HERE IS
A SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE PRESS COVERAGE OF THE "Horseman without
a Horse" CONTROVERSY --
COMPILED EXCLUSIVELY by
CAIROLIVE.COM
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Sobhi
tries to keep controversy alive
Actor Mohamed Sobhi -- whose soap
opera Horseman without a Horse has been causing a lot of controversy
because of its treatment of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion --
told a crowd at the opening of a new cultural center that if the
production "terrified Zionists, we
will produce more series."
“It’s an honor to be a Zionist opponent. It is my pride to be
defended by not only 67 million Egyptians but also by 240 million
Arabs. It honors me very much that I was capable of revealing the
great conspiracy aimed at swallowing our beloved nation.” Read more
about what Sobhi said in this article from the Palestine
Chronicle.
On a broader perspective, ABC News tries to answer the question of "Is
Arab TV anti-Semitic?" in this article.
CLICK
HERE FOR UPDATES ON "HORSEMAN" AS WELL AS THE REST OF THE
RAMADAN TV SOAP OPERA SCHEDULE
"Horseman
without a Horse" aired in spite of protests
Yesterday Egyptian
channels aired the first episode of the series "Horseman without
a Horse," totally ignoring the US calls not to telecast it.
Egypt's Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif denied that the series
contained anti-Semitic material and government spokesman Nabil Osman
said the program should not be judged before it's aired.
Jews
protest "Horseman without a Horse" in America
Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt of the B'nai Tzedek Congregation in Potomac was one
of the 200 Jewish activists who stood in front of the Egyptian Embassy in
Washington DC on Monday, protesting the airing of the Egyptian series "A Horseman Without a
Horse." In a Washington Post article Weinblatt called Egypt "a
society fed a steady diet of hate" and noted that a song on last year's
Egyptian hit parade was called "I Hate Israel." The U.S. State
Department has contacted Egyptian officials to express concern about the series,
and 45 members of Congress have written a letter to Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak urging him to stop the broadcast.
MORE...
Will viewers watch "Horseman without a Horse" this Ramadan?
Tomorrow Egyptian and other Arab
viewers will find out if the controversial drama "Horseman without a
horse" will be broadcast on the various channels that have already
purchased the 30-part series.
Last week actor and producer of the series,
Mohamed Sobhi defied US and Israeli claims that the series was
anti-Semitic. Sobhi defended his production, as well as the book -- the
controversial Protocols
of the Elders of Zion -- on which it is based.
Today the Egyptian
actor admitted that the Protocols
book is a forgery, but Sobhi still continues to defend his show.
The series
has also had its share of Arab criticism, with an Egyptian writer accusing Sobhi of
falsifying elements in the plot and calling for a ban on the broadcasting of
the show. According to a New
York Times article,
officials at the State Department said Ambassador David Welch had raised
concerns about the series with Safwat El-Sherif, Egypt's minister of information,
expressing his unhappiness about the airing of a program whiuch he
said was based on "racist and untrue" sources.
For background on the issue see the Philadelphia
Inquirer's interesting article which covers the situation
from many an angle. Cairolive.com contributor Ashraf Khalil interviews
Egyptian intellectuals, American oppositionists and Sobhi himself.
Will the government continue to resist the mounts of criticism? We'll
soon know.
MORE...
TV
drama-makers defend themselves
The controversial Egyptian TV drama "Horseman Without a
Horse," starring and produced by the well-known Egyptian actor
Mohammed Sobhi, has been criticized by Israeli media and Jewish groups
as being anti-Semitic. The 30-part series based on the Protocols of
the Elders of Zion is is scheduled to broadcast in the first half of
Ramadan on Channel 2 in Egypt and other Arab countries. Egypt has rejected
US requests to cancel plans to broadcast the series. In response
to the criticism, the makers of the Egyptian drama have defended
their work. Mohamed Sobhi says, "I do not produce artistic works
to discuss religion. I know there is a great difference between
Zionism as an idea and the Jewish religion." Information Minister
Safwat El-Sherif has said Egypt's media policies underline "our
respect for all monotheistic religions on an equal footing."
TV show based on anti-Semitic forgery?
"An
artistic work which only reveals the Zionist schemes to seize
Palestine" is how actor Mohamed Sobhi described his own series,
"Horseman Without a Horse", which will be broadcast during
the first half of Ramadan. Israeli media and Jewish groups have
criticized the series -- accusing it of being anti-Semitic.
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