Egyptian Intellectuals Warn Against Suing 'The Jews'

MEMRI ^ | 9-19-03

[SJackson]

Egyptian Intellectuals Warn Against Suing 'The Jews'

The lawsuit being planned by Egyptian jurists, headed by the dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Al-Zaqaziq, Dr. Nabil Hilmi, against "the Jews" regarding "the gold and silver they stole from the Egyptians the night they left Egypt" has been criticized by Egyptian intellectuals on the grounds that it will strengthen the Jewish-Zionist claim to the Holy Land. [1] The following are excerpts from a report on this issue,published in the London-based Arabic-language daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi: [2]

This Lawsuit Paves the Way to Acceptance of the Zionist Claims

Abd Al-Wahab Al-Masiri, author of the encyclopedia "Jews, Judaism, and Zionism" and considered by many in the Arab world to be an authority on these subjects, told Reuters that "this legal game will lead us into the Zionist trap, towards acceptance of Jewish thought – which includes tales such as the divine promise [to the Jewish people], [the concept of the Jews being] the Chosen People, the historical continuation of the Jewish people, and the [legend] that the Jews who left Egypt are those who settled in Palestine. Such a lawsuit paves the way to acceptance of the Zionist claims, first and foremost [the claim regarding] the unity of the [Jewish] people throughout history and the belief that the Bible is an historic document."

Al-Masiri stressed the need to separate "history according to the Bible" from "actual history" and explained: "History according to the Bible is the historic story appearing in the Old Testament, and it is different from and counter to actual history. Sometimes it is impossible to study this history unless it is considered nothing more than part of the Jews' religious thought. This history has moral significance and is part of the Jewish faith, and has lessons that are often more important than the story itself."

According to Al-Masiri, suing Israel for damages of this kind will benefit Israel, as "Israel sees itself as the spokesman for all the Jews in the world, including the Jews in the Arab countries."

He added that "the Zionist idea – whether it was [initially] a Jewish idea or not – is the result of the imperialist solution to the Jewish question in Europe, and it emanates from hatred of the Jews and from the desire to be rid of them by transferring them outside the Western world – that is, exporting them, as they export merchandise – and then recruiting them for the benefit of the Western world."

Thus, Al-Masiri suggests refraining from such lawsuits, proposing instead on "insisting that the Zionist phenomenon contradicts actual history and is part of the picture created by the West [during the imperialist period], and that the tools to abolish it are the same tools used in South Africa and Algeria – that is, continuing the struggle until the enemy is exhausted and realizes that it can no longer continue its racism."

The Planned Lawsuit Lacks All Sense

Egyptian author Rifa'at Al-Sayyed 'Ali also criticized the planned lawsuit, asserting that it lacked all sense and constituted "walking blindly… towards the gates of hell." He said that as a result of the initiative, Israel would also demand compensation for the "labor it expended when the Children of Israel were slaves, as mentioned in the Bible. Similarly, it [Israel] would express [its] adherence to the myth of the Land of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates, and would evade all international resolutions not cancelled by the statute of limitations, including the right of return." According to him, filing the lawsuit would "grant actual contemporary legitimacy to the text of the Bible, which gives Israel the right to adhere to plundering the entire land of historic Palestine [and the right to cause] all other catastrophes…"

The Jews' Slavery Is Not Historically Proven – And the U.S. Itself Can Be Sued Over Slavery

However, Dr. Nabil Hilmi, the man behind the lawsuit, rejected the claim that his lawsuit might raise the issue of the Jews' slavery in Egypt because, he says, "slavery, in this specific situation, is not historically proven, and if the matter arises, it will be possible to open up the issue of the slaves from Africa, and demand that the U.S. pay huge sums in compensation." Similarly, he stressed the legal rather than the political aspect of the lawsuit and denied that it stemmed from antisemitism.

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[1] For more on the lawsuit initiative, see MEMRI Special Dispatch 556, "Egyptian Jurists to Sue 'The Jews' for 'Trillions' of Tons of Gold Allegedly Stolen During Exodus from Egypt.

[2] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), September 16, 2003.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[johniegrad]

Islamolawyers are as crazy as our lawyers.

[xJones]

because, he says, "slavery, in this specific situation, is not historically proven, ...

Ummm....if the slavery cannot be historically proven, how does he intend to prove that the Hebrews ran off with all the gold? Is there any historical evidence of that outside the Bible, which also describes the terrible conditions of their slavery? If the Bible is his only source, he can't claim one thing while denying the other.

