Popular Egyptian newspaper celebrates an Egyptian for his antisemitism

Youm7 (Seventh Day,) a popular Egyptian newspaper, has an article about Aziz Eid, the "pioneer of Arab theatre," who directed and starred in a number of popular plays in the first half of the 20th century.

The focus of the article is on how much he hated Jews.

It offers several anecdotes.

Once, Aziz Eid visited Palestine and stayed in a hotel called “Palestine Pension.” On the next day, when he learned by chance that the owner of the hotel was a Jew, Eid threw his bags out of the window while saying: “I didn’t know that I slept in a criminal house!"

Another time that Eid traveled to Palestine with his troupe and he arrived in Jaffa, a mixed city. He posted a sign on the theatre he was to perform in saying, “Entry is restricted to Arabs only." According to the story, local Jews considered this sign a challenge and attacked the theater causing a riot and the police were called. When Eid found that the police that came to the theater was led by a Jewish officer, he refused to give his statement except to an  Arab officer in the police department. 

Yet another time Eid brought an antisemitic play to Palestine, with a main character who was a stereotypical evil Jew. The Jews protested and Eid said he was happy that no Jews would attend his show, and he then dressed up as the Jewish caricature and walked around the streets.

No one can call these anecdotes "anti-Zionist." Yet they are being fondly recalled, today, in a mainstream Arab newspaperr.

---

---