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Egypt Tag

Posted by Miriam Elman on June 04, 2017 8 Comments
Note: This post is a prelude to our daily re-created coverage of the Six Day War. Starting Monday, June 5, we will cover each night the war as the events happened in 1967. The Six-Day War, the fiftieth anniversary of which takes places tomorrow on June 5, 2017, is “one of history’s most brilliant—and controversial campaigns.” In a mere six days, from June 5 through June 10, 1967, the state of Israel routed a numerically and materially superior Arab war coalition, decisively defeating the surrounding Arab armies in a pre-emptive act of self-defense. As the editors of a special Summer 2017 issue of Middle East Quarterly put it:
On June 4, 1967, the ecstatic Arab leaders were prophesying Israel’s imminent destruction and promising their subjects the spoils of victory; a week later, they were reconciling themselves to a staggering military defeat, the loss of vast territories, and sharp international humiliation.”

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 28, 2017 2 Comments
Egypt has launched an air assault on terror training camps in Libya, following the deadly bus attack that claimed the lives of over two dozen Coptic Christian men, women and children.
On Friday, Egyptian fighter jets struck eastern Libya just hours after a shooting that killed 29 and wounded 24 in the southern Egyptian province of Minya when masked militants boarded vehicles en route to a monastery and opened fire at close range. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest directed at Egypt's increasingly embattled Christian minority following two church bombings last month that killed more than 45, also claimed by the group.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 26, 2017 9 Comments
At least 10 gunmen opened fire on a bus transporting Coptic Christians in Cairo, Egypt, and killed 28 people. The Christians were headed to the St. Samuel the Confessor monastery. Men, women, and children are among the dead. Fox News reported that Copt United news portal confirmed only three children survived the massacre. The gunmen also injured 22 others.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 13, 2017 11 Comments
The last time Legal Insurrection visited the Land of the Nile, Pope Francis was refusing to use an armored car during his visit to Egypt. Fortunately, one was not needed, and the Holy Father must have made quite an impression, especially after meeting with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt's President and proponent of an Islamic Reformation. To start with, a noted Egyptian Islamic "scholar" has been canned from his television show and faces a trial after calling Christians "infidels".
Salem Abdel-Galeel, television show host and a former deputy minister at the Ministry of Religious Endowments, is set to face trial for contempt of religion after describing Christians as non-believers.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 25, 2017 11 Comments
It is being reported that, despite the numerous attack on Christians in Egypt, the head of the Catholic Church has shunned using an armored vehicle when he tours the nation's capital during his upcoming trip.
...[Pope Francis] will fly from Rome to Cairo on Friday for a two-day visit intended to build on inter-faith dialogue with Muslim leaders and to show solidarity with beleaguered Christian communities in the Middle East. Despite his vulnerability as a potential terrorist target, the Pope will not travel through the streets of Cairo in an armoured vehicle, the Vatican said on Monday.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 23, 2017 10 Comments
When President Donald Trump and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Sisi met earlier this month, one issue that must have been addressed during their productive discussions was the case of Egyptian-American charity worker Aya Hijazi, who had been jailed in Egypt for three years. According to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Trump had engaged directly on Hijazi's behalf "and made it clear to the Egyptian government how important it was to him that this American be released and returned." A few weeks later, Hijazi sat down with President Trump in the Oval Office to thank him for the diplomatic efforts.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 09, 2017 25 Comments
The year, as we mark the season of Passover, there has been a discovery of the remains of a pyramid in Egypt that was reportedly built around the time of the Exodus:
Ahead of the Passover holiday, an unknown pyramid was discovered in Egypt, dating roughly to the time of Jews’ exodus from bondage. A top antiquities official says an Egyptian excavation team has discovered the remains of a pyramid dating back to the 13th Dynasty, some 3700 years ago.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 09, 2017 7 Comments
ISIS has claimed responsibility for two attacks on two Coptic churches in Egypt.  The attacks took place this morning and left 37 people dead and over a hundred wounded. Fox News reports:
The ISIS terror group has claimed responsibility for two separate Palm Sunday bombing attacks at Coptic Christian churches in Egypt that have killed 37 people and injured more than 100.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 24, 2017 7 Comments
Monday, President Trump's pen was very busy signing 3 executive orders, withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership, defunding International Planned Parenthood, and freezing the hiring of federal workers. His phone was also very busy. He made a supportive call to Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, indicating essentially military aide would continue to support the regional fight against Islamic extremist terrorists.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi discussed ways to deepen the bilateral relationship between the two countries, fight terrorism and boost Egypt's struggling economy. ...Egypt is the second largest recipient of U.S. military aid.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2016 20 Comments
Back in February 2012, I wrote that I expected that in his second term Obama would force his vision of a "peace" deal on the Israelis. We've had several close calls, with the John Kerry negotiation fiasco and flirtation with various European and Arab initiatives through the UN. The mechanism would be a failure to veto a Security Council resolution setting the terms of a deal. Part of it is Obama hatred of Bibi Netanyahu, dating back to the beginning of Obama's presidency. The snubs and dislike was palpable long before Netanyahu's address to Congress opposing the Iran nuclear deal.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 11, 2016 20 Comments
Just six days after a bombing in Cairo killed six policemen, another bomb explodes at Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, killing 25 and wounding another 35 people.  The victims are believed to be mostly women and children. Hasam, a terrorist group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, claimed responsibility for the first Cairo bombing, but no one has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing Saint Mark's. CBS News reports:
A bombing at Egypt’s main Coptic Christian cathedral killed 25 people and wounded another 35 on Sunday, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 20, 2016 15 Comments
Late last year, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was snubbed by President Obama during his visit to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly’s 70th meeting. Now, al-Sisi is gearing up to meet the two top challengers in the race to be the next Oval Office occupant.
An adviser to U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign said on Sunday that Trump will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday during the United Nations General Assembly, just as Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, is also scheduled to do.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 09, 2016 3 Comments

Female "circumsion" is also known as female genital mutilation, a barbaric practice that causes extreme pain, risk of infection or death, and lifelong problems. But it's still supported in some societies. Here is one Egyptian's bizarre justification. Via MEMRI: Egyptian MP Ilhami Agina Supports FGM: Egyptian Men Suffer...

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 13, 2016 8 Comments
Anti-Israel Egyptian judo fighter Islam el-Shehaby received backlash on Friday when he didn't shake the hand or bow to his Israeli opponent Or Sasson, who defeated him on Friday. In response, the Egyptian Olympic Committee announced they will open an investigation into his actions. Judo Israeli Egyptian refuses to shake hand El-Shehaby received pressure from Muslims not to fight against the Israeli, but the EOC threatened to strip him of his citizenship if he withdrew. He immediately retired after the loss.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 12, 2016 24 Comments
Israel has faced discrimination at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby refused to boycott his match against Israeli judoja Or Sasson. One of the fears of anti-Israel social media, which demanded a boycott, was that El Shehaby would lose, and thereby not only normalize Israel's participation but humiliate the Muslim world. El Shehaby lost. Egypt Israel Judoka Perhaps fearing the internet reaction, Shehaby refused to shake Sasson's hand afterwards.
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