Hisham Farid -'proud of nationality'
Egyptians cast their votes in Tel Aviv
Candidate's attempts to have Egyptian citizens living in Israel blocked from voting in country's first free elections fall short and Egyptians living in Israel join their countrymen
The direction Egypt
will be taking after the parliamentary elections remains unclear but both Egypt and Israel
are preparing for the possibility that the new regime will make it hard to keep the peace treaty
between the two countries.
Yet for the past few days at least, relations seem to be just as they should between Cairo and Jerusalem with Egyptians living in Israel heading to the polls to fulfill their democratic right.
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Madhat Abed al-Latif, an Egyptian embassy employee in Israel told Ynet that so far, the elections at the embassy in Tel Aviv are going ahead without a hitch. "The voting registration closed on November 19 online and yesterday a group of 30-40 people voted.
"This morning there is no one left. The process went smoothly and additional voters will arrive in the second and third stages of the elections which are set to be held in a few months."
Egyptians take to the polls (Photo: EPA)
He added that only a small number of the Egyptians living in Israel today are eligible to vote. "The problem that many Egyptians here have is that they don't have an Egyptian ID with their national identification number. That is why the number of Egyptian voters in Israel is so small."
One of the independent candidates in Egypt, Khaled Nadim, has petitioned the courts in his country to prevent men married to Israeli women and those living in Israel from voting in the elections. He explained that giving the vote to those Egyptians hurts the legitimacy of the elections.
He believes they are "residents in an enemy country "who have an affinity with Israel even though they benefit from Egyptian citizenship."
One of the voters at the embassy in Tel Aviv was Hisham Farid who has been living in Israel since 1995.
Farid noted that "We don't want an Islamic or religious regime in Egypt" adding that he cared about "where the leader would lead us to in the future. When Mubarak was up for election it was support him or not, now for the first time I feel proud of my nationality."
'Against the constitution'
Shukri a-Shazli, 51, who heads the group of Egyptians living in Israel and who is married to an Israeli woman told Ynet of his personal efforts to enable Egyptians living in Israel to vote.
Long lines as Egyptians wait to vote (Photo: Reuters)
"I and another Egyptian sent the Military Council a missive two months ago in which we stressed that we are true Egyptians, like any throughout the world and that if they want democracy – then it needs to be complete democracy where no one prevents Egyptians living in Israel from voting."
He added that "In fact if we are not allowed to vote it is against the constitution. We didn't break any laws. Marrying an Israeli woman is like marrying an Indian woman. If they wouldn't let us vote then it's like a dictatorship."
The embassy shared the good news a few days ago stating that Egyptians living in Israel would also be allowed to vote. A-Shazli will not be casting his ballot this time around but he is very clear on who he believes Egyptians living in Israel should vote for: "We don't want the Muslim Brotherhood; we want a civil state without religion."
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