Okasha faces backlash from journalists, lawyers after meeting with Israeli ambassador

Egyptian lawyers and journalists are rallying against any further rapprochement with Israel in the wake of controversial parliamentarian and TV anchor Tawfiq Okasha’s meeting with the Israeli ambassador last Wednesday.

In a televised interview that aired Sunday on his satellite channel Al-Faraeen, Okasha argued that the meeting had pragmatic and diplomatic objectives, then called for further talks with the Israeli ambassador.

Okasha has since been referred to a parliamentary disciplinary hearing, but many are calling for more decisive action to be taken against the MP.

It is not clear if the Journalists Syndicate will seek punitive measures against Okasha on the basis that he is a TV anchor. However, in response to his meeting and subsequent remarks, the council issued a strongly worded statement on February 28 declaring, “The syndicate council stresses its commitment to the resolutions issued by successive general assemblies of the Journalists Syndicate regarding the prohibition of all forms of normalization — whether professional, personal or syndical — with the Israeli enemy.”

The statement called “on all colleagues to abide by these resolutions, emphasizing that any complaints filed to the syndicate regarding the violation of these resolutions will immediately be referred to investigation and a disciplinary board hearing in order to take action against those found to be involved in any form of normalization.”

On Monday, local media outlets reported that journalist Ali al-Turky filed a memorandum with the Journalists Syndicate asking for “normalization with Israel” to be included as an agenda item at the upcoming general assembly meeting scheduled for March 4.

In his memorandum, Turky spoke of “the patriotic role that the Journalists Syndicate serves,” arguing “for the inclusion of an urgent subject on the agenda of the general assembly to issue a resolution banning the dissemination of news filed by those who seek normalization.”

Turky applauded the Journalists Syndicate for its “fight against normalization with the Zionist enemy, and its full support for the Palestinian cause.”

Also on Monday, Hamad Awdeen — leader of the liberal opposition Ahrar Party — filed a lawsuit against Okasha with the prosecutor general, arguing the MP was involved in espionage against Egypt and poses a threat to the public order.

Awdeen demanded that the prosecutor strip Okasha of his parliamentary immunity, ban him from traveling abroad and put him on trial for espionage.

Journalists weren’t the only sector angered by the MP’s statements. On Monday a group of lawyers took to social media to protest the meeting with the Israeli official, launching the hashtag #المحامين_ضد_التطبيع_مع_اسراييل (Lawyers against normalization with Israel) to the top of trending topics in Egypt.

Some commentators wielded the hashtag to criticize Okasha, while others lambasted President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s administration for allegedly siding with Israeli interests against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt signed the Camp David Peace Accords with Israel in 1978 and the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979, which restored diplomatic ties between the neighboring nations. Egypt subsequently normalized relations even further by exporting its cement and natural gas to Israel at well-below global market prices, while involving itself in bilateral production agreements with Israel for preferential trade status with the United States by establishing the Qualifying Industrial Zones — geographic areas in Egypt that are granted a duty-free status with the US.

However, Egypt’s civil society sector largely rejects any ties with Israel as it continues to occupy swathes of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian territories.