Egyptian Lawyer Nabih Al-Wahsh: I'm Proud to Be Antisemitic; Will Kill Any Israeli I Lay My Eyes On

Host: "What is your story with [the Jewish pilgrimage to] the Abuhatzeira Tomb [in Egypt]? You filed a lawsuit demanding to lock up the Interior Minister and the PM?"

 

Nabih Al-Wahsh: "I sure did."

 

Host: "Both of them?"

 

Al-Wahsh: "Yes. I did this because the court had ruled against them."

 

Host: "What exactly was the case?"

 

Al-Wahsh: "First, I sent a warning that the celebrations at the Abuhatzeira Tomb must be canceled. This is a long story. [Abuhatzeira] was a Moroccan Jew, and the site has nothing to do with archaeology. Then, some brothers in Alexandria told me that instead of me sending warnings, they would file a lawsuit. So these brothers, lawyers from Alexandria, filed a lawsuit, and it was deliberated before Judge Abdel Wahab Khafagi, who suckled patriotism with his mother's milk. He said to them: 'Why are you just trying to cancel the celebrations? Why don't you change your lawsuit so that we can get rid of that tomb altogether?' So we changed the lawsuit, and the court ruled that the tomb should be removed."

 

Host: "To remove it! Wow!"

 

Al-Wahsh: "Of course we did. Of course!"

 

Host: "But isn't it an archeological site?

 

Al-Wahsh: "It's not! [Then-culture minister] Farouk Hosny made it an archaeological site – with all due respect to his black and brown shoes. That was the biggest mistake of Hosny, who had Zionist tendencies. I take responsibility for what I say."

 

[...]

 

Host: "You are calling for normalization of relations with Israel?"

 

Nabil Sharaf Eldin: "Yes. I say this loud and clear. Whether we like it or not, we have an international agreement, which has been stable and to which both parties adhere, since it was signed and to this day. I don't want to go into details, but Israel has cooperated with the Egyptian forces, in the war to defeat the terrorists. This has been going on until now."

 

Host: "Israel has cooperated with Egypt in the war on terrorism?"

 

Eldin: "Of course. Absolutely."

 

Host: "Wasn't Israel behind ISIS and the other organizations?"

 

Eldin: "No, no. These are nothing but conspiracy theories.

 

[...]

 

"The public sentiment is against [normalization]. Let me tell you why. Since 1948 and to this day, the Egyptian media has been mobilized..."

 

Host: "So the media is to blame?"

 

Eldin: "Of course."

 

[...]

 

Host: "You defended [playwright] Ali Salem when he visited Israel."

 

Eldin: "Of course. It was within his rights. As an Egyptian citizen, he had the right to visit any country with which we have diplomatic relations. He is now deceased, but he was an important national figure."

 

Host: "Yet he initiated this. He joined hands with plunderers, blood-shedders, and child-killers. The mentality of statesmanship is different from tribal mentality."

 

Eldin: "The mentality of statesmanship is different from tribal mentality."

 

Host: "What do you mean?"

 

Eldin: "According to tribal mentality, one must avenge the death of one's sons to one's last breath. The mentality of statesmanship is something completely different.

 

[...]

 

"All the Gulf States have close relations with Israel, and the leaders hold reciprocal visits, even though they have no agreements with Israel.

 

[...]

 

"We may disagree with the State of Israel from here to the end of the universe. But at the end of the day, we should examine what the interest of Egypt are."

 

[...]

 

Al-Wahsh: "He says that we have a tribal mentality rather than the mentality of statesmanship. I ask you: Has Israel followed the mentality of statesmanship, in the matter of the imaginary Holocaust, when haunting the German banks with demands for compensation?"

 

Eldin: "It wasn't imaginary."

 

Al-Wahsh: "On top of everything, you say it wasn't imaginary?"

 

Eldin: "You are antisemitic."

 

Al-Wahsh: "Of course I am! I am proud to be antisemitic. I say this loud and clear. I'm antisemitic."

 

Eldin: "This is being recorded."

 

Al-Wahsh: "Let it be recorded! To hell with Israel... with the Zionist entity."

 

Eldin: "This is not about Israel. It is an international law and an international agreement."

 

Al-Wahsh: "You and Europe don't scare me. Don't threaten me. If I see any Israeli, I will kill him. Enough! It's better than the things you are talking about."

 

Eldin: "Why are you calling to kill people?"

 

Al-Wahsh: "Sir, I'm calling to kill [them]. I will personally kill any Israeli I lay my eyes on."