CAIRO: One Egyptian editor was reprimanded by the country's journalists syndicate on Tuesday for meeting with Israeli officials, which has been banned by the syndicate since 1985, and another editor was suspended from work for three months over similar contacts. Hala Mustafa, whose case has received much international publicity after she met with Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Shalom Cohen during the Islamic Eid holiday that marks the end of the holy month of fasting, Ramadan, last fall. Mustafa has often spoken out against the ban on speaking with Israeli officials. She is also a leading member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and editor of the semi-official Democracy magazine at the al-Ahram Foundation. Her colleague, Hussein Serag, the deputy editor and Jewish affairs expert at the weekly magazine October, was suspended for three months from publishing his writing. Experts say these rulings are relatively light. Serag was handed his sentence for visiting the Jewish state 25 times. He is known for his work in Hebrew and has translated a number of texts into Arabic in recent years, most notably “Between Tel Aviv and Cairo,” a memoir written by Israel's former ambassador to Egypt David Sultan. Ironically, Serag had his visits approved by the Editor of October and security forces before he traveled to Israel. Speaking after the ruling, he was quoted by news agencies as saying “if I don't visit Israel how can I understand these people? This is hypocrisy, pure and simple.” Normalization of relations with Israel is still a highly divisive topic in Egypt, even 30 years after the signing of a peace treaty between the two countries. The Egyptian government, however, has no rule prohibiting contact with Israeli officials. In fact, the Egyptian government is a key mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians. President Mubarak even met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in May this year and Defense Minister Ehud Barak last month. Despite this, normalization is prohibited in other areas, such as in the arts or journalism. Boycotting Israel, many in Egypt believe, is a way to show that they do not approve of Israel’s actions. In this way, Egyptian journalism will not pay tribute to settlement activity, security checkpoints and other treatments of Palestinians by Israel. In meeting with the Israeli ambassador, Mustafa violated this boycott, according to the syndicate. She sees the situation differently. “The idea is to make [my case] a kind of scandal and propaganda against anyone who has a different point of view or expresses new ideas.†She believes she is being made an example because of her liberal beliefs regarding normalization toward Israel and not simply because she met with an Israeli official. “My case is more significant because I am well known and I have liberal views regarding political reform, the future of Egypt, and many other things,†she said. Mustafa is not the only Egyptian journalist to meet with an Israeli official. This was confirmed by the Israeli Embassy, whose press office said that the ambassador meets with Egyptian journalists, but only when solicited. Mustafa claims that even Al-Ahram, her government controlled employer, “has published many interviews with Israeli officials,†and that, “many Isreali officials have visited Al-Ahram before the ambassador visited my office.†According to the Israeli public affairs officer, Shani Cooper-Zubida, even the head of the Egyptian News Syndicate, Makram Mohamed Ahmed, has met with Israelis. The Egyptian Journalist Syndicate did not respond to telephone and email requests for comments. **additional reporting by Adam Schrader BM
