Mubarak with Olmert
Photo: GPO
Disrespecting the president
Egypt’s Mubarak embraces regular ritual of slamming ‘Israeli effrontery’
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak does not get insulted. Rather, President Mubarak feels he was disrespected. If a sense of insult is personal, intimate almost, then being disrespected is the grandiose version; a sort of active deed that everyone must be stunned to witness.
A person who was disrespected holds on to his cheek as if he just sustained a surprising slap. He gasps while his mouth goes ajar and his pupils widen; a whispered wailing sound emanates from his throat.
Being disrespected, in contradiction to a plain old sense of insult, is an extroverted public relations effort meant to elicit some sort of benefit, even if only serious pangs of conscience on the part of the party who disrespected the victim.
Feeling disrespected is an art which President Mubarak, the man who was insulted by Israeli comedian Eli Yatzpan’s imitation of him, has perfected. Any type of criticism or comment on the part of Israel that pertains to relations between the two countries is met with an Egyptian claim of being disrespected.
This is followed by words whose meaning is clear: “This is what you say about me? Me, your best friend, who does so many things for you?! After all, I can be not-as-nice to you. After all, when you need me you know my phone number very well, yet when it’s convenient for you, you disrespect me…”
And then, Israel quickly dispatches a senior minister who will explain, and clarify, and pacify, and make excuses about us not really intending to say what we said, and about the misunderstanding, and about us really appreciating the Egyptian people and the Egyptian president.
Only then does the Egyptian president (or is it Egyptian of Polish descent) calm down, and proceeds to mutter to himself that “if somebody talks to me like this once more it won’t end well, and you know very well what I mean.” And then, the tranquility, and peace, and wonderful relations between the two nations return to their good old path; until the next time he will be disrespected.
Spot the differences
Yet if you ever happen to go on vacation to Egypt’s Sinai desert, and if during a routine search of your bag at the border the guards will find, Heaven forbid, a single rifle bullet that was left there during your last tour of reserve duty, nobody would be jealous of you. The Egyptians will drag you to lengthy interrogations, the Israeli embassy in Cairo will be called to interfere, and you may find yourself being thrown into some smelly Egyptian prison cell.On the other hand, if you are a Palestinian interested in bringing whole containers of rifles and ammunition, missiles and launchers, landmines and explosive materials into the Gaza Strip – you’re welcome. The Republic of Egypt, through its blind police officers and bribed soldiers, will treat you with respect.
Because after all, one single bullet constitute a danger to the welfare of the Egyptian nation and could undermine its sovereignty, yet the arms being poured into Gaza via the Philadelphi route are an insignificant matter. And then comes President Mubarak and reprimands our foreign minister: “It’s very easy to sit in your Jerusalem office and criticize our work on the ground.”
After all, President Mubarak is building up a sweat while personally securing the Philadelphi Route, and we have the nerve to criticize him?
