Anti-Semitism continues to thrive in the Egyptian media. Derogatory images and harsh accusations against Jews and Judaism have persevered through bad and good times -- wars with Israel, periods of tension and even the 1979 declaration of peace between the two nations.

Anti-Semitic stereotypes continue to be prevalent in cartoons, caricatures, opinion columns, and other media, where Jews are often depicted as dirty, hook-nosed, money-hungry world dominators. Comparisons of Israel (both Likud and Labor governments) with the Nazis, denial of the Holocaust and traditional libels are also common. While some such pieces can be found in opposition newspapers, many are printed in the government-backed press, including the largest Egyptian daily, Al-Ahram, Al-Goumhuriyya and the popular magazine October.

Over the years, much attention has been paid to the trend of anti-Semitism in the Egyptian media. Particularly following the 1996 election of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there was a marked increase in anti-Semitic attacks. It appears that efforts to raise this problem with Egyptian officials and other influentials have made an impact, as more recent research demonstrates that the quantity of anti-Semitic manifestations in the Egyptian press has decreased.

However, the "quality" or severity of such attacks has become even greater. For example, while fewer cartoons depicting Jews as money-hungry may appear, intellectual articles with harder-hitting anti-Semitic accusations seem to be becoming more common. The latest trend has been the publication of articles promoting historical revisionism and Holocaust denial.

This report contains recent examples of such troubling anti-Semitism and Holocaust revisionism in the Egyptian media.

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