On The Other Hand
Editor — exploring modern JewryEgypt’s Book Burner
Talk about letting the fox into the henhouse. A leading candidate to be the next head of the U.N.’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni. UNESCO’s 58 member states were set to vote on their next leader on Thursday, Sept. 17 in Paris.
For the record, Mr. Hosni, according to the Anti-Defamation League documents, not only has a history of rejecting cultural relations with the State of Israel, but once even advocated the burning of Hebrew books in Egyptian libraries. At one point, he reportedly said, “I’d burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt.” He later clarified that statement, saying it was made in anger and not intended literally. OK, then what actually was intended? That he merely hated Israel but would not act on it?
Now there’s a great role model for Arab youth. With cultural advocates like these, who needs books in the first place?
Likewise, he reportedly refused to permit Israeli participation in major Egyptian cultural events, such as the annual Cairo Book Fair and Film Festival.
But it’s not Jews or Israelis that are the Egyptian official’s sole targets. “His role in banning books from the Cairo Book Fair, films from the Alexandria Film Festival, and television shows from being broadcast has come under fire from artists, journalists and intellectuals from Egypt and around the world,” according to ADL officials.
Thus, one is left to conclude that building people-to-people ties to promote peace between Arabs and Jews – long a desired effort for those seeking to create long-term positive relations – is not even an option for Mr. Hosni.
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