Security links fail to endear Israel to Arab citizens
Israel’s barrier fence to keep out ‘infiltrators’ from Egypt, in the name of security. Photo by Yuval Nadal/Flash90
Poll shows Egyptians view Israel as most hostile state
The report comes in the wake of reports of an increasingly positive relationship between Israel and Egypt due to security coordination.
By Ro Yeger, JPost
September 29, 2015
Egyptian public perception views Israel as the most hostile state, according to a report published on Tuesday.
The report, published by the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research, was based on a poll conducted in May 2015 analyzing the perceived hostility or friendliness of 26 countries from across the globe. Participants were asked to rate the countries as friendly, very friendly, neutral, hostile or very hostile on an index ranging from -100 to 100, with negative figures indicating hostility and positive numbers indicating friendliness.
According to the report, with over 1,500 citizens over the age of 18 polled, Saudi Arabia was found to be the most friendly country toward Egypt according to public perception, having scored a +88 in poll responses. Following closely as second-most friendly to Egypt was the United Arab Emirates, which scored a +82. Kuwait, Bahrain, Sudan, Oman, Tunisia and Morocco rounded out the top eight perceived friendliest countries.
Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Chaim Koren presents his credentials to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sept. 14, 2014, at the presidential palace in Cairo. Photo from Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Israel was ranked as the most hostile country having received a score of -88 on the poll’s index. The United States was listed as the second most hostile country having scored a -32. Iran, Turkey, Qatar and Denmark were also among the countries receiving negative scores.
The report comes despite the increasingly positive relationship between Israel and Egypt.
Earlier this month, a high-level Egyptian source said that relations between Israel and Egypt are at their “best,” perhaps the best they’ve ever been, because of ongoing security coordination.
Additionally, early this week, Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi called to expand Egypt’s peace with Israel to include more Arab countries, receiving high praise from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid.
“I praise the comments made by the Egyptian president,” Lapid said. “Sisi’s comments prove that there exists today an opportunity to advance a regional agreement with moderate Arab states,” he added.
Ariel Ben Solomon contributed to this report.
An Egyptian protester holds an anti-Israel slogan near the Israeli embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011. Photo by Amr Nabil / AP. Popular demonstrations against Israel were common in Egypt during the ‘Arab Spring’ during which support for Palestinians was frequently expressed.
Israel tops countries deemed hostile by Egypt’s public: survey
By Egypt Independent
September 29, 2015
Israel is at the top of the list of countries Egyptians deem as hostile, while the top eight countries considered “friendly” are located in the Arab world, according to a public opinion survey by the Egyptian Centre for Public Opinion Research (Baseera).
“Israel took first place with -88 points, with different categories of respondents showing the same reaction to Israel,” according to the poll.
Baseera based its assessment on an index ranging from -100 to 100 points, categorizing countries between very hostile and very friendly.
Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, which ended a six-year war over Israel’s occupation of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, but public sentiments remained largely opposed to the agreement.
“The United States was second on the list of hostile nations, receiving -37 points, followed by Iran with -36 points, Turkey with -34 point, and Qatar with -31 points. Denmark, with a score of -11 points,” according to the survey.
The respondents listed Saudi Arabia as the most friendly with 88 points, followed by the United Arab Emirates (73) and Kuwait (68), said Baseera.
“China was the highest ranking non-Arab country, coming in ninth place with 41 points. Russia followed in tenth place with 40 points,” according to the poll.
Despite tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia over the latter’s construction of a Nile River dam, Egyptians view Adis Ababa as a somewhat friendly nation, giving it 23 points.
The United Kingdom moved from the category of hostile nations to a friendly one in this year’s survey.