By Cam McGrath
CAIRO, Dec 9 2002 (IPS)

Jewish groups and U.S. officials who found a television series anti-Semitic are now finding unexpected support from Egyptian viewers tuning out because they find it too boring.

Billed as a chronicle of Arab struggle against colonial rule and the creation of Israel, the series ‘Horseman without a Horse’ is being broadcast on Egyptian state television and a private satellite channel.

It tells the story of an Egyptian man fighting British occupation of Palestine who uncovers a Jewish plot to control the world. Pursued by British police and Jewish conspirators, he dons all sorts of disguises to bring the ‘truth’ out.

"It’s a horrible series," says literature student Marwa Sayed. "The acting is terrible and it’s so long and boring, I gave up watching after the first few episodes."

The 41-part series was at the centre of a media storm when it began during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in November. It was condemned for incorporation of the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’, a document that purports to tell of a Jewish plot for world domination. Historians have dismissed the manuscript as a forgery created a century ago by the secret police of Russian Czar Nicholas II to blame Jews for the country’s troubles.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN (United Nations) Yaakov Levy appealed for an international reprimand to Egypt for airing the series. "A programme based on such anti-Semitic propaganda can only encourage animosity and violence, in direct contradiction of the goals of the UN and other humanitarian organisations," he said in a letter to the UN Commissioner for Human Rights.

U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said "we made clear our deep disappointment that Egyptian government-controlled television aired a programme that includes scenes treating as factual the so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is an infamous anti-Semitic forgery designed to incite violence against Jews."

Egyptian officials did not take the series off the air, but quietly cut several scenes and added a disclaimer midway through its run: "This series depicts a period in the history of the Egyptian people’s struggle against British occupation. Events portrayed in the series are the creation of its writer, even those dealing with historical figures. This series does not attempt to prove the validity of the so-called Protocols of Zion."

Now Egyptian critics are panning it for poor acting, historical inaccuracies and even for its anti-Semitic themes.

The independent magazine Akher Saa said the storyline is incoherent and the acting rigid. Writer and lead actor Mohammed Sobhi is more intent on showing off his disguises and "playing Zorro" than saying anything worthwhile, the magazine said. "Through all the adventures the plot is lost and the series is bogged down in boring dialogue, escapades and inane details," it added.

‘Horseman without a Horse’ is based on the memoirs of the late journalist Hafez Naguib, played by Sobhi and presented as a national hero. But local media has been saying that the real life Naguib was no hero.

"He committed plenty of crimes, not against British occupation forces but against women," said the government-run Al-Musawwar magazine. "He had a lot of affairs and used to swindle women of their money. He had no interest in fighting the occupation…and his only connection to Jews was that he was a teacher in one of their schools."

Historian Magdi el-Hussein who has studied Naguib’s memoirs says his diary makes no mention either of Jews or the Protocols. He has petitioned the government to take the series off the air.

The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) opposes a ban, but warns producers against misusing freedom of expression "to create hatred on the basis of religion, colour, race or gender."

The series has nevertheless created a new interest in the so-called Protocols. Most Egyptians had never heard of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion before the series began, but newsstands now report a surge in sales.

"People are not arguing the validity of the Protocols any more," says Qadri Hanafi, professor of psychology and a specialist in Jewish literature. "The whole world believes the document is a fake. It is not the series that is creating an interest in the Protocols, it’s the huge controversy surrounding it."

Excerpt:

By Cam McGrath
CAIRO, Dec 9 2002 (IPS)

Jewish groups and U.S. officials who found a television series anti-Semitic are now finding unexpected support from Egyptian viewers tuning out because they find it too boring.

Billed as a chronicle of Arab struggle against colonial rule and the creation of Israel, the series ‘Horseman without a Horse’ is being broadcast on Egyptian state television and a private satellite channel.

It tells the story of an Egyptian man fighting British occupation of Palestine who uncovers a Jewish plot to control the world. Pursued by British police and Jewish conspirators, he dons all sorts of disguises to bring the ‘truth’ out.

“It’s a horrible series,” says literature student Marwa Sayed. “The acting is terrible and it’s so long and boring, I gave up watching after the first few episodes.”

The 41-part series was at the centre of a media storm when it began during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in November. It was condemned for incorporation of the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’, a document that purports to tell of a Jewish plot for world domination. Historians have dismissed the manuscript as a forgery created a century ago by the secret police of Russian Czar Nicholas II to blame Jews for the country’s troubles.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN (United Nations) Yaakov Levy appealed for an international reprimand to Egypt for airing the series. “A programme based on such anti-Semitic propaganda can only encourage animosity and violence, in direct contradiction of the goals of the UN and other humanitarian organisations,” he said in a letter to the UN Commissioner for Human Rights.

U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said “we made clear our deep disappointment that Egyptian government-controlled television aired a programme that includes scenes treating as factual the so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is an infamous anti-Semitic forgery designed to incite violence against Jews.”

Egyptian officials did not take the series off the air, but quietly cut several scenes and added a disclaimer midway through its run: “This series depicts a period in the history of the Egyptian people’s struggle against British occupation. Events portrayed in the series are the creation of its writer, even those dealing with historical figures. This series does not attempt to prove the validity of the so-called Protocols of Zion.”

Now Egyptian critics are panning it for poor acting, historical inaccuracies and even for its anti-Semitic themes.

The independent magazine Akher Saa said the storyline is incoherent and the acting rigid. Writer and lead actor Mohammed Sobhi is more intent on showing off his disguises and “playing Zorro” than saying anything worthwhile, the magazine said. “Through all the adventures the plot is lost and the series is bogged down in boring dialogue, escapades and inane details,” it added.

‘Horseman without a Horse’ is based on the memoirs of the late journalist Hafez Naguib, played by Sobhi and presented as a national hero. But local media has been saying that the real life Naguib was no hero.

“He committed plenty of crimes, not against British occupation forces but against women,” said the government-run Al-Musawwar magazine. “He had a lot of affairs and used to swindle women of their money. He had no interest in fighting the occupation…and his only connection to Jews was that he was a teacher in one of their schools.”

Historian Magdi el-Hussein who has studied Naguib’s memoirs says his diary makes no mention either of Jews or the Protocols. He has petitioned the government to take the series off the air.

The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) opposes a ban, but warns producers against misusing freedom of expression “to create hatred on the basis of religion, colour, race or gender.”

The series has nevertheless created a new interest in the so-called Protocols. Most Egyptians had never heard of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion before the series began, but newsstands now report a surge in sales.

“People are not arguing the validity of the Protocols any more,” says Qadri Hanafi, professor of psychology and a specialist in Jewish literature. “The whole world believes the document is a fake. It is not the series that is creating an interest in the Protocols, it’s the huge controversy surrounding it.”

Excerpt: