Dispatches from Cairo #2: Comment on Friday's Attack on the Israeli Embassy

The second installment of my "Dispatches from Cairo" series in The Daily Organ has now been posted.

Once again protestors in Egypt have hit the headlines, this time for their storming of the Israeli embassy late Friday night. The embassy protest was not the most well attended of the Friday protests, but sadly has garnered the most attention due to the ferocity and violence of its attendees, and the fact that it led to the withdrawal of the Israeli diplomatic mission almost in its entirety, leading to fears of a complete breakdown in diplomatic relations. While it seems that the situation has been salvaged, this sinister new development has caused a distraction from the movement to get the revolution back on track, the aim of “The Friday of Correcting the Path”.

In Tahrir Square, where I was, hundreds of thousands gathered after Friday prayers to peacefully protest against continued military tribunals, to demand election laws be amended (more on that next installment), and to implement a minimum and maximum wage limit.

Those who marched on the Israeli embassy, tore down the recently-constructed protective wall, and then breached the most easily accessible of the rooms, were a splinter group consisting of several thousand people. 

Their professed aim was to protest against the killing of Egyptian border guards last month, the inadequacy of the subsequent botched apology made by Israel, and also to show the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that their stance on Israel was too lenient, and not in keeping with popular opinion. 

While the construction of the wall was widely seen as provocative, and symbolic of the government’s perceived protective stance towards Israel, even many of the most ardent revolutionaries have spoken out against this blatant infringement of international law. 

Anti-Israeli sentiment is rife among protestors, left-secularists and Islamists alike, but most seem to be in agreement that Friday’s events were a step too far. They correctly, judging by recent commentary, ascertain that it will harm the credibility of the protest movement in the eyes of the public, and offer ammunition to those who claim that Egyptians are not ready for democracy.

Reactions to the event are almost universally appalled by both the slow response of the armed forces, and the actions of the protestors themselves who, after breaking in using hammers and other tools, threw documents out of windows and attempted to attack staff within, who had to be rescued by Egyptian commandos. 

The question of why the police and army did so little to stop the attacks is as yet unanswered. A likely answer appears to be that they were afraid of being accused of using the same harsh tactics as the Mubarak regime, who always came down hard on indications of anti-Israeli sentiment. 

Whatever the reason, it has done little to calm fears of a continually deteriorating domestic situation, and will likely lead to future protests, peaceful or not, losing the backing of the public at large, and being greeted with hostility by the armed forces.