Prof. Mohammed Dajani at Auschwitz. Called 'traitor' and 'collaborator'
Israel 'normalizers' paying the price
Analysis: Palestinian professor who took students to Auschwitz is latest victim of campaign against those promoting normalization with 'enemy.'
The derogatory name "tatbia" (which can be loosely translated as making something natural and normal) was invented immediately after the Israel-Egypt peace treaty was signed, 35 years ago. While the agreements spoke about a series of collaborations with Israel in order to intensify the atmosphere of peace, the "tatbia" was born to sabotage it.
Late urologist Prof. Mahmoud Badr arrived for a professional tour of our hospitals only after receiving the go-ahead from the presidential palace in Cairo. He was the pioneer of "normalizers," and when he returned he found himself on the black list of the "tatbia" and was expelled from the Egyptian Urological Association.
Anyone who was "caught" in a relationship with Israelis, anyone who invited visitors from Israel to his home, anyone who was seen alongside Israelis on the street or at a restaurant or agreed to participate in academic conferences with Israelis, immediately received the derogatory name "mutabia." A person who insists, for his own dark reasons, to create normalization with the Israeli "enemy."
Holocaust Education
'Those opposed to the trip are mixing politics with education,' says professor behind controversial visit by first Palestinian delegation ever to Auschwitz; comments came on Holocaust Memorial Day.
He was followed by satirist Ali Salem who made a surprise visit to Tel Aviv, toured Israel for three weeks and, upon his return, sat down to write a book of experiences which became a huge hit across the Arab world, but the Writers Syndicate in Cairo demanded that he apologize for the spontaneous initiative. When he insisted on refusing, he was expelled disgracefully and the country's media outlets were forbidden to employ him.
The "tatbia" punishments were adopted in Jordan too, after the peace. The king had to intervene in person in order to rescue a journalist who gave an interview to media outlets in Israel after the peace treaty and back businesspeople who traveled to sign deals and set up joint factories in spite of the opponents of peace.
The comic duo from Amman, Nabil and Hisham, received death threats during their visit to Israel. After their case, the journalists' association issues warnings and does not hesitate to punish those caught engaging in "tatbia."
Absurdity reached a new level when during a summit in a reconciliatory atmosphere between the Israeli prime minister, the Egyptian president and the Jordanian king, it was decided to convey positive messages through media interviews. Then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gave an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave an interview to al-Ahram. When the interviewer returned to Cairo with the tape, he was first of all summoned to a "members' trial" at the journalists' syndicate, which threatened to expel him if he failed to apologize for his "mistake."
The "tatbia" is a big no-no in Morocco too, and an Israeli diplomat was smuggled through a rear window in the middle of an international conference for fear of assassination.
A heated debate is taking place these days in the Tunisian government: Ministers are threatening to expel their colleagues – the ministers who said they are in favor of the entry of visitors with Israeli passports in order to boost the country's income from tourism. The excuse, as always, is that until a Palestinian state is established, "tatbia" with the "enemy" is forbidden.
Prof. Mohammed Dajani of the Palestinian al-Quds University is the latest victim. Last month, he took 27 students to visit the Nazi concentration camps in Poland. He wrote about the tour with a lot of excitement, published pictures from Auschwitz and promised that if he would get more funding he would take additional groups of Palestinians there: High school students, leading women, intellectuals and journalists. He called it a "study tour," insisting that the Palestinians must see the price of the Nazi horror with their own eyes.
Last weekend, Dajani was hit with a wave of black surprises. The Palestinian media are calling him a "traitor" and "collaborator," the lecturers' association announced that it was expelling him because of the "tatbia," and a group of students stormed the professor's office, broke things, drove the secretary away and left letters threatening Dajani not to even think of returning to the campus.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who condemned the Holocaust in a speech in Ramallah, did not come to his rescue.
