Journalists and Normalization

Al-Ahram, Egypt, March 22

I strongly object to the decision passed by the Journalists Syndicate’s General Assembly prohibiting the normalization of relations with Israel. In my opinion, this is a wrong decision, both professionally and nationally. Professionally, journalists are not ordinary citizens. Their job is to research news and verify facts and events, particularly in countries that are opponents or competitors to their own. As an Egyptian citizen, I would like to be informed of the events in Israel, even if I disagree with its policies or its existence altogether. There are journalists from all over the world, including from Arab nations, such as Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, as well as Palestinian journalists. There are also Arab channels for them, and correspondents in Israel. Therefore, I find this professional laziness, disguised as enthusiastic opposition to the Israeli entity, to be unacceptable. Secondly, this decision is, in my opinion, also wrong on a national level. Who is looking out for the Egyptian people and citizens by preventing them from knowing what is happening in Israel? This reminds me of the atmosphere before the 1967 war, when knowledge about Israel was taboo. Do you remember the great journalist Ahmed Bahaa El-Din, who was inspired by the 1967 defeat to publish his famous book, Israeliyyat? Following the release of the book, the Egyptian public was finally able to become informed about Israel. Finally, this decision of the Journalists Syndicate is legally wrong, as no institution has the right to prevent any citizen from having a legitimate right to travel to Israel! For informational purposes only, it is worth noting that the Taba crossing between Sinai and Israel witnessed the movement of more than half a million tourists from Israel last year, with 124,000 of them visiting Sharm el-Sheikh, and 54,000 coming to Cairo to explore its streets and enjoy its attractions. –Osama Al-Ghazaly Harb (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)