CAIRO: Multi-award winning columnist Thomas Friedman was greeted in Egypt by protesters as he delivered a talk on the Arab world and Egypt's revolution at the American University in Cairo (AUC) on Monday. Protesters held signs showing children killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza with the question, “Why is a supporter of war crimes at AUC?” Friedman, however, seemed unfazed and delivered a speech detailing his thoughts on the region and the recent revolutions. He spoke about political Islam, separating between Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, pointing out that Egypt is different “because there is no oil here. “Tensions between political Islam and modernity can be offset by oil money in those countries … what will happen here will likely be different and more challenging.” The New York Times columnist added that Egypt cannot ignore tourism, alcohol, bikinis. “They must all be addressed here … [because] they are economically important.” Economically, he said the region, and Egypt in particular, faces numerous challenges in the coming months and years. “[The] global curve has just risen. Employers have more access to cheap labor, cheap robotics, cheap ideas and automation than ever before,” Friedman told a mix of students and observers alike. “For example, now he gets immediate feedback and has to compete with 70 million people with his opinions,” he continued, adding that “average is over” in comparing the past to the future, highlighting this global change with the Texan phrase, “‘If all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you've ever got' [but] this is no longer applicable in the world today.” But protesters, students from the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) organization at AUC were not convinced, demanding answers for Friedman's continued justification and support for Israel in his writings. One student asked a hypothetical of if Friedman would justify the bombing of New Yorkers if they were invaded by China and fought back to defend their land. “Any fool can write in a way that alienates both sides. I am for a two state solution in the Arab Isreali conflict. If you're for that, you're my friend. If you're against that, you're my enemy, whether you're an Arab, American, Christian, Muslim or Hindu,” Friedman said in response. Another student garnered loud applause when saying, “your stances on Palestine, on Iraq show that you are really more pro-Israel than anything else. You're coming here with a nice smile saying you're supporting democracy, but really that is not true.” Although the students attacked Friedman for being pro-Israel, the columnist fought back, telling the audience that when he spoke at Yale University recently, an Israeli student organization protested against him there, calling him pro-Palestinian. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/FYO1T Tags: AUC, featured, Protest, Thomas Friedman Section: Egypt, Latest News, Palestine
