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Egyptian intellectuals call for fresh thinking about 'Jewish question'

Writer Youssef Zeidan, with other Egyptian intellectuals, criticizes the institutionalized demonization of Jews and of Israel, calling to mend the relations between the two peoples, since this fracture affects Egypt first and foremost.
A protester waves an Egyptian flag above a Star of David symbol painted on the road during a protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo August 19, 2011. Protesters gathered in front of the Israeli embassy to protest against Israel over the death of an Egyptian army officer and two security personnel who were killed during an Israeli raid on militants along the Egyptian Israeli border on Thursday.  REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh  (EGYPT - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR2Q3SX
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It’s not every day that a well-known Egyptian intellectual makes pronouncements of the kind made by philosopher Youssef Zeidan. The Egyptian and Israeli media missed what he said at the end of a Dec. 30 interview with journalist Lamis El-Hadidy on Egypt’s CBC TV channel, even though it went to the heart of the ties between Cairo and Jerusalem and between Arabs and the Jewish world.

Zeidan is a researcher of ancient manuscripts. He is also a greatly admired writer, the author of several excellent novels, most prominently “Azazeel,” which has been translated into 16 languages and was recently even published in Hebrew. Toward the end of the interview, Hadidy asked him how he sees the year 2014. Her guest’s answer was surprising: He suggested that Egyptians reassess their ties with the Jews.

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