Getting Back on the Right Track in Egypt

In Tahrir Square in Cairo, the freedom marchers called for today to be known as the Friday of Getting Back on the Right Track.

Similar marches were also held in Alexandria, the Mediterranean coast and Suez.

The demonstrators who forced Hosni Mubarak from power in the January revolution are not satisfied with the military’s continuing assumption of power. They are calling for the parliamentary elections promised for this autumn to be kept on the calendar, something they think the Egyptian army might be planning to change. They fear that Islamists and Mubarak sympathizers could win the majority of the parliamentary seats to be filled and think that holding the election sooner rather than later will work in favor of the more democratic elements in Egypt.

They are asking for more democratization of power and for the army to begin turning over political functions to the people.

They also want to see a swifter and more objective trial for Mubarak, who still seems to command support from some military who have testified at his trial, calling for him to be cleared of all charges.

All these goals are good and the Egyptian military ought to be trying to comply.

But, today was also a day in which Getting Back on the Right Track took a wrong turn.

A reported thousand demonstrators left Tahrir Square and marched to the Israeli Embassy, where they used sledge hammers, iron bars and ropes to pull down a safety wall erected by Egyptian police to protect those living or having shops in the lower floors of the building in which the Israeli Embassy occupies the upper floors. The police looked on, not trying to stop the demolition, although they did try to hold back some of those pushing to get into the building.

Afterward, a marcher got up to the Embassy, took down the Israeli flag and threw it down onto the street below. This is the second time in a month that the Israeli flag has been taken from the Embassy by protesters.

Egyptian-Israel relations have been strained since mid-August when five Egyptian police were killed by Israeli military pursuing Egyptians who had attacked and killed several Israelis in Eilat near the Egyptian border with Israel.

Getting Back on Track.

We will watch and hope that the Egyptian freedom marchers are not overtaken by the more radical elements which are infiltrating their ranks.

We will watch and hope that the all-important peaceful relationship between Egypt and Israel holds, because without Egypt’s moderating influence, the safety and very future of Israel could be in jeopardy.

We will watch and hope that Israel soon understands that the Arab Spring has changed the dynamics of life and survival in the Middle East and begin to adapt.

We will watch and hope.

Getting Back on Track is the right term. Let us hope that both Egypt and Israel take it to heart before it is too late.