What happens when an Egyptian walks around Cairo dressed as a Jew?
The Cairo-based Internet news site DOTMSR sent the journalist to the streets of Cairo dressed in overtly Hassidic garb - sidecurls, skullcap, beard, and a hat.
By JPOST.COM STAFFAn Egyptian man poses as Jew on the streets of Cairo
An Egyptian journalist conducted an experiment in which he dressed up as a Jew and asked passersby on the streets of Cairo for directions to a nearby synagogue - with nearly serious consequences for his physical safety.The Cairo-based Internet news site DOTMSR sent the journalist to the streets of Cairo dressed in overtly Hassidic garb - sidecurls, skullcap, beard, and a hat.The “Jewish” journalist was then subjected to threats of violence, epithets, slurs, and shoving from hostile locals.In one scene of the video, the journalist shows an Egyptian a note with Hebrew writing on it. When asked if he is an Israeli journalist, he responds in the affirmative, prompting the Egyptian to hurriedly walk away without responding to his request for directions.Another clip shows a group of young people surround the journalist and demand that he “get out of here.”DOTMSR is an Arab-language Internet news site “that broadcasts high-quality news items in Arabic.”It describes itself as a news outlet that “believes in openness, innovation, and an obligation to accepting those who are different.”On YouTube, a Muslim web surfer wrote that “while it would be best not to behave in the manner shown by the people, I am certain that if a Muslim would ask Jews how to get to the mosque in Mecca, they would in all likelihood hit him very hard.”“That is how things [with Jews] have unfolded for hundreds of years,” she wrote. “There are exceptions, but, unfortunately, the number of Jews who hate us is greater than those who do not.”“I would’ve helped this man, simply because Islam is a religion of peace and charity, and a real Muslim is a person whose words and deeds reflect these values,” she wrote.
Other Arab web users who replied to the video justified the hostile treatment visited upon the journalist by claiming that it was appropriate “in light of the actions of the Jews in Palestine.”The Cairo locals were simply showing solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinians under Israeli rule.