Despite the number of protests against Israel being staged, the majority of Egyptians have other priorities, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky After reading an SMS on his mobile telling him when and where the demonstration was starting Rami Ibrahim, a student at Ain Shams University's Faculty of Medicine, excused himself from the lecture he was attending to join hundreds of other students protesting against Israeli actions. Development in Jerusalem in recent weeks have led to several demonstrations staged by university students protesting against Israel's decision to list the Ibrahimi and Bilal bin Rabah mosques as Jewish heritage sites. In more than 16 universities thousands of students directed their anger at Israel, and at Arab regimes which, they say, have done nothing to save Al-Aqsa Mosque. More than 7,000 students chanted slogans against Israel and called on Arab leaders to use force "to end the Zionist's offensive on Islam" in one of the biggest demonstrations, led by Tanta University students affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood. "We do not need condemnation, negotiations or talks with Israel. Enough is enough. Do something to save Al-Aqsa or open the door to jihad," shouted the demonstrators. By the end of last week Cairo has seen an escalation in protests at Cairo and Ain Shams universities. Thousands of students demonstrated for hours on Cairo University campuses, burning Israeli and American flags and shouting "down with Israel and Obama". On Monday more than 15 students affiliated to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) were arrested during a protest at Cairo University. The Brotherhood's website, Ikhwan Online, also reported that police had arrested 18 of its members in dawn raids on Monday in Alexandria, and an additional 50 students in universities across Egypt. "Over 180 members of the group have been detained during the demonstrations against Israel," Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud, the MB's lawyer said. In the same statement he said senior members of the group intending to run in the upcoming parliament elections had been arrested. On Monday the MB's supreme guide, Mohamed Badei, addressed a demonstration at Beni Sweif University via an amplified phone call, urging students and professors to continue their protests "until Israel stops its aggression against Al-Aqsa mosque and other shrines in Jerusalem." The only officially sanctioned demonstration was organised at Ain Shams University on Sunday, led by the president of the university Maged El-Deeb. "Israel has to stop humiliating us as Muslims. We will not remain silent forever. We will do whatever it takes to stop Israeli aggression and the building of new settlements on Arab land," El-Deeb said. All the demonstrations have been confined to campuses except one, organised by the MB on Monday at the Lawyers' Syndicate. Compared to the public response to the war on Gaza last year or the second Intifada in 2002, new developments in the West Bank have caused limited public outrage. "Divisions between Palestinians factions and the decline of the resistance movement have muted the reaction of Egyptian public opinion regarding what is happening in West Bank," political commentator Samir Ghattas told Al-Ahram Weekly. The current protests, he says, are little more than an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to flex its muscles and signal to the regime that they can mobilise the public if they need to.
