Judge Mohammed al-Husseini of the Supreme Administrative Court ruled Saturday that Egyptian men who marry Israeli women may be stripped of their Egyptian citizenship.
Husseini specifically stated that the ruling was based upon race, not nationality. He stated, “The case for (Egyptian) men married to Israeli Arab women is different to those married to Israeli women of Jewish origin because (Israeli Arabs) have lived under Israeli occupation.”
This is, of course, not true. Israeli Arabs are not living under occupation. Israeli Arabs are full citizens of Israel and are an important part of the Israeli nation — including serving in the Knesset and the Cabinet.
The ruling forces the Interior Ministry to request the Cabinet to initiate the necessary steps to take away Egyptian citizenship from men married to Israeli women. It also take away the citizenship of the couples children. The Interior Ministry had been resisting this action.
Without citizenship, these men will not be able to work or obtain a passport to travel. These revocations of citizenship cannot be appealed.
Approximately 30,000 Egyptian men are believed to be married to Israeli women — 90% of those to Jewish women. Israeli women are preferred by some Egyptian men as being more equal life partners.
This ruling is shocking to Westerners, who are unaccustomed to overtly racist acts on the part of government officials. It once again highlights the vast distances Egypt has to go before it can be considered a civilized nation.
