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November 4, 2002
OU
Blasts Egyptian Broadcasts
Calls for State Department Pressure
The Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest
Orthodox Jewish synagogue organization with nearly 1,000
synagogues nationwide, is outraged about the plans to broadcast
the Protocols of the Elders of Zion on a television series in
Egypt during Ramadan. This series, entitled “Horsemen Without a
Horse,” is consistent with vicious and virulently anti-Semitic
articles, cartoons, and other expressions in the
government-sanctioned Egyptian press. This pattern of incitement
to hatred of Israel and the Jewish people has been an ongoing
problem in Egypt despite repeated requests for its cessation. In
an era of satellite communications and with the advent of Al
Jazeera and many other Arabic television stations, this viciously
anti-Semitic program will have widespread and international
repercussions.
“The fact that media outlets in Egypt under governmental control
and subject to governmental approval continue to broadcast and
publish anti-Semitic content undermines any possibility of
normalization of relations between Israel and her neighbors,” said
Betty Ehrenberg, Director of International and Communal Affairs.
“We call upon Secretary of State Colin Powell to raise this at the
highest levels and press the government of Egypt to stop the
broadcast of “Horsemen Without a Horse” and other programs
containing elements of anti-Semitic incitement.
“We call on President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to exercise
responsibility and take concrete steps to eliminate anti-Semitic
articles and cartoons from the Egyptian newspapers and broadcast
media. Airing this kind of anti-Semitic program especially during
Ramadan, the Muslim holy time, incites hatred and dashes
discourages any hopes of ever creating an atmosphere of peaceful
co-existence in the Middle East.”
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