[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
Regional and International Relations:
Egypt and Libya: A Fatal Embrace?
Karim Mezran analyzes the political biases undermining Egyptian-Libyan efforts to help deescalate the conflict in Libya.
Resolution of Israel-Palestine Conflict `Duty to Next Generation`, Says al-Sisi at Gaza Aid Conference
Ahram Online reports on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s speeches during the Gaza aid conference held in Cairo.
Egypt Will Not Let Go of Gaza, At Least for Strategic Reasons
Dina Ezzat argues that behind official statements on Egyptian-Gazan relations lies deep-seated tensions and conflicting interests between Palestinians and Egyptians.
Talk of an Egyptian Boycott of Turkish Goods Will Not Do Anyone Any Good
Dominic Dudley argues that if the Turkish-Egyptian feud escalates, it may lead to adverse effects on both countries’ economies.
Religious Minorities:
Maspero: An Eyewitness Account of the Memorial Protest
Mina Fayek reports on the protest commemorating the October 2011 Maspero massacre.
Three Years on and the Copts` Plight Continues
Mina Fayek writes, “Three years after the Maspero massacre, no justice has been served. This was a state crime, and more worryingly, the Egyptian state seems to be increasingly engaging in hostile acts towards Copts.”
Maspero: A Massacre Revisited
Amr Khalifa examines the state’s role in increasing sectarian tensions between Muslims and Copts in Egypt.
Three Years After the Maspero Massacre: Where is the Justice?
Ishak Ibrahim writes on the judicial process in the investigation of the Maspero massacre.
Sexual Harassment:
The Common Factor: Sexual Violence and the Egyptian State, 2011-2014
Heather McRobie argues, “We must conceptualize the epidemic levels of sexual violence in post-revolutionary Egypt at least partly as ‘state violence’, and resist the state’s attempt to selectively appropriate women’s rights. Every post-revolutionary Egyptian regime has the blood of women on its hands.”
Human Rights and Rule of Law:
Egypt Forms Committee to Draft Law for Nubian Resettlement
Ahram Online reports on the new committee’s plans for a “future development project to focus on the Nubian community near Lake Nasser in south Egypt.”
Egypt between Two Billboards
Mina Fayek criticizes the Sisi administration, arguing that “Egypt is living a moment of cognitive dissonance clearly demonstrated in the contradiction between reality and false depiction.”
Cairo Court to Consider Facebook, Twitter Ban in Egypt
Nancy Messieh writes on a lawsuit seeking to ban Facebook and Twitter in Egypt, which is expected to be heard on 18 November of this year.
The Obliteration of Civil Society in Egypt
Amira Mikhail analyzes the illegality of restricting non-governmental organizations in Egypt.
Parliamentary Elections:
Contradicting Statements Fuel Speculation over Egypt`s Parliamentary Polls
Gamal Essam El-Din discusses conflicting statements over the new electoral districts law, which have “fueled speculation whether Egypt’s parliamentary elections will be held later this year or postponed to the end of 2015.”
Reports and Opinions:
Egypt in Focus: President Sisi in Power
EgyptSource offers brief overview of al-Sisi’s domestic and foreign policies to date.
Why Sisi’s New Egypt is No Laughing Matter for a Cartoonist
Patrick Kingsley reacts to the status of political satirists and cartoonists in Egypt.
Egyptian Universities Start New Year with More Protests
Ahram Online reports: “Limited protests at six public universities to denounce private security firms on campus, latest round-up of alleged anti-government students.”
Police Fire Tear Gas at Azhar University; Students Break New Gates
Hana Afifi reports on protests and clashes between Azhar University students and Egyptian police at the beginning of the academic year.
Students Call for Protests amid Tense Atmosphere on Egypt`s Campuses
Ahram Online reports on Cairo University student protests and arrests as the new semester starts under recently passed university regulations restricting political activities on campuses nationwide.
Asleep at the Wheel
Iman Hamam explores the state’s rhetoric on the forty-first anniversary of the 6 October 1973 war.
Social Media as Archive
Laura Gribbon writes on social media groups that post photos of historically significant Egyptian personalities or sites creating the freedom for public commentary as a form of collecting specific narratives.
