Who will blink first?

If invisible enemy had a name it would be the Egyptian dislike — if not contempt — for Israel. Whether a cabbie, a hotel management staff, academic or journalist, the aversion to Israel as a state stands out as the common denominator.

“Pray for me and the liberation of Al-Quds,” said Mohammad Ali at one of Cairo’s plush five star hotels. “I also want to pray there — but only after its liberation,” he added.

Israeli officials know this too; they are at a loss as to why nearly four decades after they made peace with Egypt most of its people are still as distant to us as they were when President Anwar Sadaat signed the Camp David peace accords.

After the establishment of relations with the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, the Israeli government is keen on reaching out to Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Although very conscious of the public sentiment in most Muslim countries, Israeli officials’ messaging to their hardline critics is simple — we want to conduct relations independent of our ties with India, which is benefitting a lot from our research in IT, agriculture and defence production.

Israeli officials sound comfortable with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalistic rhetoric. He often thunders against them and on ‘Muslim Umma’ issues but has not allowed disruption of business ties. That is why the Israeli government sees no problem with him. Nor are they averse to Egyptian President General Sissi. His presence has brought about considerable stability in government-to-government relations. In fact, say Israeli officials, Sissi repaired much of the damage that his predecessor Mohammad Morsi had done to the bilateral relations.

President Isaac Herzog’s arrival in Turkey for a state visit on March 9 is a case in point. President Erdogan himself received the Israeli president amid a pompous ceremony.

“I believe that this historic visit will be a new turning point in the relations of Turkey and Israel,” Erdogan said, flanked by Israeli and Turkish flags as the two presidents made statements after their summit.

Mind you, these are the words by one of the most ardent advocates of the Palestinians’ right to their homeland.

Another bitter reality that the Israeli officials are seized with is how South Africans look at Israel i.e. through the apartheid prism. “They believe we are an apartheid state but we are not,” an official told me during a conference in Cairo.

Is it real ignorance or willful deception and contradiction of the Palestinian narrative which views the Zionist state as an expansionist power that has systematically occupied Palestinian lands and is gradually displacing native Palestinians to create space for new Jewish settlements. Most of the OIC opposition to Israel has indeed been anchored in this narrative until recently. Recognition by the UAE and Bahrain in 2021 nevertheless dented this collective OIC rejection of Israel. Turkey and India had recognised it two decades ago, while Jerusalem is now anxious for at least some business contacts with major Muslim countries.

This also seems to have given confidence to the state of Israel. The paranoia in Israel — generated by a hostile surrounding, isolation in the region and an acute sense of insecurity — has given way to a much more rational, non-intrusive management of in and outgoing foreigners.

When, in May 2006, I visited Jerusalem for the first time as Deutsche Welle correspondent, the brief to the security personnel was to spare no one. I had seen a German businessman and a British journalist literally cry when they were frisked at the Tel Aviv airport, but officials would always say: sorry sir this is for your security.

But the news now out of Israel is that technology has helped normalise the security screening procedures just as much as one would encounter at most other airports. Then, all travelers had to surrender their luggage for elaborate screening plus personal. Now, friends tell us, both at Cairo and Tel Aviv airports, these screening procedures are almost normal except in a few odd cases.

But, the conversation fades down the moment officials are confronted on the issue of continued expansion of Jewish settlements in Palestinian lands. They appear evasive and deflective on the issue of settlements but are very keen on the establishment of contacts — even if informal and trade-focused — with Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia for raising their country’s global stature within the Muslim world.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2022.

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