“The people talking to you about Palestinian human rights will be the ones to take away your rights, along with your head if you object,” wrote Egyptian-born researcher and activist Khaled Hassan on his X/Twitter account on Monday.
His post discussed an incident a few days ago when Hassan joined an English-speaking Space on X that was held by Egyptians, Jordanians, and Palestinians, including Gazans, about the war in Gaza. The group then started an Arabic-speaking Space, which Hassan wrote “quickly turned into a verbal October 7.”
“They laughed and joked while telling me how they’d rape and slaughter me and every member of my family,” he added.
“October 7 is, to millions of people from these societies, one of the greatest days in their modern history,” he said, warning that if nothing is done, “it won’t be long before the West meets its October 7.”
Hassan – who converted to Judaism and now lives in the UK – echoed these sentiments in his conversation with The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
He explained that he does not normally join Arabic-speaking Spaces unless they are from the Gulf countries, but this X Space was in English, and they were seemingly discussing the Abraham Accords. He quickly noted, however, what he refers to as an “Arabic dictatorship mindset,” where no arguments can be made, and nothing is up for debate.
“It was challenging to finish a sentence because you get muted, and then there was violence and threats.” Nevertheless, Hassan told The Post that by “Arab standards, the English-speaking space was not too bad.”
This changed when he entered the Arabic-language Space: “The moment I joined, it became extremely abusive, the nastiest stuff you can imagine.” This included rape threats against Hassan’s wife and other threats.
Hassan told The Post that this type of behavior is more pronounced with Egyptians, Iraqis, Jordanians, Lebanese, and Palestinians. “The Saudis would never use this kind of violence. They would never swear at a man and threaten to rape his family,” he said.
In Hassan’s view, “Egypt is the root of all problems when it comes to antisemitism [in the Arab world] when it comes to hatred, and people need to know that.” He explained that Egypt dominates in fields such as Arabic-language TV, media, and so forth.
Egypt has, for example, played a prominent role in endorsing and disseminating antisemitic texts such as the
Protocols of the Elders of Zion (endorsed by former Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat). The first translation of the Protocols by an Arab Muslim was also published in Cairo.
“Egypt bullies dissenting voices,” Hassan continued. This particularly applies to any dissenting voices around Israel/Palestine, he said, with Cairo standing staunchly on the Palestinians’ side.
“It is part of Egyptian national identity now,” Hassan told The Post. “To even talk to an Israeli is treason. People will insult you, humiliate you. The overwhelming majority of Egyptians believe this fundamentally; it’s part of their identity.”
There is some distinction between the Egyptian people and their government, Hassan explained. While he said, “Egyptians love the Palestinian cause,” the government’s attitude towards the Palestinians is more political than ideological.
“President [Abdel Fattah al-] Sisi’s own survival relies on the cause,” Hassan said. “He comes from the military, and the military is the main driving force behind this antisemitism. For example, when the economy is bad, it’s because ‘the Jews are plotting’.”
“The military has taken no steps to counter this narrative.”
Hassan explained that Sisi often uses the phrase “the people of evil” when discussing problems, which is generally understood to mean ‘Jews.’ It creates a common enemy, which ensures Sisi’s own survival.
“It’s the only thing where the average Egyptian agrees with their government. They agree on almost nothing else,” Hassan told the Post, somewhat humorously.
Hassan also lamented the way in which extremist leaders and figures in the Middle East are given significant leeway, but everything Israel does is scrutinized.
“Almost immediately after October 7, there was a presidential election in Egypt. Sisi imprisoned his only contender, and the election happened with no one running against him.”
He added that the organization MEMRI has translated hundreds or even thousands of videos of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas saying antisemitic and extremist things, “but the West ignores this.”
“If [Israeli MK Itamar] Ben-Gvir says one thing, the whole of the West will go up in arms saying he’s an extremist, but if Abu Mazen [another name for Abbas] says something that is far more extremist, nothing happens. No one says anything.”
Just yesterday, Abbas visited UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London to discuss peace in the region, at the same time as his party celebrated two terrorists murdering six Israelis in Jerusalem.
When asked why he thinks the West is in denial, Hassan said it’s because the “avoidance serves them well” given the power and sway of the Muslim vote.
Nevertheless, Hassan told the Post that he thinks the “tide is turning,” especially in Britain. “You see people waving the British flag again. People have had enough,” he said.
For the Arab world, there is also hope, Hassan argued. “Saudi Arabia and the UAE are redefining Islam,” he said.
“There will be actual change, and it is already redefining the Middle East.”
It is hard, though, not to remember the words at the end of his X post: “It is a comfort to believe the Dark Ages are a relic of history. Yet they remain separated from us by a single flight. A flight into Beirut, Baghdad, Damascus,
Kabul... that’s all it takes. There, you will come across the Dark Ages, where the strong prey on, rape, and slaughter the weak.”
Hopefully, Hassan’s optimism in Gulf-led change will prevent matters from becoming any darker.