[FreedomPoster]

Crazier, based on this. Our lawyers at least manage to line their own pockets. This is pure legalistic game-playing for the home-crowd masses.

[Valin]

Excuse me I have to go bang my head against the wall.

[Valin]

Well I feel better now.
"Al-Masiri stressed the need to separate "history according to the Bible" from "actual history" and explained: "History according to the Bible is the historic story appearing in the Old Testament, and it is different from and counter to actual history."

Oh they don't want to go down that road!

[lainde]

Insanity bump!

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Al-Masiri stressed the need to separate "history according to the Bible" from "actual history" and explained: "History according to the Bible is the historic story appearing in the Old Testament, and it is different from and counter to actual history.

This is what I have said, in regards to this silly lawsuit. If those that want the case to go forward are going to cite Biblical or OT history, then they must be giving it validity. And how could a Muslim ever do that, in good conscience?

[Dallas59]

SNAKE IN THE GRASS

[freeangel]

The #1 mantra of ANY lawyer is "CYA before you rattle any big cages"--'Guess this one has done his homework.

[Phsstpok]

However, Dr. Nabil Hilmi, the man behind the lawsuit, rejected the claim that his lawsuit might raise the issue of the Jews' slavery in Egypt because, he says, "slavery, in this specific situation, is not historically proven, and if the matter arises, it will be possible to open up the issue of the slaves from Africa, and demand that the U.S. pay huge sums in compensation."

typical for most intellectually retarded racist fanatics. The lawyer sponsoring the suit does ignore the fact that if he claims harm from the Jews taking things with them when they left Egypt then the arab world, Egypt in particular, must be liable for having enslaved them to begin with. If the counter to the issue of slavery is to try to attack the US over having imported slaves during a short period of it's history (well less than 100 years after independence the US abolished slavery, one of the very first nations in history to do so) then the arab world's guilt becomes apparent in being the prime mover behind the commercial slave trade in the entire world, particularly the period of slavery in the US and the rest of the Americas. Further the muslim world is still practicing slavery, both de facto and de jure.

The "scholar" attempts to point out the "trap" in admitting to the enslavement of the Jews, but in doing so betrays the true purpose of the muslim/arab cause, to rebuild their failed empire, wipe out all other cultures and peoples and deny the historical truth of the Bible. So much for muslim claims to being "people of the Book." Modern Islam is bent on denying the Word of God as recorded in the Bible, by trying to convince the world that it has been recorded wrong, or was simply a forgery to begin with. They further aim to kill or enslave every practicing Jew or Christian.

Much great wisdom has come from Islamic scholars of many stripes over the centuries. Many of the best and brightest, truly great intellects, some of whom I believe were truly inspired by God, have been hounded or killed for their teachings. Islam today is thoroughly dominated by evil. Any institution of men can be corrupted and turned to the pursuit of evil, whether it was founded in the name of God or Gog and Magog.

[Phsstpok]

Excuse me I have to go bang my head against the wall.

I enjoy Glen Beck's imagery of wrapping your head with duct tape so that when you read things like this and your head explodes none of the pieces will fly away and get lost.

[gitmo]

Assuming the evidence that is used in court is the bible, they're going to have some difficulties.

Ex 13:35-36 "Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians."

From the text, the Egyptians gave the gold, silver, and clothing to the Israelites.

Also, a lot of that wealth came from Joseph's management during the great famine. Egypt was the sole source of food for many nations for 7 years. The Israelites took Joseph's bones with them to the Promised Land.

[gitmo]

"Al-Masiri stressed the need to separate "history according to the Bible" from "actual history" and explained: "History according to the Bible is the historic story appearing in the Old Testament, and it is different from and counter to actual history."

I recall an article from Biblical Archological Review from years ago about an excavation of an altar along the Jordan River. This was believed to be the altar built when Joshua led them into the Promised Land. They found Egyptian jewelry among the articles left as sacrifices. In particular, there was a well preserved gold scarab.

[SJackson]

I enjoy Glen Beck's imagery of wrapping your head with duct tape so that when you read things like this and your head explodes none of the pieces will fly away and get lost.

Makes you look like a Crusader.

[lobo59]

Islam is stupidity on PCP.

[festus]

Am I the only one that actually enjoys seeing this suit brought to trial ?

I mean the sheer amount of irony to go around in this should be measured by the ton.

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 9/18/2003. Thanks SJackson.