand a change of the Egyptian border with Israel. Open up the world’s largest prison, they said, and let’s save Gaza. It was under this promise of infitah, opening, and the Egyptian-brokered unification of Palestine’s divided houses of power, that I came to Cairo. From here, one could enter Gaza without Israeli permission. At the time, I knew they would deny me access and came to Egypt with hope of seeing the other side of Palestine.
The Cairo Press Office amazed me with their professionality and courtesy from the moment I entered their office at the end of this June. They told me I needed two documents: a letter from my news agency and my embassy. My editor at TransTerraMedia wrote a letter addressed to CPO Director Doctor Gamal Abdul Fateh stating I was to report for them in Gaza throughout the summer of 2011. The US Embassy charged me $50 to wait for three hours in their enormous compound to sign away their responsibility for my life. When I gave both letters to the CPO staff, they said it would take at least a week, maybe two, to process my security clearance. My application went on top of a pile of others.
Today, I recieved a letter of permission from the Egyptian government. I had passed security, cleared by the Egyptians and Hamas, and could advance to El Arish. The CPO coordinated my arrival and passage with their office at the Rafah border.
I bided my time in Cairo with the help of good friends, and fell in love with the city. Hot for sure. Victorious with out a doubt.
Tomorrow, I will leave for Gaza, and from there I will let you know if these directions work out.