Egyptian Activist, Alaa Abdel Fattah, Penalized by Sakharov Prize Nominating Committee for Speaking Out Against Israel
Muftah reports on the Sakharov Prize Committee’s withdrawal of Alaa Abdel Fattah’s nomination over tweets made against Zionists during the 2012 Israeli offensive on Gaza.
In Arabic
ماذا قدم المشاركون في مؤتمر إعادة إعمار قطاع غزة؟
Reuters reports on various states’ pledges of aid for the rebuilding of Gaza at the closing sessions of the International Cairo Conference on Palestine: Reconstructing Gaza.
إسرائيل ترفع السرية عن وثائق جديدة تخص حرب 1973
Mada Masr writes on newly declassified Israeli intelligence reports on the October 1973 war.
قبل يوم من محاكمته: إجبار سلطان على تناول محلول مغذي
Mada Masr reports that hospital medical staff have force fed political prisoner Mohamed Sultan, who has been on hunger strike for 259 days.
معاقون: همّشتنا الأنظمة كافّة، وآخرون: التحسّن بسيط
Ahmed Fouad argues, “The situation of disabled Egyptians is not improving and may further deteriorate with the prime minister’s decision to affiliate the National Council for Disability Affairs with the Ministry of Social Solidarity.” This article is translated and published in English.
توازن الضعف فى مجلس النواب القادم
Waheed Abd El-Majeed explores the possible outcomes of the upcoming House of Representatives elections under the current political circumstances in the country.
آن الأوان ترجعي يا دولة الجواسيس!
In a two-part piece, Bilal Fadl examines intelligence reports written in the 1960s to showcase the similarities between Gamal Abdel Nasser’s police state and that of current Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
تعديلات المادّة 78 من قانون العقوبات المصريّ تثير قلق المجتمع المدنيّ
Enas Hamid reports on al-Sisi’s approval of new amendments “increasing punishment for groups receiving foreign funding in the context of counterterrorism.” This article is translated and published in English.
«سين وجيم» عن قانونية الإجراءات الحكومية في الجامعات
Omar Said interviews rights lawyer Ahmed Ezzat on the legality of regulating universities in Egypt.
تحت قبة الجامعة .. قلقٌ مشروعٌ على «المستقبل»٠
Ayman al-Sayyad reacts to reports on a university’s refusal to grant a PhD student his degree due to fundamental differences between the university’s mission and the student’s opinions as presented in his dissertation.
عن حسين صدقي وسينما التيار الرئيسي في مصر
Ashraf El-Sharif analyzes the sociopolitical impact of Egypt’s cinema in the decades leading up to the inauguration of Gamal Abdel Nasser as president of Egypt.
إجراءات ومحاولات مصريّة طموحة للخروج من أزمة الطاقة بالاعتماد على الطاقة الشمسيّة
Aya Aman reports on new government projects aiming to produce twenty percent of power from renewable resources by 2020. This article is translated and published in English.
صخب السلطوية الجديدة
Amr Hamzawy writes on the state’s restriction of human rights under the banner of the “war on terror.”
بيت المقدس يعود إلى الواجهة في سيناء والقبيلة على وشك السقوط
Al-Monitor’s correspondent in Sinai reports that the jihadist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis is regaining strength in the Sinai Peninsula. This article is translated and published in English.
اشكالية حول المشروع المصري لربط البحر المتوسط ببحيرة فيكتوريا بخط ملاحي بالنيل
Walaa Hussain writes on the obstacles facing the project aiming to “add a navigation lane to the Nile River, linking Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea” which was approved by several heads of state at the January 2013 African Summit.
Recently on Jadaliyya Egypt
Can Arabs Be Human Rights Defenders?
Joel Beinin reacts to the Sakharov Prize Committee’s withdrawal of Alaa Abdel Fattah’s nomination.
Remembering Those Who Were Slain
Hani Atalla remembers the October 2011 Maspero massacre.
Alaa Abdel Hamid: Visual Lab Rats
Medrar TV reports on sculptor Alaa Abdel Hamid’s exhibition entitled: “Visual Lab Rats.”
On the Sakharov Prize
Alaa Abdel Fattah responds to the Sakharov Prize Committee’s withdrawal of his nomination due to a conversation he had on twitter reacting to Israel’s offensive on Gaza in 2012.
Samir Nabil (Object Obscure)
Medrar TV interviews Alexandrian musician and sound engineer Samir Nabil, head of music project and band “Object Obscure.”